Beauty & Rage Family Hair Salon

Tucked behind a bright turquoise door at 3107 Eubank Blvd NE, sits one of the most unusual, and most needed, hair studios in the city. Beauty & Rage isn't laid out like a typical salon. There's a toy Bronco truck kids can sit in while they get buzzed. There's a weighted cape for anxious little shoulders. There are tactile toys, sound toys, hair tinsel, and a small play corner in the waiting area. It's all by design, and it's all because of one stylist: Ashley Jaramillo.

From Color to Kids

Ashley didn't set out to become Albuquerque's go-to stylist for autistic and sensory-sensitive children. After cosmetology school and a string of jobs around the industry, she landed a position at a children's salon where she was doing color work. Somewhere along the way, cutting kids' hair became the part of the job she loved most, enough that she left coloring behind entirely to chase it. That move became the foundation of Beauty & Rage, which she opened in 2022.

Ashley originally wanted to call the business "Perfect Imperfection," but her husband worried it made her sound imperfect rather than embracing it. They landed on Beauty & Rage instead, a nod to the idea that everyone carries both beauty and struggle in their life, and that a salon can hold space for both.

A Salon Built Around Sensory Needs

Today, autistic children and kids with autistic tendencies make up the bulk of Ashley's clientele, by her own estimate, most of the families walking through her door. It shows in every detail of the space: the Bronco truck with a spinning wheel, the weighted cape to ease anxiety, tactile and sound-making toys scattered through the studio, and playful extras like hair tinsel and Dutch braids that turn a haircut into something a kid actually looks forward to.

Ashley is also a mother of five, two of whom have autistic tendencies themselves, which no doubt shapes the patience and instinct she brings to the chair. Sometimes that means literally chasing a wiggly toddler around the room mid-haircut. Sometimes it means letting a child sit at a toy table instead of a barber's chair entirely. Parents have told her some of those sessions produced the best haircuts their kids have ever had, simply because the child felt safe enough to sit still.

That philosophy extends beyond her own studio walls. Ashley also offers house-call appointments, and she says the mobile visits often work even better than sessions in the salon - being in a familiar home environment helps calm an autistic child immensely, especially once they already think of Ashley as a family friend rather than "the haircut lady."

Becoming Part of the Family

Ask Ashley what she wants people to take away from Beauty & Rage, and community and family top the list. Her regulars often start as just the kids, then the haircuts extend to mom, then dad, then friends and extended family get pulled in too. She's built a referral relationship with a local speech therapist, sending clients back and forth as their needs overlap. The goal, as she describes it, isn't just a good haircut - it's becoming a trusted fixture in a family's life.

Online, that reputation shows up clearly. Beauty & Rage holds a high rating across its Google reviews, with client after client calling out Ashley's patience and calm energy with kids. One recent review described her as having a positive, relaxed, and experienced energy and a particularly special way with kids. Another parent simply said they'd found a place where they and their child could both get cuts they loved. Several reviewers also point to Ashley's skill with curly hair specifically, something she discovered she had a knack for early on, and now happily works with, straightening it only if a client asks.

Looking Ahead

Word has spread well beyond Ashley's own neighborhood. She regularly sees families driving in from Rio Rancho, Santa Fe, Ruidoso, and other surrounding communities just for her chair. Most of her client base still comes from Instagram and Facebook, though she only recently started building a presence on Google, and it's already paying off. Looking three to five years down the road, Ashley hopes to open a few satellite locations so more Albuquerque-area families can access the kind of sensory-friendly care she's built her name on.

Visit Beauty & Rage

Beauty & Rage is located at 3107 Eubank Blvd NE, Suite 11B, Albuquerque, NM, look for the bright turquoise door near the brewery. House-call appointments are also available for families who need them.