David Morgan had taken a nap in the car.
It was an hour drive from his home in Rochester to Little Bloom Studio in Concord. Upon arrival, his mom, Erin, unbuckled him from his car seat and carried her drowsy almost-two year-old into the hair salon and yoga studio.
As the pair walked in, David rubbed sleep from his eyes then immediately squirmed in his mother’s arms, itching to explore the colorful toys abounding in the space.
Owner Lanni McGrath got down on her knees to play with him. They tossed a ball back and forth, explored the place’s different nooks and crannies and stood together before the light-up fish tank, which enraptured the young boy, who pointed at it with one finger and turned to his mom, eyes alight in awe.
McGrath kept her shears close by but knew the haircut would happen in its own time. First, she wanted David to get acclimated to the space and develop a sense of comfort around her.
“I go with them, like I go with the flow,” she said.
David struggled at typical hair salons, his mom said. He didn’t enjoy sitting still and ended up fussing to the point of tears. So when she heard about Little Bloom, designed to be sensory-friendly and geared towards neurodiverse children, she knew they needed to try it.
As McGrath alternated between stacking blocks with David in one corner by a small trampoline and trimming portions of his brown hair, his mom looked around the studio and saw that it was “really unique, and in a wonderful way.”
“Some places that aren’t equipped to handle neurodivergent or on the spectrum or even just a fussy toddler, it’s very different,” said Erin Morgan. “You can see the frustration with them and it makes me uncomfortable because I’m both embarrassed for my son and I feel bad for the workers that I’m putting this on them. So this is such a more relaxed atmosphere, that she gets it.”
At Little Bloom, families can book appointments for the time-interval they believe their child will need, so the service is customizable, McGrath said. Her background as an applied behavior analysis therapist and paraprofessional working one-on-one with children lends itself perfectly to understanding her young clients.
“I basically navigate through body language, like as soon as I start, even if I don’t know them,” said McGrath, who initially became a hairdresser before moving into psychology. Now, with her business, everything feels “full circle.”
In the weeks since Little Bloom opened in mid-April, McGrath has met scores of new kids and worked to build their trust in her and the space she’s created. Everything in the studio is designed to destimulate the experience, from silent haircutting tools to calming paint colors on the walls. Parents even fill out a questionnaire ahead of time so McGrath can prepare for whatever best meets their child’s needs. Families also have the option to do a studio visit before the actual haircut appointment to help get acclimated.
“[It’s] very individualized, which is nice,” said McGrath. “So it just brings a little bit of peace to the stress of it all. It’s a battle. It’s a really big battle in that world that I feel like a lot of people don’t really see.”
McGrath always lets her clients know they can touch her hair, too, to help equalize the experience. She even lets kids test out haircuts on wigs she purchased, using child-friendly snippers.
“I just fully believe in like there’s no difference between a kid and me. Like if I’m doing it to you, it’s totally fair that you would want to do it to me,” she said. “It’s just getting on the same level as them and being like, ‘We’re equals. You’re here, I’m here, we can do this and have fun.'”
While one half of Little Bloom boasts two salon chairs, the fishtank, a Calming Corner with books and a small tent, the other side consists of yoga mats and a ceiling decorated with glow-in-the-dark stars. McGrath offers small yoga classes by appointment and sometimes holds pop-ups as well, with all the exercises — playful in nature — geared toward building body awareness, regulation confidence and growth.
While meeting kids wherever they’re at comes naturally for her, “I don’t think a lot of people have patience when it comes to certain stuff like this,” she said.
Working in schools, she noticed a need for activities such as yoga among the kids with whom she worked.
“I saw so many kids that were just denied sports, clubs, after school activities, stuff like that because they just didn’t have the resources for it or they didn’t have enough people or it just was maybe the ABA therapist couldn’t be there throughout the whole time or something,” she said.
With yoga, as with the rest of Little Bloom, an inviting atmosphere is a priority.
“That’s mainly the biggest part about yoga is just like everyone’s welcome,” she added with a smile.
Whether yoga or haircuts, McGrath makes sure that time spent in Little Bloom feels just like a hang out session.
As she watched her son continue to explore the studio with McGrath, Morgan took photos of him and grinned at the delight on his face.
“He’s having a blast. Typically he knows right when he walks in a hair salon that what he’s about to get the haircut, and so right walking through the door it’s a challenge,” she said. “But this is not your typical hair salon. So there’s so much to for him to do to ease into the situation. I think it’s awesome.”
Eventually, McGrath aims to get her clients so acclimated to haircuts that they can graduate to a traditional salon. In the meantime, she wants the experience to be as comfortable as possible.
“The goal is it needs to be a fun time. Whether you do a haircut, whether it’s yoga, it needs to be fun or calming, because then it’s easier to come back,” she said.
