GAYHAIRDAY

GAYHAIRDAY is a small hair studio in Berkeley where owner and stylist Casey Konstantynowicz cuts hair. The studio has one styling chair and one shampoo bowl chair, so visits are unhurried and personal. Clients arriving at the building may find the doors locked; an instructional text is sent on the morning of the appointment to the phone number on the booking account. Seating is available in the building's common area and outside.

Clients may bring one guest, who must wear a mask inside the studio. Contact is handled by email, and text messages are only read on the day of the appointment. Consultations are included with every service and can be arranged by email, but virtual consultations are not offered and hair questions cannot be diagnosed by email.

A Full Haircut and a standard Haircut each run about an hour and a half. A Bang Trim covers the hair around the forehead and some hair in front of the ears in a 15-minute visit. A Maintenance Cut is a half haircut lasting 30 minutes that includes two of five parts: bangs, layers, length, bulk, and wash and style. Bang Trims and Maintenance Cuts are for existing clients only and must be booked within four months of the last appointment. Requests for these are submitted through the booking software and accepted with 12 to 72 hours' notice.

Appointments can be booked up to 60 days in advance. A waitlist for Full Haircuts is kept through the Vagaro booking software. Sliding scale pricing is available for Haircuts and Maintenance Cuts, with the current rate given by email; sliding scale Haircuts are limited to one every six months, while Maintenance Cuts can be booked on the sliding scale as often as wanted. Scale spaces may be limited and rates vary with demand.

When the owner travels to Los Angeles, roughly every five to eight months, pop-up appointments are offered, usually in Highland Park and or Long Beach. Sliding scale is usually not offered at pop-ups, and Bang Trims there are limited to clients seen within the past year.

Payment is cash preferred, with cards, Apple Pay and checks also accepted; payments through Venmo, Zelle or other cash-sharing apps carry a $10 surcharge. Gift cards are sold as eGift cards in amounts of $100, $150, $165 and $175, or a custom amount. Tipping is optional. Cancellations within 24 hours may be charged up to the full service cost, and cancellations or reschedules within 48 hours must be made by email rather than online. Arriving more than 10 minutes late may mean not receiving the full service, while still owing the full cost. Clients may request one free edit within seven days of the appointment, fit in within two weeks, though this is not offered to clients arriving 15 or more minutes late. Deposits are rarely required, are non-refundable, expire after three months and apply only to the service cost. A card may be kept on file for same-day cancellations without being charged. Accepting a refund ends the working relationship with the studio.

The studio favors simple products without fragrance, perfume or parfum, though scent-free results cannot be guaranteed, and aims for results that suit how each client wants to wear their hair.

A small, intimate studio with a single styling chair and one shampoo bowl chair, with seating in the building's shared space and outside.