Your hair is your signature

Studio Ezell promises a unique-to-you cut

Nearly all hair stylists expect us to have a style in mind or celebrity picture ready before we come through their doors. And for those who come unprepared, you can find inspiration in the books in the waiting area filled with models sporting fashionable haircuts. The last thing these stylists expect is for someone to ask for a haircut that is uninfluenced by someone else’s hair. But can the styles we envy and clip out of magazines really be adjusted to fit us? One Bellingham salon owner thinks not.

Studio Ezell, in downtown Bellingham for the past 15 years, abides by a revolutionary principle: If a haircut is to be perfect, it is not made but rather realized. “Similar to a blood type, thumb print, or DNA, a person’s hair is a genetic road map of one’s personal biology,” Ezell Thompson, the owner, says. “The haircutter’s job is not to force the hair into a pattern, but to expose the genuine patterns and nature of a person’s hair.”

This concept, “signature haircutting,” was developed by Ezell and his wife, Charleen, to provide clients with hairstyles that are not only personalized, but also easily manageable. Because the hair is in its most natural form, nearly every style requires just five minutes of maintenance before leaving the house. Ezell explains, “People don’t have to pound on their chest to get out of bed, why should they work to prepare their hair?”

Ezell began cutting hair 33 years ago with Vidal Sassoon salons in Boston. In the late ‘60s, Sassoon was a pioneer of geometric designs, taking the industry away from the roller-set and backcombing era by creating such styles as the “classic bob” that women could manage at home. In 1994 Ezell left for Toni and Guy Salons in Dallas, where he met Charleen. Both were impassioned to understand the scientific principles and mathematics of hair, and in June of 1996 they moved to Bellingham to open a salon unique to the hairdressing industry at large.

Ezell and Charleen now share their knowledge with two licensed hair stylists interning at the salon. Each began in October 2010 after graduating from Bellingham Beauty School. Charleen teaches them hair coloring, texture service, product knowledge and customer service, and Ezell instructs them in “signature haircutting.”

With the buzz of his new philosophy gaining attention, Ezell plans on expanding this year by hiring more interns and possibly relocating to a bigger venue. Bellingham’s receptivity to the “signature haircutting” revolution is in part because of the empowerment it gives customers. “Most people believe that they don’t have the right type of hair and they need to copy someone else’s,” says Charleen. “Everyone can have beautiful hair.”