Beauty Hustle
In the book Too Many Products too Much Pressure, photographer Janet Delaney follows her father through his last year as a beauty-product salesman, revealing a humorous and affectionate portrait of labor, family, and love
By Gaia Squarci. Photographs by Janet Delaney
In 1980, having just begun her MFA in San Francisco and developing an interest in the world of work, Delaney joined her father for a week on the road. From long drives to endless shop visits, her photographs convey the constant movement and energy of his profession.
With bright colors, and direct flash, she observes beauty parlors with a critical but playful eye — informed by a generation questioning rigid gender roles and consumer fantasies. The work documents the sales routine with wit, while staying attuned to the people behind the business.
Over time, Janet Delaney came to see her father’s dedication in a new light. The missed evenings and relentless schedules were not just the demands of commerce, but proof of a determined father ensuring his children had more than he once did. The story becomes, above all, a testament to devotion. “You gotta love it,” her father Bill says. The pace, the pitches, the hustle that keeps life moving.
The book Too many Products too much Pressure is published by Deadbeat Club and available at the price of $55.00.
