José Antonio used to work as an electrician, but after a battle with depression, he found himself living on the streets of Majorca.
At 55, José had been living homeless for 25 years, and it showed.
His scruffy, bushy gray beard and straggly hair poking out from under his cap were well known in the area
He had been getting by parking cars at a local lot, which is how he happened to meet Salva Garcia, who owns a nearby salon.
Salva offered to give José a free makeover at his salon, La Salvajería.
When José sat down in the chair at the salon, he asked that, after being allowed one last look at himself, the doors on the mirror be closed.
He wanted to see if opening them again would be symbolic of open up a new door in his life. He couldn't have known how right he would be...
The makeover began like so many do: with heaps of hair being cut away.
Years of neglect and hard living fell away as the scissors and clippers in the stylists' talented hands trimmed José's hair and beard.
They didn't get rid of his beard altogether, however.
Just some sculpting and shaping would suffice to give José a new look.
The stylists also brushed on a thick coat of hair dye to take the gray out of his hair.
And don't think they forgot about his beard!
He's going to be hard to recognize when all this is done.
It took some time for the dye to work.
It's kind of funny how even José gets that look of tedium on his face while he's in the stylist's chair.
But when it did work, he looked like a new man.
It's hard to believe this guy has ever spent even one night homeless, let alone 25 years.
A final trim and a blow dry put the finishing touches on an epic makeover.
These guys clearly know their stuff.
They even did his eyebrows!
Talk about service and attention to detail. However, at this point he still doesn't know how good he looks...
When those doors over the mirror finally opened up, José could hardly contain himself.
He couldn't stop smiling at the new face in the mirror.
Blinking back tears, he was overcome with emotion. "My god, this is incredible," he said. "Is this me? I'm so different, no one's going to recognize me unless I tell them who I am."
Of course, that was exactly what he had to put to the test.
So, dressed in a new, clean white shirt and some stylish pants and shoes, José donned some shades and went back out to his neighborhood.
Not only did nobody recognize him – including a waiter at a bar near his local hangouts – José even got some compliments from passing women.
Talk about a dramatic makeover. José is a new man now – still looking for proper work, but in a much better position, and much happier.
Good luck, José!
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