Aestheticians, et cetera for a transitioning trans lady in NYC
July 17, 2014 10:13 AM Subscribe
A friend of mine who is transitioning has asked me to ask MeFi for a couple of recommendations for beauty-related services in New York City. Needs and requirements as follows:
The folks she's looking for should either be experienced in providing services to trans women or known for their unflappable professionalism, brilliance and tolerant attitudes. Brooklyn and the West Side of Manhattan preferred. The bolded items are of greatest urgency.
Can you recommend the best places to:
1. Go for an eyebrow consultation? Plucking, waxing, threading are all fine -- my friend is most concerned here with finding someone who knows their craft really really well.
2. Have dresses and shirts tailored? She is repeatedly striking out in the shopping department, but some of the outfits might be made right by a decent tailor. Please don't recommend that she just go to the dry cleaner unless it is a specific establishment where you know the tailor is a tolerant and kind person.
3. Get a pretty haircut?
4. Obtain a judgment-free mani/pedi in a place where no one will stare?
5. Buy clothes, particularly tops?
My friend also welcomes recommendations of blogs to read about professional services for trans women in NYC, or shopping guides, or links to indexes of allied professionals. Feel free to MeFiMail me if you know someone but don't want to post their contact info publicly.
Thanks!
The folks she's looking for should either be experienced in providing services to trans women or known for their unflappable professionalism, brilliance and tolerant attitudes. Brooklyn and the West Side of Manhattan preferred. The bolded items are of greatest urgency.
Can you recommend the best places to:
1. Go for an eyebrow consultation? Plucking, waxing, threading are all fine -- my friend is most concerned here with finding someone who knows their craft really really well.
2. Have dresses and shirts tailored? She is repeatedly striking out in the shopping department, but some of the outfits might be made right by a decent tailor. Please don't recommend that she just go to the dry cleaner unless it is a specific establishment where you know the tailor is a tolerant and kind person.
3. Get a pretty haircut?
4. Obtain a judgment-free mani/pedi in a place where no one will stare?
5. Buy clothes, particularly tops?
My friend also welcomes recommendations of blogs to read about professional services for trans women in NYC, or shopping guides, or links to indexes of allied professionals. Feel free to MeFiMail me if you know someone but don't want to post their contact info publicly.
Thanks!
I'd push back on the assumption that any East Village shop would be a safe bet. Perhaps safe in avoiding overt harassment, but less safe in the sense of necessarily using correct pronouns and taking care to give a haircut (or whatever relevant service) that will be as feminizing as she is likely looking for.
That said, Phresh Cutz is a pop-up barber shop run by a group of fantastic queer folks (full disclosure: I know and am friendly with many of them) who give great haircuts to people anywhere on the gender spectrum and are very trans-friendly. I'm not clear from their FB when they're going to pop-up next, but your friend should send them a message to ask. I'm sure they'd also be willing to point her in the direction of other trans-friendly businesses that they know of.
posted by cheerwine at 6:22 PM on July 17, 2014 [1 favorite]
That said, Phresh Cutz is a pop-up barber shop run by a group of fantastic queer folks (full disclosure: I know and am friendly with many of them) who give great haircuts to people anywhere on the gender spectrum and are very trans-friendly. I'm not clear from their FB when they're going to pop-up next, but your friend should send them a message to ask. I'm sure they'd also be willing to point her in the direction of other trans-friendly businesses that they know of.
posted by cheerwine at 6:22 PM on July 17, 2014 [1 favorite]
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(And yes, for trans women looking for suits and dresses, tailoring can make a huge difference.)
Not to be too snarky, but it's NYC. My operating assumption is that almost any shop in the East Village would be happy to give her excellent service.
In the trans-related circles I ran in, there were good word-of-mouth lists about trans-friendly nail shops or hairdressers. A lot of it is really "Hey, I went here and it was all fine." I think the fears of "not fine" are slightly greater in, say, the South (where I live) versus NYC. I've pinged my friend in NY about that issue, too.
posted by QuantumMeruit at 12:20 PM on July 17, 2014 [1 favorite]