4 Salon & Hair Resources Dedicated to the LGBTQIA+ Community All Year Round

Uplifting diverse communities and folks of all kinds shouldn’t be a blip on the radar; learn from salons who make it their mission.

Plenty of companies roll out their rainbow carpets every June in honor of Pride Month. But beyond that corporate lip service, many salons demonstrate their commitment to the LGBTQIA+ community all year round. Here are some of the salons and resources that embody the spirit of pride, supporting and celebrating all genders, sexes, and sexualities, day in and day out.

Acute Salon in Fort Worth, Texas

As Fort Worth’s first gender-neutral salon, Acute Salon taps into beauty spaces’ roots as hubs of community and connection. Their business model is built on not just inclusivity but also activism, with a mission of “cutting through the shaggy overgrowth of gendered salon atmospheres.” Instead of pricing haircuts based on gender, Acute offers a full range of cut, color, texture, and extension services based on hair length and time spent. The salon also provides educational programs for salon professionals and a series of LGBTQIA+ resources that anyone in the community can use all year long.

Salon Benders in Long Beach, California

Salon Benders describes itself as a full-service beauty salon focused on “LGBTQIA+ competency and wellbeing.” Pricing is hourly based on the complexity of the service being provided, and there are also options for introverts who aren’t in the mood to chat in the salon chair. Salon Benders offers resource sharing programs like pay-what-you-can and give-a-cut structures that allow those who can to support those in need. The salon strives to bake inclusivity and community into everything it does, from hair services to arts events and educational workshops.

Strands for Trans, Nationwide

The Strands For Trans initiative seeks to undo the harm of traditionally gendered hair services. Instead of dictating that salons are for women and barbershops are for men, the beauty businesses associated with Strands for Trans seek specifically to make trans people feel welcome. Turning the iconic barber pole into a pink, white, and blue beacon is just one way that Strands for Trans founders Xavier Cruz and JP Gomez have helped over 7,000 hair businesses around the world show off their commitment to the trans community. And trans clients can use the database of aligned salons and barbershops to find a shop near them.

ProjectQ in Los Angeles, California

Haircuts, color, and wigs are just the start of the services ProjectQ offers LGBTQIA+ people dealing with low income and housing insecurity. They also provide donated clothing and accessories, food and hygiene boxes, paid internships and job placement services, and more. A retrofitted Airstream (dubbed “The Hairstream,” of course) takes ProjectQ’s gender-affirming services and support on tour from Los Angeles to locations across the country, engaging and uplifting the LGBTQIA+, QTPOC, and BIPOC communities everywhere they go.