Jules Heron has been working as a hairdresser in Oregon since 2018. Their salon, Hair for Humans, specializes in gender-affirming cuts and has amassed over 170,000 followers on social media.
Jules' videos showcase the entire process, from consultations to the before-and-after reveals, culminating in a satisfied client's smile.
The idea to fund the salon stemmed from the 35-year-old's personal experience of feeling like they didn't fit in at either traditional barbershops or salons.
Highlights
- Jules Heron founded the Hair for Humans salon to provide gender-affirming haircuts.
- The salon has gone viral with over 170,000 followers on social media.
- Jules' salon offers a safe space for diverse gender identities, striving to provide clients with a haircut that truly reflects who they are.
Image credits: hairforhumans
At the barbershop, they were "treated differently" than other clients. At the salon, they often left with a haircut that was more feminine than what they had in mind.
The term gender-affirming is an umbrella term that describes the process of living as your authentic gender, which may not align with the sex you were assigned at birth.
As noted by the American Psychiatric Association (APA), this identity can run anywhere along a continuum that includes man, woman, a combination of the two, neither of two, or fluid.
Image credits: hairforhumans
Gender-affirming care can include any single or combination of a number of social, psychological, behavioral, or medical (including hormonal treatment or surgery) interventions designed to support and affirm an individual's gender identity, as per the World Health Organization.
"I started Hair For Humans to help my community feel supported, heard, and taken care of in one of the most important aspects of your expression," Jules' bio reads. The motto of Hair for Humans: Come as you are, leave who you want to be.
The 35-year-old is the owner and founder of Hair for Humans, located in Portland, Oregon
Image credits: KATU
“I define a gender-affirming cut as any cut or style that makes you feel euphoric in your presentation,” Jules told Bored Panda in an email.
While the term is often associated with the LGBTQ+ community, the licensed stylist also has cisgender clients (a person whose gender identity corresponds to their sex assigned at birth).
“People don't know that men getting a masculine cut in a barbershop is an affirming cut, because it affirms your gender as a man," they added.
“I wanted to create an environment where everyone could feel seen and heard with what they wanted for their own presentation without being told ‘You shouldn't get that because of XYZ.’”
Image credits: hairforhumans
Jules stresses that many people find it challenging to know or explain what they want and end up walking out with a haircut they don't feel confident with. Also, many hairdressers don't know how to interpret their clients' instructions.
“People don't get what they want because of a few reasons: the clients don't know what to look for/don't know the terminology; it also has a lot to do with continued education.
“In Oregon, we aren't required to do continued education for hair, so we aren't required to learn about new trends, new techniques, etc, so a lot of stylists aren't confident behind the chair when someone asks for something they aren't familiar with, so they essentially fake it to make it.”
Additionally, hairdressers often fail to ask enough questions during consultations. “There's not enough curiosity in the consultation, a lot of times people come in with a picture of what they think they want and the stylist will start cutting without asking, ‘What do you like about that cut?’ because a lot of times, people only like aspects of the cut and not the whole cut itself.”
"I started Hair For Humans to help my community feel supported, heard, and taken care of in one of the most important aspects of your expression," Jules explained
Image credits: cottonbro studio/Pexels (Not the actual photo)
Image credits: KATU
“A good consultation is when there is a conversation with curiosity, compassion, a desire to understand, and an adaptability for change.
“I always tell my clients, ‘It would balance this out to do this, would you like that?’ instead of saying, ‘It’ll balance it out therefore that's what we are doing.'
“I'm not here to tell you what you want for your hair and presentation. I can tell you what balances out a shape, but I'm not going to force anything if what they want for their presentation doesn't line up with my suggestions.”
Their videos have amassed millions of views on TikTok
They have also begun offering online appointments to teach people how to cut their own hair, which they plan to share on their page as video tutorials.
The hairdresser opened up about their personal experience of feeling more confident after receiving gender-affirming care
Since going viral, their salon, located in Portland, Oregon, is now quite busy. Some clients even travel from other states to have their hair cut by Jules. The furthest anyone has traveled for a haircut with them is from Ohio, approximately 2,400 miles (3,860 km) away.
"The magic that happens to people when they feel like themselves after is lovely to see," commented a viewer
