WATERLOO - Waterloo has seen hairstyles come and go over the past 40 years, from beehives to bobs and everything in between. But one constant in metro-area hair over the past four decades has been Wayne Sadler.

Sadler has owned Wayne's Style Salon in Waterloo since 1966, and he has tended to the Cedar Valley's sense of fashion over the years. He sold his salon to new owners Jan. 2 but has not decided to put down his scissors just yet. He will remain on staff under the new owners, even though the name of the salon will change to Studio 21/24.

Sadler did not have ambitions of pursuing a career in hairstyling. His sister, Marlys, suggested that he try it out. Since he had no other plans after high school, he decided to give beauty school a shot. It turned out to be the perfect fit.

In 1961, Sadler secured his first styling job at John's House of Beauty in Waterloo. Three years later he purchased a small salon on Wellington Street, but he quickly outgrew the location. In 1966, he opened Wayne's Style Salon on Kimball Avenue with 22 stylists on staff, making it one of the largest salons in the metro area. Sadler added another salon in 1972 and split time between the two until he leased the second salon to his wife, Annette White, five years ago.

Sadler's decision to sell his 40-year-old salon came as a shock to many of his longtime clients. But Sadler simply felt it was time for the salon to move in a new direction, and he hoped to gain some free time, too.

"I had been here for 40 years, and I decided that the time was right," said Sadler.

The new owners are Bill and Teresa Shepherd of Fairbank, who also own a salon in Dunkerton. Teresa had developed a relationship with Sadler while selling Paul Mitchell hair products to Wayne's over the years. The two had a conversation in November about the possibility of Sadler selling the salon, and less than two months later the deal was done.

The Shepherds are happy that the local icon of hairstyle whose name currently adorns the salon's sign will be staying on staff. "We're not going to be here a lot," said Bill Shepherd, "so (Sadler) will be here to take care of things. It will kind of be like business as usual around here."

Sadler hopes to maintain business as usual at the Salon for several years to come. "I keep telling the staff here that I plan to work for 10 more years, but I don't know if that will happen," he said. "I will work as long as I am able, as long as I still enjoy it."

With most of his administrative duties out of the way, Sadler hopes to have free time to pursue some of his other passions, including gardening and traveling. Some of his fondest memories have come from trips to fashion and style conventions around the country.

"I started in the business when roller sets and back-combing were the thing. Big hair, lots of hair," Sadler said. "I can remember going to a meeting one time and seeing curling iron work done for the first time, and I thought, 'We'll never learn how to do that!' But it wasn't a month later before we had our curling irons out and were working with them."

Some of Wayne's clientele have been around since Sadler's early days in the business. And when the day comes that the 65-year-old Sadler finally decides to call it a career, there will certainly be some sad faces beneath those hairdos.

"Some of these people that I worked on 40 years ago are still my clients," Sadler said. "So as I have grown, they have grown, too."

Contact Drew Andersen at (319) 291-1418 or drew.andersen@wcfcourier.com.