About
Independent media for the people who make the beauty industry.
We tell their stories. We share what works.
What Salon Propaganda is
Salon Propaganda is an independent publication for working salon professionals: hairstylists building careers and businesses, independent stylists, and salon owners. We publish original stories, share practical business knowledge for free, and cover the culture behind the chair.
We cover the business and culture of salon work the way a good trade publication should: reporting, named sources, and credit where it's due. When we get something wrong, we say so and fix it.
Plenty of talented people in this industry never get written about past a follower count. Those are often the ones worth reading: the distinctive businesses, the decisions that didn't go to plan, the specifics another professional can take back to their own chair.
Who founded it
Joe Atang spent years in salon operations, consulting, and work behind the chair before starting Salon Propaganda. He has seen what helps a business hold together and what quietly pulls it apart, including from a few of his own mistakes. He started the publication to put that to use for the people doing the work now.
He brings a point of view and a lot of hard-won opinions, not a program to sell. The publication is bigger than any one founder, and it is built to stay that way. (A verified personal profile link will be added here once confirmed.)
How we work
Every story starts with a specific question, usually one that came up in the work itself or in conversation with people doing it. We interview, check what we're told, quote people accurately, ask before we feature anyone, and name our sources. If a number matters to the story, we show where it came from.
For now, our long-form issues go out through the newsletter, while this site holds the publication's story, its resources, and The Chair Is Open, our series in development. Over time, more of the original work will live here first.