Laura and Virginia Mateo attend Kennedy Catholic High School in Hermitage. About four hours before their prom was to begin at Tiffany's banquet center in Brookfield, the girls were at the JCPenney styling salon in the Shenango Valley Mall to get their coiffures.

Armed with reading material and cell phones, the girls settled into their stylists' chairs and began the long, arduous process of becoming belles of the ball.

Virginia used her phone to coordinate the rest of the day's activities in preparation for the big dance. She coordinated with friends on when they would get together to take pictures, gave a status report to her mami and chatted with friends, while the stylist began curling and twisting her long dark hair into an intricate updo.

"Que pasa?" she greeted a friend who was reporting for her hair appointment. "I'm finally starting to get excited," she said.

The girls, who plan to attend Hiram College to study medicine, sat in their chairs for about an hour April 25 while their hair was done.

When finished, their long, straight hair was transformed into curly, styles fit for a queen.

Gina LoScalzo of Hermitage had her hair done at The Ann Baker Hair Company on East State Street in Sharon.

Her stylist, Ann, is an energetic woman who moves about in a flurry of activity, pinning here, curling there, and tossing empty hair spray cans across the room into a trash bin.

"My dress is really elegant, so I'm looking for something simple," Gina said. "But I want it big."

By the time Ann was done, Gina's straight brown hair had transformed into a glittering, artistic arrangement of curls to perfectly complement her elegant dress.