A true passion! After 77 years of career in the same hair salon, Roger Amilhastre has made a name for himself in the town of Saint-Girons, in Ariège. This salon is very important to him since it has a family history. A legacy from his father, who was behind the opening of the salon in 1932.
“I was born in my parents’ home, which was at the time above the living room,” he confides in the columns of Ouest-France. Naturally, he decides to follow in his father’s footsteps. A carefully considered choice for the nonagenarian. “My father asked me if I wanted to become a hairdresser but never forced me […] He even gave me a six-month cooling-off period so that I could be sure that that’s what I wanted to do. I wanted to do,” he recalls.
A family story
Roger Amilhastre did not always dream of taking up the torch. In his youth, he hesitated for a long time with another profession, which had nothing to do with hairdressing: butcher.
“After six months, I told my mother about my choice. She told me that I would make my father very happy, and she was right. That evening, at the dinner table, I told him my decision and he started crying,” he remembers.
The men’s salon Achille Coiffure, which bears the name of the founder of the place, risked being resold without Roger’s commitment. An only son, no one could have taken up the torch except him. “I couldn’t let him go,” he confides.
After Roger, no one will take over the salon. His daughter, a pharmacy technician and now retired, did not choose to follow in her father’s footsteps. She still maintains a close link with hairdressing, since she is her father’s favored hairdresser.
A passion but also a necessity
Roger is present at the show from Tuesday to Saturday. He spends his days on his feet despite his osteoarthritis. Although he loves what he does, he had to return to his job to make ends meet after an event that changed his life.
His wife, Thérèse, fell ill when he was 60 years old. “We had to pay the retirement home 2,000 euros per month,” he told France 3 Occitanie. After the death of his wife last January, he decided to continue practicing his profession. “When I get up, I don’t make a fuss […] As long as I have my health, I continue.”
“Retirement, I don’t think about it”
Roger is one of the pillars of the village. His busy hair salon has become a real place of conviviality. “For many, they are more than customers, there is a real camaraderie,” says the Ariégeois happily. “In winter, some come to read the newspaper, or warm up a little when it is -2°C outside,” he confides.
Roger also takes time for himself. “I take the time to work, but also to live.” He plans to go on vacation in September, once vacationers return to the town. But for the moment, the nonagenarian does not plan to put away his scissors and razor. “Retirement, I’m not thinking about it!”, he concludes.