In the borough of Millvale, you can find music festivals, breweries, local library, and as of a few weeks ago, Headstone Salon and Gallery, a place that co-owners Aiden Flame and Zoe Davis hope becomes a safe haven, a gallery, and a go-to for gothic styling services.
Three months ago, Davis’ downstairs neighbor moved out. Davis wasn’t thrilled about the possibility of an unknown new entity taking their place. The former business was a salon, so it had a ready-made set-up, she tells Pittsburgh City Paper. Not being a hairdresser by trade gave Davis a momentary pause until she remembered she had friends with expertise.
“Aiden had been doing my hair for years, and it was already a salon, but there wasn’t anything particularly special about it, [so] we came in and we made it special,” Davis says. “We made this place thrive in a way that it hadn’t previously known, and really, it was kind of like almost having some security in my life, too.”
Davis handles the business operations, while Flame handles the hairdressing and curates the artwork featured throughout the salon. The pair have been friends for years, share several mutual friends, and Davis had experienced Flame’s services firsthand; therefore, they felt familiar enough with each other’s strengths to go into business together.
Flame, who began studying cosmetology at 15 and became a licensed practitioner at 17, says Davis’ request to be her business partner was a dream come true.
“Zoe randomly hit me up … and I couldn’t believe that something I had dreamed about since I was a teenager was being delivered to me, so I was like, ‘Yes, I want to do that absolutely,’” Flame says.
Now that Headstone is up, running, and open to the public, the services they offer include cuts, styling, extensions, and colors in “dramatic hues.” Additionally, visitors can book deep conditioners, general styling, and self-care packages, or have headshots taken.
Looking back on her own education, Flame remembers that the cosmetology school she attended had a rigid attitude about beauty and didn’t teach its students about textured hair or vivid hair color, meaning non-naturally occurring hair colors such as blue or green. Flame recalls that her education took a turn for the better when an instructor from out of town came and helped her learn styling techniques not included in the syllabus.
Davis and Flame agree that, as an alternative person, sometimes salons aren’t always welcoming or affirming of self-expression. At Headstone, Davis says she’d like people to come in and know that the salon is a place where they can be authentic and not judged.
“The first time that Aiden and I opened, she said, ‘Look, you got to get your hair done before we open. You have to look like a salon owner now.’ So she did my hair, and I realized that I had always not really gone to salons in life because I am alternative, and sometimes I can be judged when I do go to salons,” Davis says. “I was crying when she was doing my hair in here the first time, because I was like, ‘This is why we’re doing this.’”
In the weeks they’ve been in business, Davis and Flame agree that they’ve been met with kindness and support from the community and, in particular, their fellow local business owners. The two look forward to welcoming their neighbors to a variety of events, starting with the salon’s planned Tattoo Flash and Self-Care Night on Sept. 28, featuring a movie, snacks, self-care services, and tattoos by a local artist.
“We’ll have specials for self-care packages, like deep conditioners and a trim and things like that. On a regular day, the service list is a little shorter, but by appointment, we can book almost anything that somebody might need, and it’s just a matter of me connecting them to the right stylist,” Flame says. “And then we’re also going to have special event days where we’re open after hours.”
Ultimately, the duo hopes to make the salon a safe place where their clients can become their most authentic selves.
“I want to make people feel good about themselves. As a stylist, I love when I have clients who tell me that I made them feel like themselves or I made them feel like they were safe to express how they really want to look,” Flame says. “For the gallery, I want to offer a space where artists can trust that their work is safely housed here and respected, and hopefully try to get some money flowing into the community by selling things.”
This article appears in Sept. 24-30 2025.
