San Juan Bautista resident Laynee Reyna spent nearly 75 years
without wearing full makeup. She went years without cutting her
long, flowing silver-grey locks that went down to her waist.
San Juan Bautista resident Laynee Reyna spent nearly 75 years without wearing full makeup. She went years without cutting her long, flowing silver-gray locks that went down to her waist.
And born and raised on a country farm, Reyna never stepped foot in New York City.
But on one whirlwind of a week, Reyna did all of those things in a makeover for the Oprah Winfrey-approved The Nate Berkus Show. She was invited to the show because she was “growing old gracefully,” and they wanted to give her a makeover in celebration, Reyna said.
The Nate Berkus Show is a syndicated talk show and a spinoff of The Oprah Winfrey Show, whose syndicate produces the show. Its host, Berkus, is an interior designer and it made its national debut Sept. 13.
Reyna is most known in the area for starting the San Juan Bautista Indian Market and Peace Pow Wow more than 27 years ago.
For Reyna, it all started from a simple response to a December airing of a Berkus celebration of those who celebrate and welcome their gray hair, Reyna said. Quickly after the show, Reyna sent a message to the producers, telling about her pride of her long hair.
Her hair, which Reyna believes is sacred, at the time was down to her waist and hadn’t been cut in a few years. She grows and cuts her hair in dedication of others – always donating her hair to Locks of Love.
The show’s producers quickly scheduled a series of interviews with Reyna, trying to get her story.
“They were incredibly detailed,” she said.
Digging into her past, they asked her questions about being an Air Force veteran of the Korean War, where she worked on the American base’s hospital. As a medical specialist, Reyna looked after the injured personnel.
Diving more into her past, the show talked about her time as a doctor flying down to Mexico to help children in need.
“They asked about everything,” she said.
And on Jan. 18, the producers invited Reyna out to New York for a makeover.
“When they told me, I nearly dropped dead,” she said.
Over the next few days the “magical whirlwind” of a week sent her through the biggest city she had ever been to, and she liked it.
“New York City would be the last place that I would want to be,” she said. “But it was thrilling. It was a whole different energy.”
And that energy continued into her makeover, she said.
Working with hairdresser Guy Guido, Reyna reshaped her look. He hair was trimmed to her shoulders, and for the first time she wore more makeup than just lipstick.
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“It’s something I’ve never done before in my life,” Reyna said.
But it was all exhilarating, she said. The producers created a short video of her and gave her money and direction for new clothes.
“It brings out a different energy and elevates the spirit,” she said.
She only met Berkus for a short 10 minutes after a background video was shown to the audience and her new look was revealed, but she loved every minute of it. She was introduced to him beforehand.
“I really like The Nate Berkus show – he is a really wonderful young man,” she said. “I told him it was a studio of dreams and I was in heaven.”
Reyna’s tapping of the show will air Feb. 3 on KCBA FOX 35 at either 9 a.m. or 2 p.m.
