A Southern Salon with Extra Hold on Longtime Customers

Southern Magnolia Salon blends the best of the past and the present

By Lesley Berkshire Bradley  »  Photos by Chelsey Carico

Terry Caddell is a local treasure. She has been styling hair in Moore County for 45 years. She has owned three salons. And cared for thousands of customers.

Caddell is Moore County through and through. She was born at the hospital in Pinehurst and has lived in Aberdeen, Southern Pines, Eastwood, and Robbins. She says that her mother was a gypsy and liked to move around.

Her son says that she knows everything there is to know about Southern Pines, Pinehurst, Aberdeen and the rest of Moore County.

Southern Magnolia Salon, which Caddell has operated since 2001 is tucked into the Olmsted Village strip mall, wedged between restaurants and a flower shop, after quickly outgrowing its first location in Southern Pines.

Projecting a calm and friendly atmosphere, Southern Magnolia may well be one of the largest salons in Moore County, with eight stylists and a shampoo technician, drawing clients from Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Seven Lakes, Aberdeen, Penick Village and Belle Meade.

“We thought about running an advertisement adding up all the years of experience we had between all of our stylists and it made us seem too old, so we decided not to do that!” Caddell laughs.

While many other salons have high stylist turnover, Southern Magnolia’s stylists stay put. They have their committed clients and there is little drama among the employees.

“Dawn, Debbie and Sandra have been with me for 25 years; they are like daughters to me,” says Caddell, “And they have their own following of clients. Sandra is our shampoo technician and once she shampoos you, you never leave!”

As Moore County has changed, many aspects of Southern Magnolia Salon have stayed the same. They still offer perms, while many salons do not. They have a manicure table for clients who get their weekly manicures and haircuts. They still serve men, women and children, and publish their prices. And they still offer roller sets.

“We are sometimes called the old lady salon but that is OK because I have had to replace the front door three times since we moved here,” Caddell laughs again, “Our clients are like family and they stay with us.”

And this may be a record — Caddell had the pleasure of five customers who came to have their hair done every week for 45 years. They never missed a week!

Southern Magnolia Salon also sees lots of families, doing the hair for the grandmother, mother, husband and children. They serve the young and the old. It is not uncommon to see a grandmother waiting with her grandson, sitting next to a young person in their twenties, while a client with a walker is helped to a car.

And their services also cover the needs of their younger clientele, with blow drys, color and foils.

Perhaps even more than the hair styling and shampoos, Southern Magnolia Salon customers come for its special hospitable atmosphere. The stylists are known for their styling experience, their caring attitudes, and especially their listening skills.

It was never Caddell’s intention to stand behind a chair and talk to people. She says she is actually an introvert. But she is a good listener.

“You learn more if you listen. You learn about people, about their personalities, their problems…who had a baby…who lost someone…who is going on a trip…it’s a rollercoaster of emotions all day,” Terry explains.

The old saying, ‘who needs a therapist, I have a hair stylist’, is powerfully demonstrated at Southern Magnolia. The stylists have known their customers and their customers’ families for years. Caddell and her stylists have been there as their multi-generational clients have experienced deaths, marriages, divorces, the births of children and grandchildren, moves to smaller homes and to assisted living.

She has been called the ‘Truvy of Pinehurst’ and instead of Southern Magnolia Salon, it is sometimes called ‘Steel Magnolias Salon’.

Before she became a stylist, Caddell wanted to be a nurse or a teacher. She says there were not as many choices for women back then. Clearly, she was drawn to careers that leveraged her special ability to care for others.

“I love to do hair, so it is not a job. It is in you and you care for your clients, and you keep doing it,” summarizes Caddell.

The Sandhills is truly fortunate that Terry Caddell and her staff at Southern Magnolia Salon are part of our community.

Located in Olmstead Village, 111 Central Park Ave, in Pinehurst, 910-215-0529.