BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Hair is a big deal. People invest a lot of their identity into how they choose to wear their hair, and it's a way to show one's authentic self, but for some members of the LGBTQIA+ community, it's not always as straightforward as that. One salon in Bakersfield is helping make the process as comfortable as possible.
Studio Groove Salon at Sola Salon Studios in northwest Bakersfield has made it a mission to create a welcoming space for everyone to feel comfortable in their own skin. Clients will find all the things they expect to find in a hair salon, but they won't find one thing they find too often at other salons: judgement.
Studio Groove owner and stylist Raven Carnes knows very well how hostile salons can be towards the LGBTQ community.
"After having the experience where some transphobic comments were made, I felt really uncomfortable and it didn't feel like they were comfortable with me being there, too," said Carnes.
Salon client Willow Herder also felt uncomfortable trying to get what she wanted from traditional hairstylists.
"I had been to barbers to do mens' haircuts, but Raven's was the first salon where I truly felt comfortable enough to express myself," said Herder. Before she started coming to Studio Groove, she would go to a barber for a traditional buzzcut. When she finally decided to get the long hair she'd always imagined, "It was overwhelming in the best possible way."
"It feels weird that a hair cut can mean so much," adds Herder. "You think, 'Oh, it's just a hair cut,' but it really almost feels life-changing in a way that you finally get to see who you really are."
According to Carnes, that's why they opened the salon, and Studio Groove has grown its customer base so much that the business needed to move into a bigger space, providing evidence that their no-judgement approach was needed in this community.
"There are men that come in and want a long hair cut and there are women who come in and want a short hair cut and there are nonbinary people who don't fit into any of those categories," said Carnes.
The Studio Groove approach has made it easier for clients like Herder to walk out feeling true to themselves.
"Where I can be myself, and know that wen I leave here, I will feel much more confident just existing in the world," said Herder.
Studio Groove's commitment to a judgement-free atmosphere goes even further, as Carnes also runs a "Give a Cut" program where guests can donate and clients can apply for a reduced-cost cut and style for those who may need Studio Groove's safety but can't make it fit into their budget.
"It is hard to feel good about ourselves," said Carnes. "You know, you get up, you look in the mirror, and you don't present to the world the way you want to present, and I don't want a financial barrier to prevent somebody from feeling like themselves."
