Above: A Culture Club client. Photograph by Maryssa Chavez.
This month, Culture Club Salon celebrates its two-year anniversary. Owner Jenny Gonzales opened it in January 2018 with community in mind. “I wanted to create a space that was the antithesis of exclusivity, that was a space that felt safe for people who wanted to have their dream hair but never felt comfortable in a salon setting. I wanted it to feel like home.”
The bright Los Ranchos salon has 11 chairs, and each member of the team has their own hair specialty. Gonzales focuses on clients who, like her, are brown women with curly, thick hair, of which she is proud. “I love helping my clients realize that they don’t have to acculturate; they can be the purest form of themselves, and that is their power—brown skin and curly hair and all.”
One piece of advice Gonzales would offer clients entering Culture Club, or any salon: Come in ready to own your look. “I threw away all those old beauty school principles of Big girls shouldn’t wear their hair short and Brown girls can’t be blond,” she says. “The reality is that those limitations are a lie. Suitability is all about self-possession.”
MORE THAN HAIR
For those wanting to keep their crown on point, it’s best to make advance reservations with Jenny and her team of experts. Don’t forget to take a look at the art when you’re there. Local artists often get their work on Culture Club’s walls.
Culture Club Salon
6804 4th St NW, Los Ranchos De Albuquerque
505-485-2346
@cultureclubsalon