By Hannah Caver, Staff Writer
TRUSSVILLE — Pigtails and Crewcuts, a hair salon for the entire family, has opened in Trussville.
Pigtails and Crewcuts is a franchise that started in the Buckhead area of Atlanta, Georgia, and has been serving families for 17 years.
Pigtails and Crewcuts is a hair salon for all children of all ages, decorated with primary color; it has the opportunity to host events for children and their families. The salon does not have an age limit. Pigtails and Crewcut Trussville and Vestavia Hills owner, Jennifer Murray, said that they have provided hair cuts to children as young as two weeks old and adults in their mid-70s.
The salon offers families many outlets to entertain children waiting for a haircut. Children can play with trains, watch a movie from one of the four TVs in the salon, play Nintendo Switch, or visit the party room equipped with a craft table and toys.
Each station in the salon has lollipops and animal crackers for children to enjoy while getting a haircut. After each haircut, children can pick a prize out of the treasure chest. Murray said she doesn’t want any child to leave empty-handed.
Pigtails and Crewcuts does not want to leave any child left out, and Murray explained that they will always offer services to children with extraordinary needs.
“Some parents, family members, caregivers, whoever have children with special needs that are on the autism spectrum or have Down Syndrome; they’re apprehensive about bringing their children to places such as ours because they’re not sure if they would be welcomed, or if we would be tolerable,” Murray said.
Murray wants people to know that regardless of any challenges you have, Pigtail and Crewcuts will do their best to make everyone feel welcome, secure, and comfortable.
“If a child needs to change up the chair that they’re sitting in, take a break for a few minutes while we do another hair cut, then after we resume the hair cut, we can do that,” Murray said. “I want people to know we don’t discriminate. We want everybody to come in and be welcomed and comfortable because we want to provide them with a wonderful experience where they’ll keep coming back to us, they’ll tell their friends, and it’ll be a great thing for everybody.”
Pigtails and Crewcuts wants to provide the City of Trussville with an experience that wasn’t available before.
“Our bread and butter is really just a haircut experience for the whole family,” Murray said.
Murray explained the process of an “add-on hair cut,” where one child is scheduled for a hair cut, but if a sibling or guardian accompanying the child can also receive a hair cut.
“We’re able to give people a wonderful experience because we’re saving them from having to go back and make another appointment or go somewhere else where we’re able to take care of it right then and there for them,” Murray said.
Two years ago, Murray opened the first Pigtails and Crewcuts in Alabama. Murray has a marketing and merchandising background, worked in corporate America before having children, and became a stay-at-home mom.
Murray began working from home as an analyst but said she didn’t feel challenged. Wanting to continue contributing to her family’s income, she reached out to a co-worker who had opened three Pigtails and Crewcuts salons in the Orlando area.
Realizing the potential to support her family and help others in her community, Murrary decided she would open her own business.
“I was a new mom with young kids,” Murray said. “I loved the idea of getting to be around kids more to where it was a place where I could bring my kids if I needed to be at work and not have to worry about having a daycare option for them or a nanny or a babysitter that I had the flexibility to still be with my kids and still be a working parent.”
Trussville was one of the locations that Murray first looked into when opening Pigtails and Crewcuts two years earlier, but due to timing issues, she opened the Vestavia Hills location first. Now, finding the space in Trussville still available, Murray decided to open the second Alabama location for Pigtails and Crewcuts.
“It’s been a great experience with that,” Murray said. “I feel like everything has worked out perfectly since it was the same spot that I was looking at going two years ago, and we’re here, and it’s been a great start so far.”
Pigtails and Crewcuts is located in the same shopping center as Taco Mama and Metro Diner and is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. To book an appointment, visit pigtailsandcrewcuts.com/trussville. The website allows you to create an account to add every member of your family. Appointments are booked for every 20 minutes. Walk-ins are also accepted at Pigtail and Crewcuts, but Murray asks customers to message them on Facebook or call at (205) 508-5747 the salon for estimated wait times due to appointments.
