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Before meeting Santiago, Bigari had never had a haircut that made him feel like himself. He hadn’t learned about what products to use with his short hair or what to do with his beard. Like Hendricks, when he came out and started his transition, he wasn’t comfortable in the “ultramasculine environment” of a barbershop. Noah, a true maestro of hairstyling hailing from the enchanting Pacific Northwest, effortlessly carries on the rich tapestry of his family’s hair legacy that spans across four awe-inspiring generations.
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Our spa services will allow you to enhance your features and look your best for any occasion. Having thick curly hair herself, she can appreciate the needs you may have with natural curl. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission. The Northshore area is known for its eclectic mix of independent boutiques, cozy cafes, gastropubs, and popular neighborhood restaurants. The salon is situated on Fraizer Ave, a hub of activity in the Northshore area.

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The salon often has booths at local outreach events, giving free scalp massages and raising money to offer discounted haircuts for customers who need it. For the queer community, hair — with its gendered undertones — can be difficult to navigate. When salons are for women and barbershops are for men, where do you go to get a haircut? Queer customers travel from far and wide to get new looks in a safe space at Salon Benders. Experience the epitome of luxury at Hair Benders Salon, the unrivaled destination for the crème de la crème of our community. Our unwavering dedication to excellence, combined with our relentless pursuit of knowledge, sets us apart from the rest.
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Continuing education has always been a vital importance to Allison’s career. Allison continues to take classes with well known artists from Redken and Pureology. Located in the heart of the trendy Northshore area of Chattanooga, Hair Benders Internationalé’s second location is the go-to destination for all your hair needs. This Redken Black Elite Salon offers a wide range of services, including cuts, conditioning, coloring, highlights, extensions, textures, and smoothing. Bigari works as a school liaison for the LGBTQ Center Long Beach, providing youth and family services and advocating for students.
The five stylists they employ are paid hourly plus commission, receive paid time off and money for continuing education. It’s uncommon in the hair industry, and it’s not a sustainable model, Santiago admits. Owner Jessie Santiago opened the salon in 2017 with her partner, Cal Bigari. Hairstylists are trained not only in haircutting techniques but also in communication and a trauma-informed approach to working with LGBTQ clients.
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Noah is renowned for his exceptional expertise with the Bellami extensions. They’ve tried both salons and barbershops but were frequently misgendered and given pixie cuts or under-shaves they didn’t want. Stylists made them uncomfortable and didn’t ask for consent before touching their hair — something heavily emphasized at Salon Benders because of the trauma many queer people face. Of course, much like with haircutting scissors, some clippers are better than others.
Experiencing a transformative cut and color, restorative hair treatments, and relaxing nail services is as simple as putting yourself in our capable hands. Our team employs thorough consultations at the beginning of each appointment to ensure we understand your needs and deliver a personalized treatment just for you. Us Weekly has affiliate partnerships so we may receive compensation for some links to products and services. To find out which clippers are the best for you, we talked to several barbers and stylists who know what's up. Ahead, find eight of their recommendations for anyone looking to add a solid pair of clippers to their hair-care collection and brush up on their cutting skills.
If you resonate with these values and wish to engage, kindly complete this screening form to explore potential collaborations. Due to this unique approach, appointments may have longer wait times, require advance booking, and not all requests can be accommodated. The Orange County resident previously got a mullet — partially by accident — but liked the way the stylists at Salon Benders fixed it up for her and has stuck with the look ever since.
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Led by the visionary Shelia Ferguson, a distinguished Redken Performing Artist with over two decades of expertise, our salon is a sanctuary where beauty and innovation intertwine. As a elite salon, we bring you the latest trends and timeless sophistication, with exclusive Hair care like Kerastase, Ouidad, Redken, Pureology, olaplex ensuring that your visit is nothing short of a star-studded affair. Step into a world where glamour and serenity seamlessly merge – welcome to Hair Benders Salon, the preferred choice. As a Redken Black Elite Salon, Hair Benders Internationalé upholds the highest Redken Standards in consultations and services.
In this sanctuary, I uphold principles of consent, autonomy, courage, honesty, and respect, and I invite you to actively engage in our shared space. Before joining the newsroom in 2018, she worked in Colombia, South America and at the Naples Daily News in Florida. Her work has been awarded an Emmy, POYi, Sigma Delta Chi and Edward R. Murrow. Maxwell received a master’s degree in visual communication from Ohio University and a bachelor of arts from Sarah Lawrence College.
Switching to scissors, she trimmed and shaped his Afro, checking in periodically to make sure Hendricks was OK with the length. “I was very excited and nervous to get a haircut because it would be the first change that everyone else would notice,” Hendricks said. Still, you don't have to spend an arm and a leg on a pair of clippers to get a quality pair of clippers. There are plenty of worthy options for under $100, as well as ones for less than $50.
Relax and enjoy the complimentary hand or foot massage that accompanies your service. Spa HBI also offers paraffin treatments, salt glow scrubs and moisturizing therapies to revitalize and hydrate your skin. After Hendricks left feeling more like himself, a few customers remained that Thursday afternoon. One of them was Adrie Silva, who came into her fourth appointment at Salon Benders wanting a big change. With a pair of electric clippers, Meador gave him an undercut; the sound buzzed through the quiet salon and long ringlets blanketed the floor below.
Five hours of bleaching and dyeing later, Silva’s mullet “literally looks like purple quartz,” hairstylist Meador said as she walked by. Santiago also emphasizes creating a healthy work environment for her stylists after her own experiences with burnout. In another corner of the salon, Kasa Niesner sat in a leopard-print salon gown as a hairstylist worked bleach through their strands. Meador finished off the cut by massaging hair tonic into his scalp and working curling cream through the strands, painstakingly shaping each curl with her fingers. But when he came out to his family, they were comforting and supportive — and finally understood why he wanted his hair short for so long. Where to hang out in Los Angeles when you want to meet queer folks but don’t want to roll up to the usual gay bars and clubs.

This distinction is awarded to only 200 salons worldwide, making Hair Benders Internationalé a true standout in the hair care industry. Welcome to Hair Benders Internationalé, your premier destination for expert hair coloring and styling services in the heart of Chattanooga! We are proud to be the only Redken Elite and Intercoiffure salon in the area, and we’re committed to providing our guests with an unparalleled salon experience. Step into my petite retreat, where art, haircare, healing, and connections blend effortlessly. Operating beyond traditional business norms, I focus on fostering relationships and sharing space with kindred spirits. Inspired by the 18th-century 'salon' concept but with a contemporary twist, it's a speakeasy for beauty, healing, and art.
Barber clippers come in handy for a multitude of reasons — including, but not limited to, keeping facial hair fresh, cleaning up buzz cuts, and trimming your pubic hair, if you prefer. Plus, while salons were temporarily shut down due to the COVID-19 crisis, they became especially helpful to have in your stash for maintenance purposes. Now that salons are slowly starting to reopen, it's still good to have these in your medicine cabinet just in case you need a touch-up, or in the hopefully rare case, we ever find ourselves in another lockdown.
It’s no wonder Hair Benders has been recognized as one of the top 200 salons in the country by Salon Today Magazine. Sheila was also awarded the 2010 Kingsport Small Business Award for First Place in Woman-Owned Business Enterprise.