Today we’d like to introduce you to Carol Basserman.
Carol, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
Well, I guess you could say that I’ve been dedicated to art in some way, shape, or form, since I was a kid. I started with singing and branched off into fine art. I loved to sing in choirs, and I really enjoyed still life in pencil. And like most artists I was always a little off-center, aesthetically. I started coloring my own hair when I was 13 and found a major passion in it. I practiced on myself and friends a ton, at every opportunity really, and really got myself familiar with the how to use lighteners, specifically bleach, safely, and so that I could achieve the truest colors possible! To this day fashion colors/vivid are my passion; bright reds, purples, blues, all of them! And I’m so incredibly lucky to have a job now that allows me to continue my passion in coloring hair and really experiment with color pairings and placement.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
Hair is my canvas and at every opportunity I paint it! Having a canvas that travels for people to see, witness, experience, and enjoy, it’s amazing. It’s modern art. It’s finally being recognized as the art form that it is as well, and I’m really excited and thankful for that.
Coloring hair is not an easy job. Vivid colors can’t take upwards of 4-8 hours, pastels longer, and there’s so much you have to do just to get your canvas ready! You have to have a lot of endurance and great time management skills, and you also have to be able to communicate exceptionally well to make sure you guest leaves happy with all the time and money they just spent. And don’t even get me started on the color wheel! Essentially, to do this job, you need to be equal parts artist and scientist. I guess that’s part of why I like it so much! Every day is a new adventure in helping someone feel great.
Colored hair brings joy to so many people, and with the stigma around what it means to have colored hair fading away more people are able to enjoy it on others or themselves. And I understand that it likely sounds a little funny to people who don’t feel this particular urge, but I never feel more like myself than when I have my hair freshly colored in my signature red and orange blend. And if you ask any other Dyed American, they’ll tell you the same. Being able to be your most authentic self is incredibly freeing, and that’s what I try to give to my clientele. I have people in every walk of life and in just about every profession you can image as my clients. Teachers, those in medical, high-end executives, the works! When you look your best, in whatever form that takes, you feel your best. And that’s all I want in life is to help people feel like their most authentic selves.
What responsibility, if any, do you think artists have to use their art to help alleviate problems faced by others? Has your art been affected by issues you’ve concerned about?
Oh man. This is a hard topic to sum up. Art imitates life imitates art, you know? When I was a teenager, I was fortunate enough to grow up with a family that supported me and my love of weird hair and make, but lots of people weren’t nearly so lucky. In my small town I was kind of an outcast, being the only goth and such. I was also really fortunate though that since it was a small town, everyone knew everyone, so I wasn’t bullied. Still, when you look different, the world tends to treat you differently.
Watching society loosen its grip on what it deems as “socially acceptable” or “professional”, whatever that actually means, it just makes me so happy. It’s a fight I’ve been in for 15 years. I’ve passed on jobs that weren’t customer facing that weren’t ok with my hair color. Honestly, at that point, they were just being discriminatory and it showed that while I know I would have done a good job, they weren’t going to be good back to me. It wasn’t always easy, of course, but it was, and still is, incredibly necessary for people who have the capability to do it.
As artists, we owe it to our community to try to leave it better than it started. That can happen in a lot of different ways and every role within that is needed and helpful. Part of my fight was getting people to accept me as a professional, courteous, kind person despite the fact that I looked different than they imagined. And we still need that. People who look different deserve good jobs, a place to live, people to even just be kind to them. In fact, my salon is hoping to find a local shelter to help with haircuts for job placement opportunities. If we want a better, kinder, prettier and brighter world, we have to do the work to create that reality.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
I’m fortunate enough to work at an incredible salon in Medford called Zubeda’s Spa and Salon. We do darn near everything there! Full salon services, massage, waxing, laser hair removal, mani’s/pedi’s and more! If you’d be interested in potentially booking with me there you can also keep an eye on my Instagram feed. That’s where I post a lot of the work I do, and any specials I’m able to offer clients. Feel free to give me a follow at @freakishly_chic_hair
Contact Info:
- Address: Carol Basserman Zubeda’s Spa and Salon
452 Salem St,
Medford, MA 02155 - Phone: 781-874-9787
- Email: freakishly.chic@gmail.com
- Instagram: freakishly_chic_hair
- Facebook: @FreakishlyChic
Image Credit:
Teddy Petrosky for profile image, Travis Alex for images with the blue/grey backdrop.
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