Hive Hair Studio in Lansing doesn’t charge men $20 and women $40. They include everyone, regardless of gender identity and without judgment.
“It's not just a haircut,” said client Ash Disselhorst. “It's personhood, it's confidence. It's part of who everyone is.”
Hive Hair Studio in Lansing made it their mission to empower everyone for who they are. During the pandemic they created a space that’s not only COVID-safe, but also safe for the LGBTQ community.
“It is a judgment free zone,” said Hive Hair Studio owner and stylist Jamie Ferris. “If they choose to share anything with us: Cool. If not, that's fine, too.”
Ferris owns Hive Hair Studio with stylists Lexan Cranfill and Katie Pickett in a building on East Michigan Avenue with only women-owned businesses.
Ferris said they would never judge or turn down a client for the hair style they want.
“We want to cut their hair so that they feel like them,” said Cranfill, “and that they look in the mirror and think ‘Wow, this is who I am’.”
In contrast to many other hair salons, they take gender out of the equation and don’t price by separating male and female hairstyles.
“Our price points are short, medium, long. It's not male, female,” Ferris said. She said sometimes cutting a woman's hair short takes just as long as it does to cut a man’s hair. “So why should we be charging more for this or that?”
“This is actually the first hair salon I've ever been to,” Disselhorst said. “Part of it was that when I realized that I wanted to transition, I made it my goal to not have my hair cut until I was comfortable with who I was…and that took about two years.”
Client Megan Shannon, the owner of Tiny Bit Of Wood, said she hated her hair her whole life before coming to Hive Hair Studio.
“My friend recommended this place as a good spot to go for somebody that could give me a haircut that's not incredibly feminine or super masculine, which is something I was never able to find before coming here,” Shannon said.
At Tiny Bit Of Wood, Shannon sells wood art and furniture and offers woodworking classes to women and non-binary people.
Disselhorst said Hive Hair Studio is a place of healing and feeling protected.
“Something I see during a common rebuttal is ‘Oh, well, it's just a haircut’ or ‘Oh, who really cares?’ or ‘Is this really the problem that needs to be solved?’,” Disselhorst said. “For people who grew up the way that they were born, people who are cisgender: Who taught you how to cut your hair? Who taught you how to shave? Who taught you how to apply makeup? That's your family and for some of us, we don't have that opportunity. So, it's not really just a haircut or some first world problem. It's a moral imperative, I feel, because who else is going to teach you at this point.”
Cranfill said there is a stigma in the salon industry where people think that it’s meant for higher income clients and luxury services.
“We want to give everybody access to those services,” Cranfill said. “Me, specifically, as a plus size woman, I know I've been in salons and felt very uncomfortable before because there's no one that looks like me. So, we just really want to create a different atmosphere.”
They just recently joined the Dress Code Project, an effort to help businesses create a gender-neutral space.
On June 12, Hive Hair Studio will host an event from noon to 4 p.m. to provide free gender affirming haircuts for new clients. Members of the LGBTQ community who are interested can text (517) 338-3073 to book an appointment.
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