Hair Salon Exclusively For Plus-Size Women Opens In England

Do plus-size women need their own hair salons?

Bashar Brown, a British hair stylist, seems to think so. The Daily Mail reports that Brown has opened Hair By Bashar, a salon that caters to overweight clients who've previously felt uncomfortable or discriminated against in mainstream salons.

"Increasingly, larger women were telling me how they hate going to the salon because they are filled with slim, glamorous women," Brown explained. "For them, it feels the same as walking into a gym full of ultra-fit people. They feel like everyone is staring at them."

So Brown, operating out of his Kent home, invested over $7,000 to create a space where larger women and men could feel comfortable getting their hair styled. This means extra large seats, gowns and hair-washing basins.

The hair stylist himself says he especially sympathizes with curvier clients because he, too, used to be overweight, he told the Daily Mail. Now he wants to make those who feel uncomfortable with their bodies glamorous when it comes to beauty.

It's an honorable sentiment, but a somewhat strange concept. In theory, shouldn't thin women and curvier women be able to dwell in the same space without the former making the latter feel self-conscious? We like Brown's idea... but we'll be even happier when salons can have both larger chairs and an atompshere where women don't feel judged by other women for their figures.

Hey, we can dream.

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk.

Comments

[LeftRightCenter]

12:03 AM on 12/01/2011

yeah, y not?

[ConservativeDesigns]

10:42 PM on 10/26/2011

If there was a salon that catered to skinny people, there would be a lawsuit.

[Catsun]

08:36 PM on 10/15/2011

Plus-size women just has to do one thing: lose the weight. If people keep catering to them, they will remain overweight forever.

[Lex Anton]

10:50 AM on 10/10/2011

I thought this was a joke.

[Jasmine Tokuda]

08:44 PM on 10/09/2011

Having had heavy hairdressing clients, I can tell you that a shampoo bowl with a wider trough for the neck to fit in will help keep the client drier when they are getting shampooed. The shampoo chair has to be adjustable in such a way that the fat on the upper back doesn't block the person from fully reclining so their neck will form a seal with the trough. Also a styling chair needs a sturdier base in addition to being wider, as many modern chairs are more lightly made. Most heavy people also benefit from lumbar support. The ergonomics of serving heavy people are different and are benefited by the appropriate equipment, which is not standard, and doesn't correctly fit the majority of the population. Perhaps some of the larger salons, especially chains might consider such equipment. My philosophy has always moved toward "beauty through good health" so I would advise all clients toward habits that promote good health, including weight normalization.

[ms.understood]

12:51 AM on 10/09/2011

this question is really ridiculous. their money is green just like everyone else's, and if these businesses want to stay in business, how about accommodating them instead of shunning them. people are people. it's funny how they give animals rights (and they deserve them) but treat human beings less like than animals. it's shameful.

[MissMiniMonster]

05:24 PM on 10/08/2011

I am size 12/14/16 (depending on the manufacturer) and I have never had a problem fitting in the salon chairs or feeling comfortable with myself at the salon. I understand having clothing stores for plus sizes but a salon is stretching it a little for me. Maybe it's because there are a lot of large people in Texas, even in the Dallas area.

[ThisIsMyUsername3]

02:31 AM on 10/08/2011

I say who cares? I see nothing wrong with a business catering to a niche market. Then again, I also do not form opinions of people based on weight. It seems shallow to me.

[littlebrowngirl]

12:27 AM on 10/08/2011

A good hair salon will be able to adjust and accomodate all kinds of people. If your dies not, find a new salon.

[KIVPossum]

11:26 PM on 10/07/2011

If it's ok to have a fat salon, why wouldn't it be ok to have a slim salon, or a white only salon. Try that and see where you end up

[ThisIsMyUsername3]

02:32 AM on 10/08/2011

Or the women's only gyms in America....

[avery t]

10:23 AM on 10/08/2011

That's different.

[MrsManarlican]

07:09 PM on 10/07/2011

I am more worried about a stylist who won't butcher my naturally curly hair with a style designed for straight hair than I am worried about what the other patrons look like.

[apwolf45]

06:28 PM on 10/07/2011

Curvy, curvier, larger size, plus size, & all of the other similar euphemisms are just politically correct terms for FAT. I weigh more than I should right now, and I consider myself fat, not curvy. I refuse candy when friends offer it, have stopped buying ice cream, and am doing much more to control my weight and health. The more we avoid the issue by using PC verbiage, probably the more people will continue to eat themselves into early graves. Not calling fat people fat or obese seems to make it somehow OK for them to just ignore the problem. If it's a medical problem, get to a doctor and get medical help. If it's just overeating and/or lack of exercise, eat less and exercise more. A good brisk walk 3-4 times a week will do wonders for conditioning and costs almost nothing. Take control of your weight and feel better.

[KIVPossum]

11:24 PM on 10/07/2011

happy to be your first fan

[ThisIsMyUsername3]

02:38 AM on 10/08/2011

Glad that works for you, but sad that you are against a place that caters to people who do not share your mindset. My wife is a plus sized woman, and I could care less as I love her no matter what she looks like or how big or little she is. If a place opened up in our area where she felt better about herself as she is when she went, I would not oppose it.

[hidenout3]

09:22 AM on 10/08/2011

she never said she was opposed to a salon that caters to overweight people. Where did you get that idea?

[KDMac]

11:18 AM on 10/08/2011

Sounds like your wife is a lucky woman : )

[GOODDOC1]

05:32 PM on 10/07/2011

Why wasn't the picture with this article showing heads of hair?

[KDMac]

11:19 AM on 10/08/2011

Because that would make it hard to judge how fat people are?

[KRTaylor]

05:13 PM on 10/07/2011

Wouldn't it be better for those folks to admit they've got a problem and lose weight? I know some folk are taller and bigger but I get the impression this article's about those women who are just obese. Forget "love your body". How about "love those organs you're torturing with all the fat"? One thing that's REAL obvious now in the UK are the amount of morbidly obese folk. Used to be quite rare to see people (at least UK citizens) so overweight but those numbers, as well as the number of fast-food restaurants, have blossomed in the past twenty or so years. Coincidence?

[granamica]

12:25 AM on 10/08/2011

No coincidence. I lived in the UK (two decades ago) and we "et to live" (spelling intentional) not the other way around. I came back to the US and was sick within months with intestinal problems. I then gained a lot of weight. The food here is toxic and we have exported it to the UK and beyond.

[uncommonsensesc]

05:08 PM on 10/07/2011

I am larger than what I'd like to be; however, I don't have a problem with the equipment. I have a problem with the hair styles and hair stylists. There are just some styles that don't look good on larger women but I haven't found stylist one that is capable of letting any plus-size woman know this. When I first saw the title, I thought great, that's what is needed. But it seems just to be larger equipment and no help for the styles - which is why I go to a hair salon in the first place!