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GREENSBORO ­— The only thing in Heather Eastridge's world is her client's hair.

There are no distractions.

No noises.

No chatting.

Just Eastridge, biting her lip while pulling rollers out of Margaret Rohrle's freshly set hair and fluffing it into a corona. Eastridge, rocking slightly in her tiny black ballet flats as she focuses on getting every step of the style just right.

Rohrle, who is 79 and a longtime client of Leon's Beauty School, knows precisely what she wants. But she doesn't tell Eastridge through speaking.

Instead, she picks up a dry-erase board, uncaps a marker and begins to write.

Eastridge reads Rohrle's comments, nods and goes back to work without a word.

It's not that this aspiring stylist from Eden can't use her voice. It's just that Eastridge, who is 24, has never heard anyone else talk. Being born deaf in a hearing world hasn't kept her, however, from her dream: becoming a stylist and, someday, working at a punk salon.

This spring she became the first deaf student to enter the cosmetology program at the longtime local beauty school. When she graduates, likely in March, Eastridge will have cut, styled, primped and made up hundreds of clients — most, if not all, of whom have never encountered a deaf stylist.

And Eastridge, who has one arm of tattoos, has already decided how to mark her graduation. When she becomes a stylist, she'll tattoo the other arm with a sleeve of beauty-related images, including hair spray, shears and a hair dryer.

During her first three months at Leon's, the young woman already has changed the perspectives of students and teachers she sees daily. Among them is Parker Washburn, the school's owner and the woman who tried, at first, to keep Eastridge from coming.

"I thought, 'What if we fail her?'" Washburn said of her initial response to admitting a deaf student. "I thought of every negative thing that could happen to that child."

But Eastridge would not back down. She wanted to be a stylist, and she needed training from the best teachers if she was to have a shot at working in a field where communicating with customers is key.

From the first, she surprised Washburn.

Part of it was Eastridge's appearance: The numerous piercings. The dozen tattoos. The hair colors that change weekly from red to black to turquoise to green.

"I guess you have this illusion of what people are going to be," Washburn said. "And she walked in with bright red hair, at that time, and even more facial jewelry. And that wonderful smile."

Washburn caved.

And Eastridge began studying at Leon's in May.

She learned to do perms, updos, nails, facials and waxing. She followed lectures with help from an interpreter, while other students took notes for her. She tried to watch an instructional video, only to find it wasn't closed-captioned.

At times, she became discouraged. That's when Steve Lindley, a longtime Leon's instructor who found out he'd be teaching a deaf student just weeks before Eastridge arrived, stepped in.

"I wouldn't give up," Lindley said. "I wouldn't because, literally, Heather is just like any other student with me."

Lindley has learned to sign the alphabet and "tons" of words. He and Eastridge have come up with styling-specific gestures, such as a rubbing of both hands around the head to signal hair conditioner. And Eastridge has given Lindley and other instructors shorthand pet names in sign language.

Meanwhile, the school developed systems to help her work with clients. Eastridge, who said through an interpreter that she has had bad haircuts when stylists did not pay attention, seems most concerned about the details.

Clients like Rohrle, who has a deaf niece and nephew, know some sign language. But many do not. So Eastridge uses a dry-erase board and marker to chat with them. She has plans for an introductory card that will tell customers who she is and ask them for basic information on their desired looks. And she hopes to have a book of styles to show to clients someday, so they can point to their choice.

"She has been so open and forgiving," Washburn said. "I guess we are all the ones who are disabled. Not Heather."

Eastridge's station partner, student Melissa Brooks, has been focused on learning from Eastridge and talking without an interpreter.

"I want to learn to sign from Heather so that we don't have that barrier between us," said Brooks, who is 25 and lives in Kernersville.

The pair also talk by e-mail and text messages.

"It's getting more personal," Brooks said. "It's just like anybody who's learning a different language. You start with the basics."

Eastridge's lifelong communication with hearing people should help her face the next challenge — finding a salon job. Washburn says she'll likely hire Eastridge at a Leon's salon.

And now that the beauty school owner has seen Eastridge's achievements and passion, she is open to applications from future deaf students.

"The hardest thing for a deaf student wanting to enroll after Heather," Washburn said, "probably will be overcoming Heather."

Contact Michelle Jarboe at 373-7075 or mjarboe@news-record.com