Unlike most salons, Shanna Moll Studio is not an open room with rows of chairs, chatting stylists and buzzing hair dryers. Instead owner Shanna Moll’s clients consult with her privately and have their hair treated, washed and cut in secluded rooms. Moll specializes in helping clients with any severity of hair loss due to aging, health issues, chemotherapy, eating disorders or trauma. Going to traditional salons with open rooms can be an uncomfortable experience for people experiencing hair loss, Moll said. “All of that emotional head space and the hours that they have to spend to try to cover up what’s going on, or not going swimming anymore, you’d be surprised how psychologically devastating hair loss is, and people don’t often think about that,” she said. After working as a stylist for over 28 years, Moll began seeing a client undergoing chemotherapy and decided to receive training on techniques to improve scalp health or fit clients for hair extensions or specially fitted wigs known as cranial prosthetics. “In the state of Texas, there are only two of us that do cranial prosthetics,” Moll said. As word of Moll’s specialty spread, more clients began coming to her from throughout Austin and out of state. After hiring other stylists to take over her clients without hair loss, Moll freed up time for clients seeking solutions for hair loss. “When a hair-loss client calls in, they used to have to wait two to three weeks,” she said. “Now I can get them in that week.” Moll said her success is due to her commitment to quality, the salon’s comforting atmosphere and her careful selection of employees. In her hiring process, Moll, who has bipolar disorder, is open with interviewees about her experience seeking help for her mental health. She said she wants her employees and clients to know her salon is a safe space to share vulnerabilities. “The majority of clients cry two times when they are here,” Moll said. “Once when they get here out of desperation and once when we give them a solution.”

Shanna Moll Studio

3921 Steck Ave., Ste. A101, Austin 512-789-5630 www.shannashairtherapy.com Hours: Tue. 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Wed.-Thu. 10 a.m.-7 p.m., Fri.-Sat. 9 a.m.-4 p.m., closed Sun.-Mon.