New Westminster has a new hair salon — for geeks.
B-Bombshell Salon has its official grand Aug. 9, and will cater to the nerdiest among us.
Owner and stylist Ryan Paul said it was an idea whose time had come.
Paul, a stylist for 12 years, was working at an upscale Lougheed Town Centre salon two years ago when he first conceived of opening a shop dedicated to people who are fans of, among other things Anime, gaming, comics, Star Trek, Star Wars and Game of Thrones. (If you aren’t sure what those things are, this may not be the hair salon for you.)
“I had a lot of clients that came in that weren’t super into fashion, they like video games and comics and [are] kind of geeky,” he said.
“A lot of them said they would never have come to that salon because they felt kind of intimidated by some of the staff that were there, except for seeing me.”
Paul, 32, describes himself as a geek and a big gamer — the Final Fantasy series and World of Warcraft are two of his favourites.
To help fund his dream salon, Paul ran a crowd-sourcing campaign with Indiegogo and raised just over $7,000, and so B-Bombshell was born. The name is a play on an evil characters, Bob-ombs, in the Super Mario Bros video games mixed with bombshell, as in sexy and attractive.
The shop, located at 808 20th St. has a much different look than the typical salon.
In the waiting area, instead of celebrity magazines there are Thor and X-men comics.
The product shelves are sloped because they are based off of the game Donkey Kong.
The walls are grey with the deep blue of TV character Doctor Who’s telephone booth, turned time machine.
Framed fan art, which Paul carefully collected over years of attending science fiction and comic book conventions, line the walls.
Handheld game consoles are at the ready for customers to play while they get their hair done.
Even the shop voicemail message ends with the Star Trek Vulcan greeting, "Live long and prosper.”
Paul’s four stylists also walk the nerdy walk.
Talisa Correa, one of the salon’s junior stylists, said it exciting to have the chance to work where she can truly be herself.
“I am geeky and I do hair,” she said.
When she was in styling school Correa said she was known as the “geeky hair girl” because of her Star Trek and Lord of the Rings fandom.
When she graduated she worried she wouldn’t find a place where she would fit in the rather conservative beauty industry. Discovering B-Bombshell was a revelation.
“There is so little judgment going on because you walk into it thinking OK, these are people who have probably been judged before and they know that it doesn’t feel so good, so they aren’t going to judge me,” she said.
Paul is quick to point out while the shop is meant to be fun and comfortable he and the other stylists are serious about hair.
“We are still a professional business,” he said. “We do normal hair.”
The grand opening will include a meet and greet with the staff and a few of the Mainland Misfits roller derby team will stop by.
For more on the shop and the upcoming grand opening check out their Facebook page at B-Bombshell Salon.
