Inclusivity is our main priority at Chameleon

I personally feel like setting out to make Chameleon Salon an inclusive space was probably a little easier for us than it may have been for others. (Thank you to my tortured childhood). For most of my young life I felt like I was on the outside looking in, wanting and longing to just be accepted and included. I mean if you’ve met me you know i’m like a really cool person (hehe) so why did I spend years feeling left out?! As much as I wish I could go back and change the past, it really did shape me into this glorious human I turned out to be today! And although I cannot go back and change the past for younger me (and spare said torture) I took a nice long inventory on how I can NEVER, EVER let someone feel the way I was made to feel back then. I am not a lesser human because I am in a bigger body! (Hope the childhood monsters are reading this one!) Madelyn and I knew we never wanted someone to feel excluded in our salon  (especially for being fat!). Your comfort, safety, and experience are very important to us.

I’m gonna throw some definitions your way for a second so bear with me; 

Inclusive:

“Including or covering all the series, facilities or items normally expected or required.”

“Not excluding any of the parties or groups involved in something.”

Excluded:

“Deny access to a group, place or privilege.”

“Remove consideration, rule out.”

I am so freaking happy there are so many of us yelling into the void about inclusivity more these days. Especially size inclusivity. The days of my childhood where it was almost normal to be excluded and picked on ESPECIALLY FOR BEING FAT is so over. If you are still out there walking around like a total d-bag excluding people, making assumptions or judging blindly it’s time to do better! Get therapy! Just stop acting like a shit human. Or, here’s a idea! Maybe just keep your mouth shut. Didn’t your mama teach you if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all?!? Take it back to basics people! Lead with kindness and respect. If you’ve worked with me or been in the salon with me you know I try to lead with kindness and respect every day (and obviously a healthy side of sass).

When Madelyn and I first started with Chameleon’s “re-brand” however many years ago (This had to have been way back in 2016) we just wanted to make a space where every body is welcome. Again for the folks in the back, we wanted a space where E-V-E-R-Y    B-O-D-Y    I-S    W-E-L-C-O-M-E. We are a salon that specializes in big color transformations. These services can go anywhere from 4-8 hours or more so you bet your ass we want you to be comfortable for your time we are keeping you in that chair!

Here’s a list of the top 10 things I feel like we have implemented around the salon to make it a truly inclusive place to be!

1. Pricing. At Chameleon our pricing is not defined by gender but by the services you desire.

2. Wheelchair Accessibility. Each side of our Sellwood Chameleon location has one wheelchair-accessible entrance! This is an upgrade from our past building that made it a little hard to be accessible in this department!

3. Size Inclusive! (This specific topic will be a blog all on its own someday!) We have extra wide salon chairs (they do have arms, so please let us know if you need an alternate solution). All of our hydraulic bases are rated up to 800 pounds! 

4. Size Inclusive! We put the dimensions of our chairs online incase you like to know what chair you’re going to be sitting in for hours!

5. Dryer Couches! We decided cramped traditional hair dryer chairs we’re outdated and not at all fat friendly! We now have our hair dryers behind couches (also rated 800 pounds) or we have single dryers that we have removed the arms from to be more hip, thigh and booty friendly!

6. Gender Inclusive! We are a queer affirming Salon and would love to support you with a stylist for your gender-affirming styling needs. I truly feel like we have a stylist for just about anyone!

7. No Judgement Zone! Come as you are! Honestly. 

8. Capes! There’s nothing like sitting down to get your haircut and not have a cape that fits properly. We always have an array of capes to fit all sizes!

9. Non-Pretentious Vibes Only! At Chameleon, we are known for our laid back non-pretentious vibes. We have an absolutely gorgeous space full of badass stylists. Just about anyone can come for an appointment and connect with not only their stylist but other stylists and clients throughout the salon. 

10. Good Hair for Good People! At the end of the day, this is it. We are out here doing good hair for good people. Inclusive or not this is nonnegotiable. It took me years to be able to stand up to clients that were trying to bully their way into a free service etc. Saying NO to people to protect your peace and environment is hard but so worth it. We have built this safe, not-so-little hair home to be a happy place for both stylists and clients.

So basically, in conclusion, if you bullied me through grade school and high school I hope you’re better humans as adults! All it did was “build character” and clearly i’m a total badass now! All joking aside, haters gonna hate (hehe) and it thickened up my skin. It taught me to value myself and to stand up for myself and others. It taught me that no matter how alone I felt for those years I will find my community! Community is safety for me. I walk through that pink door every day knowing that I am genuinely loved for JUST BEING ME. No false pretenses, no getting used for what I have to offer, and certainly not for the body that’s taking me on this amazing little journey called life. 

I will always be thankful to have a business bestie and co-owner like Madelyn. She has shown me true friendship and acceptance and completely changed my view on the world. She showed me what it looked like to work in a welcoming and inclusive environment. Working alongside her for the past 9+ years we really have become each others lobsters (friends reference). We have dealt with similar situations through our childhood and adulthood which has made it easy to collaborate and create a safe space. When we sat down and made a wish list of what we want to see in our salon inclusivity summed it all up. Madelyn welcomed me into her hair home nine years ago and made me feel included, seen, valued and respected. (I can’t wait to see where we are in another nine years Mad!). At the end of the day we want any good human being to be able to walk through that pink door and feel seen, heard, respected and cared for. 

Tell me how we are doing below! Any Inclusivity questions for Chameleon?! Watch out for my Chameleon Q&A.