Hey, I’m Dre. Before I opened the Salon in 2008, I worked everywhere from Fantastic Sams, Supercuts, and Sport Clips to full-service day spas. Some places served mostly women, some served mostly men, and I kept wondering why it was so hard to find a place that welcomed everybody. I had questions about the pricing, too. Why was a woman with a short pixie paying more than a man with thick hair down to his waist? I knew which one took longer. The prices made no damn sense to me.

As a BIPOC stylist in a predominantly white community, I was looking for a place where I could work behind the chair, get a good education, and be treated like an equal. I was genuinely excited when I got that opportunity at a big-name Salon here in Fort Collins.

One day, on my way into work, I ran into my cousin outside. I hadn’t seen him in a while, so of course I hugged him. He was a tattooed, cholo-looking guy, and my boss saw us. She told me my Mexican family wasn’t their ideal clientele. Between that and how they’d already been treating me, I’d had enough. She saw a guy with tattoos. I saw my cousin, and I was happy to see him.

I walked out right then and there, middle fingers up. I knew exactly what education I was walking away from. I also knew what it would cost me to stay and go along with it. So I said, “Fuck it. I’ll create my own space.” That is exactly what I did.

How we became Hearts and Hair

I knew hair. Running a business was a whole other thing. I read Business for Dummies, and the advice that stuck with me was to say who you are and what you do. I talked it through with Gilbert, my life partner, and he’s the one who came up with His and Her Salon. I own the business. He gets full credit for the name.

In 2008, gender language and pronouns were different. His and Her was my way of saying there was a chair for everybody. We opened with gender-neutral pricing, and as far as I know, we were the first Salon in Northern Colorado built around that idea. Over the years, guests have driven from Wyoming and Nebraska for an appointment. When someone tells us they can finally sit in a chair, be themselves, and feel heard, it puts that drive into perspective.

In 2025, we became Hearts and Hair. I wanted a name that made room for everyone I’d meant to welcome from the very beginning. And after all these years behind the chair, I swear my team and I have touched more hearts than hair. That’s why the name felt so right.

What that means for you in the chair

1. You pay for the work it takes to create your look. Our pricing is gender-neutral and reflects the service, your hair’s length and density, and the time involved. That’s why our online menu has so many options. Take a minute to read through them, and if you’re between two choices or wondering what to book, reach out. We’re happy to help.

1. We specialize in doing good hair. I genuinely love doing hair, and I wanted to do all hair well. A great cut and a little luxury should be available whether you wear a close clipper cut, waist-length coils, or anything in between. We work with straight, wavy, curly, and coily hair, offering everything from shags and long layers to balayage, gray blending, vivids, and extensions.

1. Your hair has to work in your actual life. Tell us how you wear it, what you’re willing to do in the morning, and what drove you nuts about your last cut. We’ll make suggestions, listen to what you think, and talk about how it’ll grow out between visits.
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The people who make this place feel like home

It took me years, and some hard lessons as an employer, to build the team and culture we have now. I’m proud of how much we genuinely care about each other. We share what we know, celebrate each other’s wins, and show up when someone needs a hand. To me, leading means doing the work alongside my team. I won’t ask a stylist to do something I wouldn’t do myself.

Education is still a huge part of that. I’ve taught onstage at hair shows, won the opportunity to shadow Presley Poe, and learned from people I looked up to in the industry. I love bringing that kind of education to Northern Colorado. We host classes at the Salon and open them up to stylists from other Salons, too. There are enough clients to go around, and I want good education to reach as many stylists as it can.

earned the opportunity to shadow Presley Poe, and learned

Everyone here is a Salon employee, and we work as one team. If the stylist you usually see at Hearts and Hair is on maternity leave, on vacation, out sick, or booked when you’re free, we’d love to help you find someone right here. We keep thorough notes, from your color formula to what you liked about your last cut, so another stylist can pick up where you left off. Some guests book with whoever’s available because they trust all of us and like how it feels here. You can also have a favorite person for color and a favorite person for cuts. We love that you found both under one roof.

We like to say hi and introduce you around so you can get to know the people you’ll see when you come in. We all have different personalities, and sometimes you click with someone you met while your color was processing. On a chatty day, it feels like an old-school barbershop. We laugh, we cry, we share our life experiences, and one conversation can go from books to family to Politics (Yes, I said Politics, because in this era, how can we not!) before your blow-dry is done. If you’d rather have a quiet appointment, we’re happy to make space for that, too, and the entire salon will respect that.

We’ve had guests come in as kids, come back for graduation hair, and eventually sit down with us to talk wedding hair. We see whole families, and we’ve had couples make a date out of getting their hair done together. My team and I love getting to know you through it all, including the regular Tuesdays in between.

A little about our social media

Our feeds are a glimpse of the Salon. You’ll see some hair, more day-to-day stuff in our stories, and community events we’re excited to share. Honestly, we forget to take the damn after photo half the time. Keeping up can feel like a second job, and we get in our heads about posting our own work, too. We could be more consistent, and I own that. When you’re in the chair, I want my stylists focused on you. Most days, that’s where our attention goes.

I’m grateful that people keep finding us and coming back. They tell us they feel safe here, they like spending time with us, and it helps that we’re really fucking good at hair.

If you catch good lighting on the way to your car, take the selfie. Hell, take three. If you feel like sharing one, tag @Hearts.And.Hair.NOCO. It helps people see more of the hair that comes out of our chairs, and seeing you feel yourself in your new hair is one of the best compliments you can give us.

What matters to us

We’re a BIPOC-owned, woman-owned Salon, and inclusivity matters to us. Queer, trans, nonbinary, disabled, and neurodivergent people are part of our community, alongside people of different races, cultures, and faiths, including people who practice no faith at all. I know inclusion gets talked about like it’s a political issue. Here, it looks like using someone’s name and pronouns, taking accessibility and sensory needs seriously, and treating the person in the next chair with respect. If you take issue with that, please book elsewhere.

I bring those values into what we carry, too. I want to know what’s in our products, why those ingredients are there, what the company stands for, and what it’s doing to reduce its environmental impact. If you’re curious about what we’re using on your hair, ask. You’ll make our little hair-nerd hearts happy.

If this feels like somewhere you could see yourself coming back to, my team and I would love to meet you. We’re at 428 Remington Street in downtown Fort Collins, Colorado. You can browse our services, book online, or start with a consultation.

We hope to see you in one of our chairs,

~Dre