Hugh Campbell, John Marshall Barber Shop manager and barber (Photo by Courtney Jones)
Culturally, hair salons and barbershops are lasting social institutions, and with good reason: They’re part social hub, part self-care and part therapy, all centrally located within a community. For much of Richmond’s modern history, the hair-cutting experience has provided a place for neighbors to talk to each other and reveal how connected we all are. Today, there are myriad hairstylists and barbers providing Richmonders with more than just a shape-up. Here are a few who have made meaningful impacts on the patrons who walk through their doors.
At the John Marshall Barber Shop, the city’s history is on full display. The downtown establishment, blocks from the Virginia State Capitol, stands staid on the ground floor, as it has since the former hotel’s opening in 1929.
Clients can find Hugh Campbell, shop manager and barber, cutting hair in a button-down shirt and tie, matching the vibe of his clientele, which includes “all the professional three-piece suits from government right on up to businesspeople,” he says. Virginia governors have stopped in for a cleanup, as well as former presidents and celebrities visiting the city.
“Everybody comes in; you make that connection with them,” Campbell says. He adds that people appreciate the nostalgic, personal experience that starts as soon as they sit in the original, nearly century-old leather chairs.
The barbers pamper and spiff up the connected people in Virginia’s professional capital and the state’s center of business while they click with others of their stature.
For Campbell, the shop’s business-minded, community-forming persona is best summarized by a longtime saying; “Everything starts right here in the bottom of the John Marshall.”
Renada Harris, co-owner of Silk Hair Studio (Photo by Courtney Jones)
On Broad Street in the Fan, sisters and owners Renada Harris and Kim Washington operate Silk Hair Studio and cater to an intergenerational Black clientele. Their team of stylists specializes in silk press, braids and extensions, among other styles.
The salon has also made itself a hub for connection, ideas and activism where patrons discuss issues near and far.
“We do have those discussions about politics and about whatever is going on in the world,” Harris says.
Political campaigners visit to vie for votes. Clients post flyers for cultural events. Biweekly hair appointments ensure frequent opportunities to reconnect with friends.
The owners find opportunities to share their passions with their clients, too. Actively involved in the preservation efforts of Brown Grove, a historically Black neighborhood in Hanover County, Harris and Washington aim to inspire others to do the same.
Beyond the connections customers make inside the salon, the stylists encourage clients to learn about and take pride in their hair as they they would their neighborhood or social causes. “We teach how to preserve the natural style,” Harris says. “We tell them, ‘You can do this.’”
(From left) Luminary Hair Co. stylist Blake Williams and owner Carly Moenich (Photo courtesy Luminary Hair Co.)
Luminary Hair Co., opened under owner Carly Moenich in 2017, has a youthful and contemporary vibe, upheld by its mission to be warm and inclusive to everyone who enters the Church Hill storefront, whether the client’s goal is a dye job of shocking fluorescence, a shaggy wolf cut or a pixie bob.
It’s a neighborhood hub that is an expression of the city’s influx of young urban professionals and creatives. More broadly connected to a network of queer-friendly social spaces, Luminary Hair Co. offers gender-affirming styling in a judgment-free space.
Blake Williams, director of operations and senior stylist, says he connects with clients by showing them how best to care for their hair. “We try to be trendy and creative,” Williams says. “We take the artistic approach of what the guest is looking for and help to expand both horizons.”
Luminary staff help foster these lasting and personal relationships by “listening and truly hearing the client, whether theyʼre just expressing their day or discussing problems that theyʼre having with their hair, and then trying to navigate whatever theyʼre working through,” Williams says.
