Salon of the Month: Drop Dead Hair Studio

To say Kristi Day is a hair wunderkind is not hyperbole. She sped through her requisite 1,600 hours for cosmetology school in well under a year. Once she had her license in hand, she quickly joined a salon that nurtured her growth: As an assistant, Day was permitted to grow her own clientele part time as long as she assisted full time. One year into this role, she changed direction and opted to rent a chair at another salon and immerse herself in the art of extensions and content creation. Did Day stop there? No! She moved her talents and growing clientele into a private studio—but even that wasn’t enough to satiate the young talent’s thirst for success. Obviously, Day had her sights set on something bigger.

Through six years of hard work and hustle, Day got her … well … day: the realization of Drop Dead Hair Studio. As you might be able to tell by the name, Day’s 1,800-square-foot space doesn’t play by the conventional rules. It’s a haven for people Day describes as “misfits”—both the artists who work behind the chair and the clients who warm their seats. “Many of the salons in Arizona have a similar traditional aesthetic, and they service a similar clientele. I wanted to open a salon for people who didn’t fit in at those salons—stylists and clients with bright hair, creative cuts and alternative style,” she shares. “I consider myself a misfit in the hair world, and I want to work with other misfits.” To Day, the traditional salon landscape sometimes abandons the nonconformist creatives and their aesthetic seekers. “Just about every day I hear from clients about how they’ve been shamed or judged at other salons because they wanted a purple moneypiece and an undercut. They say they appreciate that there’s a place for them,” she says proudly.

And that place is one of a kind—and branded so intelligently, one quick perusal of the marketing and space leaves an indelible mark. Drop Dead Hair Studio’s slogan, “Death to Bad Hair®,” speaks to the “why” behind what the salon does while “sticking to the macabre feel of the brand,” Day asserts. “Drop Dead exists to elevate the hairstyling experience for clients by improving the quality of both the service they receive and the results. Our goal is that our clients receive the best hair service they’ve ever had, ending all negative notions they’ve acquired from previous experiences,” she says.

Make no mistake: It’s all positivity within Drop Dead Hair’s walls—even the brand logo, a dead-eyed smiley face, sports a positive attitude. “[The smiley face] is a focal point at the salon, appearing as the ‘o’ in ‘Drop’ on our main sign in the reception area and as a neon sign at the end of our main hallway. We also use it as a logo on our merchandise, like beanies, tees and enamel pins,” Day says. “And later this year, we’ll use it on packaging for branded extensions—because Drop Dead isn’t just a salon, it’s also a premium extensions brand, and the salon has been a way for us to test and receive feedback on our products before launching.”

Those smiley face elements are just one sliver of the overall decor. Day dreamt of outfitting a room as a “Lemony Snicket-inspired Reptile Room”—a clash of overgrown plants, gothic-style velvet furniture and curiosities galore. “It was easy for me to use this as inspiration for the salon—especially in the waiting area, where I have a framed snake skeleton and framed butterflies from a local oddities shop,” she says. Other unique touches, like vintage-inspired horror movie posters Day bought last minute on Amazon (“they’re a neat source of inspiration for color palettes”) and a feature wall of vinyl records, play up the eccentric feel. Everything has meaning. “Music is a major part of my life. I play a few instruments, and before becoming a hairstylist I actually taught private guitar lessons. Music helps me create, and the record wall reminds me I can always turn to music for more creative energy,” Day says.

But perhaps most unique to a space filled with curiosities is the inclusion of three private studios for rent in addition to the main floor’s eight chairs. “I always wanted to be the anti-salon, where we were less of a hair studio and more of a creative space. So we do hair on the main floor and then have tattoo artists, permanent makeup artists and aestheticians in the private studios,” she says.

And though Day strives for that anti-salon vibe, her roots are hair education through and through: Drop Dead Hair hosts classes with topics that range from creative color to extensions to cutting shags and mullets. Business, too, rounds out the rotating curriculum. “[I have an upcoming class] focused on setting—and keeping—strong client boundaries,” Day says. To support staff (comprised of booth renters), Day gives stylists free in-house education as well as 20 percent off the Drop Dead Hair extensions brand. “We also pay them the full profit of the retail they sell to clients, which is huge, because many salons pay only about 10 percent,” Day shares. “I want to enable our stylists to reach their potential by educating and inspiring them and encouraging them to set and achieve goals.” More power to the misfits.

Number of Chairs: 8

WHAT’S UNIQUE

Studio Sessions: Three private studios can be rented by tattoo artists, makeup artists and other creatives.

Record Scratch: Day sourced the 250-strong record collection from a local woman in her 70s seeking to declutter. “When hanging the records, I actually chose which sides would face out, based on which song better fit the vibe we were aspiring to have at Drop Dead,” Day says.

RETAIL HAIR LINES: Aiir Professional, amika, Brazilian Bond Builder, Leaf + Flower

COLOR LINES: Pulp Riot, Redken, Pravana

POPULAR SERVICE: “Underlights,” in which the top section of hair is dyed dark, and from the parietal ridge down the hair is lightened and colored.