Hairstylist in Halifax gives back by making gender-affirming haircuts more accessible

HALIFAX – When 26-year-old Newfoundlander Jenai Baker came out as non-binary and wanted to change their appearance to match their identity, one of the first things they did was get a haircut.

Baker went to a salon and asked for it to be cut short, but they weren’t satisfied with the result.

“Wonderful hairstylist, but everything was so gendered. And when I asked for a more androgynous hairstyle, it completely shook her. She had no idea what to do. I left looking like my grandmother,” Baker said with a laugh.

It’s this type of experience the hairstylist, living in Halifax since 2021, is aiming to prevent at their Haus of Hue salon. Since they opened the shop this summer, Baker has offered a monthly gender-affirming haircut day with free and pay-what-you-can cuts.

After the “grandmother” haircut blunder, Baker managed to get their hair styled in a way that finally made them feel like themself. “Everything just kind of slowly came into place for me. Once you look a certain way on the outside, it does help you feel that way on the inside,” Baker said.

On gender-affirming haircut days, Baker has given clients “everything and anything” they’ve asked for. Sometimes it’s a dramatic change — they’ve chopped long, waist-length hair into a short cut — and other times they’ve given clients subtle layering and a trim.

“People can come in and ask for any cut I can do in an hour, and I’ll do it.”

Most of the clients for this service reach out over Instagram, Baker said, or find out about it through word of mouth. And typically they’re booked about two months in advance.  

Baker said it’s important to make the hair service free or less costly for queer Haligonians who may not be able to otherwise afford it. “Everything seems so inaccessible lately, so it’s a very small thing I can be doing,” they said. 

The hairstylist said it’s rewarding to offer their clients a space to talk and be themselves. “Having clients come in and share stories about their gender journey, their hardships and happy times … it’s so nice to be able to provide a safe space for that,” Baker said.

It’s for a similar reason that The Little Queer Closet was started at a coffee shop in downtown Dartmouth, N.S.

The idea came from Matty Tang, a barista at Café Good Luck, who suggested finding a permanent spot to house gender-affirming products. The cafe offered donated binders — tight garments used to flatten the chest — during a recent market, and Tang said it went over really well. 

Katelyn Armstrong, the cafe’s front-of-house manager, said it seemed like a really simple way of supporting their trans customers and staff. 

The closet — a cupboard purchased off Facebook Marketplace with dollar-store baskets — houses donated binders and other gender-affirming items. It cost about $30 to set up the closet in the cafe’s bathroom, Armstrong said, and it requires minimal staff attention.

“The format is very low pressure, folks can access the garments in a way that allows for privacy and anonymity, and not deal with the financial barrier,” Tang said.

“It also signals to our customers that we are a safer space — that the identities of our customers and our staff are respected and affirmed.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 23, 2025.