Another day, another problematic public figure getting dragged by Gen-Z on TikTok.
If you follow beauty Instagram, then you’re probably familiar with Arizona-based hairstylist Chrissy Rasmussen AKA ‘Hair by Chrissy.’
Specialising in extension installation, influencers and celebrities from all over the U.S. fly to Chrissy’s Habit Salon just outside of Pheonix for her very specific aesthetic. You might not know her name, but you surely know her signature look— very long, very thick, and very choppy extensions styled in a mermaid wave.
But now, the go-to stylist is facing backlash after videos began flooding TikTok’s For You Page outing Chrissy and her salon for highly problematic behavior, including promoting anti-mask culture, discriminating against POC, and providing horrible customer experiences (unless you’re an influencer, obvs).
Here’s how it all went down.
The drama kicked off when people noticed that despite CDC guidelines, masks are not frequently worn at Chrissy’s salon. In screenshots posted to Twitter, it also appears Chrissy has liked multiple anti-mask comments on her most recent TikTok videos, including “[masks] don’t work so what’s the point” and “survival rate is 99.9% they’ll be fine.”
Once news of Chrissy’s anti-mask ideals picked up across the platform, users started sifting through reviews for her salon, revealing that numerous POC reportedly had very negative experiences with Chrissy and her staff.
A viral TikTok by @bysalma exposes Habit Salon reviews from months prior. “There just seems to be a consistent theme of people calling them out for racism,” she says before sharing screenshots from negative reviews.
“Apparently they don’t service people of colour,” one review reads. “What a waste, place has such poor values. Definitely would not recommend. Don’t waste your money.”
Multiple others claim the salon has been deleting negative reviews and blocking commenters, most notably ones that suggest that “the environment is not welcoming if you are not white.” Another review says that Emma, a hairstylist who works at the salon, made a joke about “comparing her black dog to people of colour.”
Due to an influx of negative reviews in recent days, Yelp is currently monitoring Habit Salon’s page.
Chrissy has since responded to the backlash via Instagram, not with an apology or explanation, but by sharing a TikTok from her former videographer Dallas Campbell Films who claims she is “one of the most talented and hard-working people I know and is AMAZING at what she does.” He then proceeds to share a montage of film work he’s done for Chrissy, all of which include exclusively white women.
Other white influencers and industry professionals have come to Chrissy’s defense, including Utah-based Indy Blue.
Despite the heavy accusations, it doesn’t look like Chrissy will be reflecting on her actions or biases any time soon.