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PHOENIX — There are dozens of hair salons in the valley. From the nearest Supercuts or Great Clips to

a high-end Scottsdale salon, there are endless amounts of places to get the job done. However, some smaller businesses are aiming to cultivate much more than just a quick hair refresh.

Switchblade salon is one of those salons. Located in central Phoenix, the Switchblade team has gone the extra mile to ensure their surrounding community feels seen and heard in their salon.

Switchblade specializes in being a safe-space for LGBTQIA+ individuals and emphasize that their practice is not just ‘doing hair’, but encouraging self-care. Switchblade aims to feel less like a stereotypical hair salon, and more like a home.

When you walk into Switchblade, you’re immediately greeted and offered a drink from their “bevvie cart”, where a stylist may offer to make you an assortment of drinks. Candles are likely burning, homey decor covers the walls and you’re encouraged to kick your feet up and watch anything you want on the salon’s television.

If it weren’t for the salon chairs, you may think this was someone’s apartment. It’s an entirely different experience from walking into a regular hair salon.

That’s what salon owner Alex Shoemaker wants out of Switchblade, a comfortable environment where people can feel safe and receive the aid they need.

“My mission has always been to create a safe space for not only the queer community but also a marginalized group of stylists that ultimately don't have a space in the salon industry,” said Shoemaker.

“The industry itself has a lot of toxic behavior and culture that negatively affects all individuals including

clients.”

Shoemaker absorbed Switchblade as a previously established LGBTQIA+ salon, and as a transgender person themself, has looked forward to continuing that experience for many others.

Shoemaker has designed Switchblade to function as not only a salon, but a melting pot of human experiences. They said that it's their lived experiences that allow them to offer a space where other queer people can grow.

“For trans individuals specifically, our outward expression has a massive impact on how we perceive ourselves and how we want to be seen,” said Shoemaker. “Being given the control and responsibility for someone's self esteem is very intimate and puts a unique weight on your shoulders. The outcome has the ability to provide gender euphoria or dysphoria. Trans joy is hard to come by and providing that moment in such an intimate way is unparalleled.”

Salon stylist Van Callaway said the reason he moved from his job working at Toni and Guy to Switchblade was to be a part of this space that cultivates kindness.

“Being at Switchblade has given me better access to my community,” said Callaway. “I want to be a part of a space where people don’t have to feel like they need to mask or be on the defensive about everything.”

Callaway said working in such a sterile environment at Toni and Guy is what made him love Switchblade so much. He said that when you walk into Switchblade, it’s an entirely different process.

“The minute you walk into somewhere like that, where it’s sterile and ultra-professional, you start comparing yourself to everyone around you,” said Callaway. “Here, I want my community to come in and just be able to be who they are, and it’s possible.”

Callaway said that he appreciates how Switchblade operates because they focus on how individualistic appearance really is. He stresses Shoemaker’s sentiments of not being a part of the beauty industry, but being in the business of self-care.

“I think when it comes to your physical outside, it needs to connect with what’s going on inside,” said Callaway. “The way you see yourself and what you look like is actually so personal and it’s important that you resonate with that.”

Callaway said that at Switchblade, members of the queer community can thrive because they are not expected to fit into a mold. He said that the queer community is able to sit down and go through the process of figuring themselves out in the salon chair.

“It’s a very labor intensive thing to do, to sit down and actually audit what you look like and what you want to look like,” said Callaway. “I think it’s a thing that every single queer person experiences, and I feel so lucky that I can help with that process in the salon.”

One of Van’s clients, Emily Laflamme McDaniel, said that's why she followed Van to Switchblade. She said that as an ally to the queer community, it’s very important to have spaces built for those smaller communities.

“I think it’s sad that we have to have conversations about where we can and can’t feel safe,” said McDaniel. “I think that as the people who maybe aren’t as marginalized, we should do a better job of seeking out places that are open to everyone, and it will encourage others to do the same.”

McDaniel says that following Van to Switchblade was an easy decision because of how much she trusts Van.

“It’s not just about going somewhere and getting your hair done,” said McDaniel. “It’s about having that trust, it’s about building a rapport with someone.”

McDaniel works for the 24/7 chat and call crisis line 988, where she provides support for people who maybe going through crises or hard times in life. She said that what Switchblade is doing for the community is very similar to what she does.

“At work, we let people who are going through a tough time and are reaching out know that we’ve been down in that hole before, and we know the way out,” said McDaniel. “Van does the same for his clients,he gets down in the hole with you and helps you see the way out.”