The My Little Pony Scrapbook: Crimp & Curl Hair Salon

Fifi: White Twice as Fancy pony with blue hair, pink bows symbol

Pony Data
Set	Crimp & Curl Hair Salon
Asst. Number	?
Accessories	Mint green basic comb, flower brush, six purple hair rollers (3 large, 3 small), four hair clips, assorted ribbons (aqua, orange and purple), boutique sign, pink fan, mint green chair, white lace with pink bow clips, heart shaped pink mirror, pink heart shaped sink with mint green bowl, mint green trolley, tray, pink smock, hair net, functioning shower attached to back, make up and applicators, styling foam, mint green unit, towels.
Pose	Crumpet
Distribution	North America, UK, Europe Sold in some of these places under a translated name. Sold in North America as "Perm Shoppe", 1987
Other Versions

The Crimp & Curl Hair Salon

(aka THE PERM SHOPPE or THE CURL AND TWIRL PERM SALON)

Released in North America as the "Perm Shoppe" in 1987, it was released in the UK in 1988 as the "Crimp and Curl Hair Salon", and we can consider this the official UK name for the playset, although one insert also referred to it as the "Curl and Twirl Perm Salon".

Although officially part of the UK's 1988 line (as per Hasbro's list and promotion), the box to my playset is dated 1987, indicating it probably first came out late that year (this release pattern was not uncommon, given that Christmas was always a big market target). In 1988, Argos was selling this playset for £27.95 and Index for £27.75. The playset was still on sale into 1989, at which time Argos had raised the price to £29.75. These prices made it one of the more expensive playsets of its time. (It also happens to be one of my favourites, but for these reasons I never had it new as a child).

The Salon came with many accessories for hair styling, far outdoing earlier playsets in it's variety. The back of the building, beneath the big heart shaped mirror was a water tank, and inside the playset, when opened, it was possible to have a real working flower-shaped shower to wash the pony's hair. The salon also came with other accessories - a trolley, a seat, a wrap to keep the ponies dry and clean - and ribbons and hairclips, as well as a setting lotion. These accessories were helpfully pictured on the box (click for larger image)

Crimp & Curl Hair Salon Accessories
UK, 1988

Photos of accessories are colour accurate to the UK release of the playset, as can be seen in my below (mint in package) examples.

Hair Salon Clips (yellow and pink bows, purple and mint green flower barrettes)

Crimp & Curl Hair Salon brush, comb, and ribbons

The playset came with an exclusive pony; Fifi. She was a global release, and was issued with all versions of the Hair Salon. Fifi shared her name with a So Soft Pony from 1986. She was the only adult pony under the name Fifi to be sold in the UK, however.

It is not uncommon for her bows to fade or for her body to discolour. Because of her release with a playset, she is fairly common on the second hand market.

Fifi's story included various of the Party Ponies (aka Twice as Fancy Ponies, first set) under their UK names, as well as including the UK name for the playset. The story was modified from the North American release version, as the names of ponies not sold in the UK (eg Taffy) were swapped out and the playset name was changed to meet the UK trademark. Hasbro's story also coined the abbreviation for the playset name as "Hair Salon". The story was titled for the playset, not the pony, although it featured both, and appeared on the assembly instructions (as was common with playsets).

Hair Salon Story featuring Lollipop, Milky Way and Love Melody
UK, 1988

The playset was also released with sundry other paperwork, including inserts, offer leaflets and a form to send to Hasbro to get refills of the 'foam' mentioned in the story. This was a hair-styling mixture sold with the playset. It was the first time since the Waterfall that water features and bubble solution were sold with a playset. For this reason the Hair Salon suffers from the same issues as the Waterfall - namely the risk of mould in the water tank and shower pipe.

The Hair Salon was sold across several countries from 1987 onwards. Releases in most European countries where the playset was available seems to have been around 1988. The below advertisment, from the Netherlands, shows that the UK name travelled overseas and was used in other places - suggesting the UK version of the box may have been sold in these places. Although the advert names Princess Amethyst, the illustration looks more like Up, Up and Away - though it is not clear whether/how first set Party/Twice as Fancy ponies were sold in the Netherlands.

Crimp & Curl Hair Salon advert
Netherlands, 1988

1988

Crimp & Curl Hair Salon

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The Crimp & Curl Hair Salon

Playset Ponies Sold in the UK in 1988