Meet the barber providing an inclusive space online to help everyone look and feel their best
Tyler Lumb is providing virtual grooming guidance for people of all gender identities with help from Gillette
Inclusive-space trailblazer and entrepreneur Tyler Lumb is filling an increasingly nagging need for Canadians. With the help of Gillette, Lumb launched My Virtual Barber: an online video meeting space where people can connect with a professional, by appointment, to get self-grooming guidance while many salons and barber shops remain closed due to COVID-19.
Appointments are available at gillettevirtualbarbershop.resurva.com, where you can sign up for one of three options: a guided haircut, a guided shave or just a general conversation about good grooming. It's an inclusive space that puts function over gender, making it a haven for many in the LGBTQ community.
Lumb knows all about the importance of inclusivity and equality first-hand. Seven years ago, he was in desperate need of a haircut. While he had yet to begin his transition, Lumb had already started gravitating toward his authentic self, sporting a hairstyle mostly associated with men and male-presenting people: a fade. A new salon in his then-hometown of Brampton, Ont., had posted a sign that said, "Men's Haircuts: $25."
"I hadn't transitioned yet, so I went in and said, 'Hey, who does the best fade? Because I'm looking for a men's haircut.' They put me with someone else who was also queer, and he gave me a safe space in his chair. I got an incredible haircut," Lumb says. "When I went to go pay my $25, they charged me $60. When I asked why, they said it was because I was female. I tried to fight it. I said, 'Just because I have women's parts, doesn't mean that I am getting a women's haircut.'"
Lumb lost that battle, but it would be one of the catalysts that changed his life. Unhappy in a stagnant job for a decade, he was in desperate search of something more creative and fulfilling.
"I started to look on Instagram for different hairstyles and I came across barber videos," he says. "I started watching these barbers giving haircuts, and then I started watching other barbers creating art in people's hair and I was hooked, right away. The next day, I quit my job."
Lumb apprenticed at a Toronto barbershop before moving to a salon to round out his skill set with scissors, but the negative experience he had back in Brampton stuck with him. The more time he spent working in the industry, the more he noticed the absence of inclusive spaces for LGBTQ people.
"It can be very uncomfortable for [those in] the queer community to go into something that is very much a boys' club," he says. "It can be difficult to communicate the haircut you want if you're presenting more female. Questions can arise like, 'Are you sure you want to go that short?', 'Is your boyfriend OK with you going that short?', 'Maybe you should speak to someone else about going that short.' This can truly take away from affirming who you want to show on the outside and with that comes dysphoria."
Indeed, for members of the trans and queer community, something as simple as a haircut or a shave can have a powerful effect on one's sense of identity. It's part of the reason Lumb eventually started MPL Cuts, a non-binary barbershop that gave cuts based on clients' desires, not their perceived gender.
"A lot of folks from the community were so happy about having a space that they felt comfortable and safe in," he says. "I think that they really enjoyed the experience that MPL Cuts brought to them, and it became a place where people would just stop by to say 'Hi.'"
Since then, the world has changed. COVID-19 has forced us to socially distance, and many in the LGBTQ community are struggling with feelings of isolation. Others have been thrust back into hostile or unsupportive spaces, away from their chosen families. This unique situation makes Gillette's collaboration with Lumb a lifeline.
"When COVID-19 hit, I knew things were gonna change, but I have an entrepreneurial mindset," he says. "I'm so glad that Gillette has been supportive of my efforts to support my own community, the LGBTQ community, and recognized that being inclusive of all people everyday is a huge part of a man being his best self."
It's all part of the brand's modern mission.
"Gillette supports everyone in their journey to look, feel and act their best every day. As a brand, we've been on our own journey, and we are committed to supporting individuals and associations that are helping others to become their 'best selves,'" says Jenny Seiler, country leader for Gillette Canada.
That mission and mindset has allowed Lumb to adapt and expand his inclusive space into a nationwide platform. But Gillette's support goes far beyond My Virtual Barber. Among many other initiatives that enable Canadians to recognize and celebrate their authentic selves, the company is also supporting the Dresscode Project — a non-profit global initiative with roots in Canada that is "committed to providing positive, gender-affirming services and spaces for LGBTQ clients." Lumb is a board member, and to call Gillette's support of the initiative important, he says, would be an understatement.
"The message Gillette sends is [that] they are allies in marginalized communities, and they are consistently fighting for inclusion and equality," he says. "Personally, [I] think Gillette is beyond an ally at this point. They are a part of our community with open arms. Their message goes beyond inclusion … in the LGBTQ community — they are a brand for everybody."
Last year, I wrote about Samson Brown, a trans man who shared his first shave with the world. Lumb says seeing it was intimate and inspiring.
"It was so touching to see a father engaged in [Samson's] transition. To have him guide him through his first shave — it must have been such a joyous occasion for both of them, and I felt so happy for Samson to have that moment with his dad."
Lumb lost his father at age eight. However, his extensive training makes him an expert in the art of shaving, and he's about to put it to good use as he hits the same milestone in his transition.
"I have not shaved my own face. I have been transitioning for three years and, just recently, I started to grow facial hair," Lumb says.
And just like Brown, he's ready to share it with the world. "I wanted to share this moment … to teach other men who are maybe unfamiliar with shaving, and maybe who don't have a father figure to help them properly shave," he says. "I myself didn't have a father figure or anyone to teach me. So I think it's important to give my knowledge of grooming to people out there who really need it, especially folks in my own community who don't have that."
And many don't. It's no secret the trans community faces often unthinkable challenges and resistance in seeking their authentic selves. While shaving may seem like a trivial part of that journey, and of every man's existence, it marks a meaningful milestone for trans men. In sharing both Brown and Lumb's story, Gillette is demonstrating its understanding of the importance of this moment and the unique challenges it can present. The company's hope is to help create an inclusive space, and provide the right tools and guidance for trans men as they take another pivotal step toward their true selves.
You can check out Lumb's first shave on his Instagram, @tylerrlumb, later this month. He hopes it gets shared because as he puts it:
"The more intimate moments you share with people, the more people will see you as a person. What it means for me as a trans man to shave for the first time is the reassurance that I'm progressing in my transition. The way I felt for so long inside is projecting, finally on the outside, especially with my newfound facial hair. It's a right of passage to becoming a man, your first shave."
Ryan E. Thompson is a Toronto based television producer and writer specializing in LGBTQ issues and entertainment.
This is paid content produced on behalf of Gillette. This is not CBC journalistic content.