Keratin Collective
Addee Kim, YH STAFF
Most people have memories of their hair being cut by a friend or family member. We look back at school photos featuring bowl-cuts and other dated hairstyles with fondness and amusement. Though we may have dreaded them at the time, there is something incredibly endearing about a haircut from a loved one, even if slanted bangs, asymmetrical ends, and ear nicks are inevitably collateral damage.
At some point, however, we decide that we are above the homegrown haircut and we outsource the job to stylists, entrusting them with our locks and money. We go from spending nothing to maintain our ’do to spending a fortune. I’ve found that the cheapest haircut I can find in New Haven is around $50. Three haircuts a semester plus a 20% tip — you do the math.
Moreover, salons can often be extremely gendered spaces, and people outside the binary can find themselves in uncomfortable or even dangerous situations when they go to get their hair cut. I, for one, have accepted far too many feminine haircuts due to the insistence of my barber that long hair “suits my face shape more.” This is why many inclusive salons, whose mission it is to service trans, queer, and gender-nonconforming people, are popping up in major cities across the U.S. However, these salons tend to be more expensive than your generic barber shop because they are oftentimes located in higher-income neighborhoods and entering a smaller market.
These days, it seems like it’s harder than ever to take care of the hair on our heads — especially those of us who exist outside typical norms. We need is a solution. I’m venturing to propose a project of social collectivity in the form of a salon cooperative: the Yale Hair Co-op.
As a community-owned organization whose members are equal participants in its organization and operation, the co-op that I’m imagining would be housed in a permanent space. Realistically, this would require a bit of community investment, but once we get the ball rolling, the cost of labor would be cut (no pun intended), the only expense being the supplies and products. Members would benefit from learning to cut hair and subsidized haircuts.
But I can’t start the co-op alone. First off, I don’t know how to cut hair. But if you do, and if you’re interested in starting the Yale Hair Coop, shoot me an email at addee.kim@yale.edu, and we’ll get this (hair)ball rolling.
