Faith in a Beauty Parlor
Lois Arminnie Tanner was one of few women in Utah in the early 20th century to operate a business. She started her beauty parlor in response to inspiration and in an effort to provide for her family while her husband answered the call to serve a mission.
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Arminnie Tanner, my husband’s great-great grandmother, had three small boys when her husband, Franklin Fairbanks, was called on a mission to the Southern States. He left in 1897 and was gone for two years. Meanwhile, Arminnie was left to care and provide for her family as best she could. With strong faith that her husband was called of God to share the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, Arminnie sought a way to support her growing family.
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One night she dreamed of how to make a “cold cream”, a beauty product women put on their faces to hydrate and smooth the skin. When she woke up she immediately began making the cold cream. Over an extended period Arminnie began selling the cold cream throughout the valley, loading her boys in a wagon to make deliveries.
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Over time Arminnie developed her own product line, Excelsis, and opened a beauty shop under the same name, where she did hair and perms. Through faith and determination Grandma Arminnie was able to successfully provide everything her family needed, and she became one of the few woman-owned businesses in Salt Lake City in the early 20th century.
The Excelsis Beauty Parlor, owned and operated by Lois Arminnie Tanner Fairbanks in 1947.
Photo credit: University of Utah, Utah Department of Heritage & Arts, https://collections.lib.utah.edu/details?id=696028&facet_setname_s=dha_uplp
