Jamie DiGrazia sheds light on the imperative shift towards gender-neutral pricing and consultations. As a Sam Villa Ambassador, Redken Artist, and the visionary behind Logan Parlor Salon and Hair Has No Gender. Jamie advocates for a new era of inclusivity and gender-affirming practices within the realm of hairstyling. Discover how these concepts are reshaping the landscape of salons, fostering an atmosphere where everyone can feel seen, heard, and truly embraced for who they are.
“Gender-free pricing and gender-free consultations are a must for our industry to usher in a new era of inclusivity and gender-affirming practices within the hair world,” explains Jamie DiGrazia, Sam Villa Ambassador, Redken Artist, Owner of Logan Parlor Salon @loganparlorhair and Founder of Hair Has No Gender @hair_has_no_gender.
How salon professionals craft their messaging and train their staff is vital to creating safe beauty spaces where everyone feels not only heard, but safe, seen, and celebrated. Hear DiGrazia, Sam Villa, Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of Sam Villa and Global Artistic Ambassador for Redken and others speak about the concept, scroll here.
Steps To Create a More Inclusive Salon Environment
How can a salon join the movement? DiGrazia offers the following tips.
- Pronouns: To ensure everyone feels safe, supported, and advocated for, simply ask the salon team and clients to share their gender/pronouns as often as they'd like. Pronouns change and expand in the queer community, offering the space to share helps normalize the practice. There are many places to share personal gender pronouns and ask for someone else's.
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- Digitally - on the website, and in the booking system, on social media and email signature lines.
- In Person - over the phone, asking for names and pronouns, offering and wearing name tags and pronoun pins.
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- Gender-Free Pricing: Basing a service menu on factors such as time, cost of goods, technique, or hair length can be more convenient for booking, maximize the schedule, grow a customer base and most importantly have clients feel safe, seen and celebrated. DiGrazia explains here.
- Gender-Affirming Consultations: There is a time to have gender free consultations, to see shape for just what it is, gender aside. There is also a time to have gender-affirming consultations. Only a person can decide to share how they would like to express their gender through their hair. Creating a safe space for them to communicate is key. Gender expression plays a huge factor in hair and each person can only share what that means to them. This will be unique to each guest and there is no wrong in this, keep an open mind and have creative freedom from social constructs for both the stylist and guest.
- Honor and Offer Pronouns – A stylist should share their pronouns first, so the guest knows how to address them, and asking a guest how they would like to be addressed will ensure a comfortable experience for both.
- Gratitude - Giving thanks for the opportunity to serve a guest, for their business and possibly a referral.
- Practice Active and Deep Listening - Active listening requires a stylist to listen attentively, understand what someone is saying, respond/reflect on what's being said, and retain the information for later. This keeps everyone engaged in the conversation, and it's an essential building block for a relationship and offering a professional opinion on a great hair plan. Consider sitting at eye level and not talking through the mirror to create more connection so a guest can feel comfortable opening up about what they want for themselves through their hair.
- Consent – Ask questions such as, “Can I ask you a few questions so I can offer you some suggestions?” and “May I touch your hair now?”
- Use Gender Inclusive Language while talking about the shape and giving compliments.
- Suitability - Focus on the 3 elements of shape - perimeter, silhouette and texture, and ask open-ended questions about each for clarity and to determine options. Having artful questioning to connect and collaborate, such as:
- “How do you want to feel, what vibe are we going for?”
- “What do you want to enhance?
- “Is there anything you want to see less of?”
- “Do you have any inspiration photos or references of styles you can share?”
- Offer a Professional Opinion – Not only on collaborating on the creation of the style, but on styling with Sam Villa tools and product/treatment suggestions, as well. It’s very important for guests to understand how to maintain and recreate their style from home.
DiGrazia says it’s also important to ADVOCATE!
- Call state reps about the state's gender discrimination bills.
- Research and vote in all elections, local and federal.
- Donate/fundraise for human rights organizations.
- List businesses on the HAIR HAS NO GENDER™ SERVICE FINDER here.
- Sign the petition to include textured hair in state board cosmetology testing standards here.
Creating more inclusive imagery is also important – the above model was cut with a Sam Villa Signature Series Razor (straight and texture blades).
- Straight graduation of the sides, top, crown, and back
- Scooping graduation in the nape
- Trimmer over comb on the sideburn area - carve in a hard bold line to disconnect.
“Artists take requests to help serve someone's gender expression through hair, however, they envision it…what an honor,” adds DiGrazia. Learn more about Hair Has No Gender here and find out where DiGrazia is teaching for Sam Villa here.
Credit: Hair/Jamie DiGrazia; Photographer/Chris Hershman; Model/Tricia Serpe
