Spoke & Weal — Local services in Minneapolis

I came at the recommendation of a family friend as I was looking for a professional, skilled, and queer friendly salon. I truly can say without any exaggeration that this was the best recommendation they could have possibly provided. I went in for a complimentary color session with Michelle Reitan, and a community cut with Christina Johnston, and I was blown away the entire time.

I went in with an admittedly very esoteric request of "punky but professional" and the team at Spoke and Weal was instantly invested in making sure that I knew what they were thinking, how they were going to do it, and they were completely correct. I am beyond satisfied with the results!

I had a large portion of the team working with me throughout the process. Doing my color was Michelle, with the help of Sarah, and Caitlyn, who were all so skilled, friendly, and fun to be with as they worked. I was offered several drinks including, water, tea, and an oat milk latte, which were refilled several times. At one point I was even offered some snacks since I had been with them for a while, something I am certain was out of personal kindness on the part of Caitlyn. The level of friendliness and care they provided through the entire process was impeccable. Additionally, the finesse and expertise showcased by the entire team was mind blowing. I went in with damaged, outgrown, and multi-tone hair, and they managed to get me not only a perfect platinum blonde, but a further titanium coloring. It's even, vibrant, and exactly the request.

My cut was performed by Christina with the help of Emmit, and she immediately saw the vision, knew now to execute it, and began cutting. She was extremely professional, friendly, and hyped me up the entire time. I had no doubts that I was going to end up with an incredible haircut, and she more than delivered! It is a dream to have a haircut that looks just as good having been slept and lived in as it was when it was initially cut.

As a visibly transgender woman, I felt seen, understood, and safe throughout the entire process. I was never questioned for the desired femme appearance, my pronouns were respected the entire time, and at no point was I made to feel like I was not exactly where I should have been.

I cannot express enough how thankful I am for the team at Spoke & Weal Minneapolis, and will be recommending them to anyone who...

The lady that did my hair had an air of arrogance. It made me very uncomfortable. She didn't really come to understand me. Also, my hair is uneven. One side is longer than the other. She seemed like she was some kind of guru. Or so. That's how she totes herself ... I prefer someone down to earth. That does a good job... She did a round brush blow out. Then cut my hair dry. I don't do a round blush brush out on my hair... She snipped and cut quite a bit of volume and length off, which we did not quite agree on. My family saw me that night and although they thought my hair looked luxurious because it was so silky from the high heat, they blow-dried with ... the following day. When I washed my hair the whole look was gone and you could see all the unevenness. When you cut in the direction of the blowout, that is an artificial look, unless you do the same blowout ast style that cut is not going to hold a different style well. I pretty much told her I do not blow dry my hair. I let it air dry and she insisted that she knew what she was doing. Her intense glare made me feel really uncomfortable... I don't recommend it and I don't really want to go back. I'd rather cut my hair myself. Lots of pomp and circumstance... Not really practical for what everyday hair would look like. My boyfriend is very turned off by my haircut... He's like You cut off all your hair... And my family. Although they liked the sleek look because it was different they said. Dang, most of your hair is gone... My confidence level is not the same as prior to the cut. Not my favorite experience... Listening and giving a customer what they want is super important. It is after all why we go get our hair done by a in quotations...

While I have rarely-if ever- had a truly great haircut, I have continued to hope. Somehow, I came across an Instagram post of Kelsey Osterman’s work. The person I follow had a great haircut so thusly, I began an hour long deep-dive into the social medias of Kelsey and her haircuts. One word I came across was “lived in”. I have wildly curly hair but am low-maintenance. I didn’t want yet ANOTHER cut that only looked decent if I spent an insane amount of time “doing” it every morning! So, with hope in my heart, I reached out to Kelsey. She responded with information and an invitation to come in for a free consultation. So I crossed my fingers and headed in. She sat with me, listened to my experiences, my fears, my hopes …. Told me what she thought she could accomplish, my options and some context for her suggestions (for ex. Using the different areas of hair density to inform her cutting). She happened to have time for a haircut. I said a short silent prayer and committed. Boy am I thrilled. This is NOT your typical “curly cut”. This was an artist who uses her vast knowledge of shapes, hair and her own curly-hair know-how to give me a cut with which I HAVE YET TO HAVE ANY PROBLEM. I have experienced ZERO post-haircut remorse, and I am a few weeks into this cut. Blown away, so grateful, and ready to shout it from...