This column originally appeared in Looped In NYC, our weekly newsletter for where to go and what to know. (Sign up here!)
I never go to a nail salon without a game plan.
My prep work normally involves hastily chopping off my cuticles to a length I’m comfortable with before I even leave my apartment. I rehearse my answers for why I’m not interested in gel extensions or even acrylics: ”I work with my hands” or “I type a lot.” These excuses are not the full truth, but most people who run nail salons can't relate to the real reason.
But there’s no need for an alibi when I’m in front of Sam Diz at Haus of Femme, which touts itself as New York City’s first lesbian-owned beauty bar. In fact, enough queer women have come to Diz’s salon requesting manicures with all – or even just some – of their nails left short that it’s even got its own name: “the bowling special.”
The moment I walk into the Bushwick salon, I can tell it’s going to be a totally different experience. There are bright colors, a giant Pride flag and the pandemonium of a business with more than a dozen technicians who are all fully booked for weeks at a time.
It’s not bad for a business that opened up just a few months ago.
Diz, a native New Yorker whose parents are from Argentina and Uruguay, has always loved getting her nails done. And when the pandemic forced plenty of people to experiment with cutting their own hair or growing out their beards, the self-taught nail artist also took time to hone her craft.
Within just five years, Diz, 26, had built enough clients working from home — and a savings account — to open Haus of Femme in October 2025 at just 25 years old. And news of the salon, which also offers services like tooth gems and is a self-described space for “the girls, the gays and the theys,” spread quickly through word of mouth.
“If you’re a part of the queer community or identify as a lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and you just feel like you could get beauty services somewhere else because you're afraid of getting judged or misunderstood, this is where you belong,” Diz said.
And Diz — who refers to nail art as a form of “gender-affirming care” — says that she has clients with a range of interests: Some want to be more feminine, more masculine or find ways to express their gender and sexuality artistically.
It’s clear that Haus of Femme has found an untapped market in the city, and it’s not one that its owner takes for granted.
“I'm a part of people's birthdays, weddings, funerals, graduations, you know, the good and the bad. Nails are such a major part of their lives, it’s a responsibility,” Diz said. “Most traditional nail salons care about just the service, not the meaning behind it.”
