Paige McMahon

Paige McMahon used to do 30 haircuts a day. She cut that to 10 or 12, every one a cut she is proud of, and that trade is the whole idea of her chair.

She is a Level 2 barber at Salon Kreed with two and a half years behind the chair, trained at Premier Cosmetology Academy. Her mother was a hairstylist and pushed her toward the work. Short hair is her lane, on men and on women. She loves a modern mullet, and she thinks the 90s flow cut earned its comeback, because it styles up clean for work and wears messy for a night out.

Her consultation runs in order. She introduces herself, checks your hair for cowlicks, growth patterns, and hairline, asks what products you use and how you wear it, asks how you want it cut, then says her plan back to you. The questions keep coming once she starts, and she will never rush you.

Some clients want to talk and some want a quiet few minutes to themselves. She is comfortable with either. Ask for something she has never done and she will tell you so, then pull in a more experienced stylist for tips or a hand.

Her advice is to stop fighting your hair type and learn what works with it. Between visits, do not cut it yourself. Keep your trims on the calendar and use a product to tame the awkward grow-out stages.

Off the clock she is with her animals, playing video games, or catching a show. Her playlist is alt rock, 70s throwbacks, and folk. Anything but pop country.

Book with Paige at Salon Kreed in Colorado Springs.