Rock 'n' roll hair leaves '80s behind

A Spring Hill family wins a trip to New York City to update dad's look.

By CHANDRA BROADWATER
Published June 17, 2007

SPRING HILL - Kevin Kehl knew there was no going back.

Sitting in a posh New York City salon, he stared in the mirror as the stylist's scissors snipped across the back of his long, bleached locks.

He still couldn't believe that out of about 300 people, he had won a magazine contest and was sitting there getting a Father's Day makeover.

Snip, snip, snip.

Nearly 20 years of rock 'n' roll hair, gathered in a loose ponytail at his shoulders, fell away with each cut.

The longtime guitarist, who plays in a local Christian rock band called the Power of Two, started growing it not long after graduating from Gulf High School. That's where he met his wife, Lisha - the very woman who would enter him in Quick & Simple magazine's Father's Day makeover in January.

The weekly Hearst publication is produced for women by the makers of Good Housekeeping.

"Does your man need a new look?" Lisha, 41, remembers the ad reading as she leafed through it one afternoon.

The couple had talked about cutting Kevin's hair before, but they never made any serious plans. Lisha thought it was time.

Kevin, 43, who works as a control room supervisor at the Home Shopping Network, needed to do something. She thought it would be nice to see him wearing clothes other than the usual T-shirts, jeans and boots.

A few weeks after she had done the secret deed, Lisha and Kevin were in the car. She blurted out what she had done.

"Guess what I did? I entered you in a makeover contest."

For a split second, Kevin was offended. But then he figured that he wouldn't win.

A few weeks later, a woman from the magazine called to say that he was one of 15 contest finalists.

The magazine staff thought he had a way outdated, '80s rocker look. His long yellow hair and dark brown roots were bad enough, but then they read that the last time Lisha saw her husband in a suit was on their wedding day.

During the finalist interview, the staff thought Kevin had a nice personality and flexible attitude. More importantly, he was willing to make a change.

Before the Kehls knew it, they and their 5-year-old daughter, Madison, were tooling around the streets of New York in a stretch limo with the windows rolled down and music cranked up. Their other daughter, 18-year-old Liana, couldn't make it.

"When they called and told me, the woman was speaking in a tone like she was sorry we hadn't won, " Lisha said. "Then when she told us that we did, I was like, "Shut up!' "

For a weekend in April, they stayed in a very nice Times Square hotel, had dinner at fancy restaurants and met really nice people who weren't as snooty as they'd anticipated.

Along with a new 'do, Kevin got a facial, a scalp massage, a manicure and a pedicure. And nearly $1, 000 in new clothes. All for free.

"You know that part in the Wizard of Oz, where they sing, 'Rub, rub here ..., '" Kehl said, referring to the part of the classic movie when the Oz characters tidy up before meeting the wizard. "There was someone over here doing my finger nails, and someone down there doing my toes. The Cowardly Lion getting a manicure is all I could visualize in my head. It was so surreal."

He emerged from the makeover looking sleek in a suit and slicked back, slightly darker blonde hair that hit just above his shoulders. Everyone in the salon was floored.

"I couldn't believe it, " Lisha said. "Now he's more like Keith Urban meets Bon Jovi."

Even a few months after the initial unveiling, people still stop dead in the their tracks to say, "Oh my God!" Kevin said.

"If I had a dollar for every time someone at work said that, I'd be rich, " he said. "I guess I needed it more than I thought. It's given me some more confidence. I think I'll keep it this way for a while."

Chandra Broadwater can be reached at cbroadwater@sptimes.com or 352 848-1432.

[Last modified June 16, 2007, 19:45:33]