poookie
Well-Known Member
not natural yet, but i took the first step!
i got my hair done at the Aveda Institute in Washington, DC. I went in for a shampoo, deep conditioning treatment, cut, & thermal styling (aveda's fancy word for flat ironing the roots
).
grand total came to $30!
Here are some pics, more can be found at my fotki (it's locked, check out my profile under the About Me section for the password)
ignore the silly face please!!!
Sadly the price was one of the few good things about this visit.
the stylist (who was natural) was extremely rough on my hair. aveda's methods for styling involve blow drying with a DENMAN brush. i said NO WAY. denman on this fine hair always means breakage. so she broke down & got a paddle brush. i brought a wide toothed comb for her to use, but she refused to use it, saying that she was being graded on the aveda methods. i thought it was in poor taste to ignore my request, considering i was a customer.
anyways, first she deep conditioned using the Zero End (?) Treatment. i think it's only available at the salon. it totally melted my new growth, & softened my hair (i clarified with bentonite clay the night before, & did a hardcore protein treatment to protect it, which is why it was so hard). she left that on for 20 minutes.
next was shampoo & conditioning. she used the Aveda Smooth Infusion lines. the products were WONDERFUL! smelled nice & all. but she washed my hair like they do in the herbal essences commercial. just threw it around on my head. which made it a tangled mess after she rinsed out the conditioner.
styling. a 100% pure nightmare. i'm almost 11 weeks post, and she used a paddle brush to detangle my hair. i suggested that she start off with a wide toothed comb. she said a fine toothed comb was the only combs they had available. i pulled out my wide tooth. she refused to use it, saying it wasn't sanitary, and that she had to use what the salon provided. so i lost (i am not exaggerating) a baseball-sized amount of hair after she blow dried it. i NEVER lose that much hair, even after taking down braids for 2 months.
the result came out nice, however she cut off much more than i wanted her to. i told her to only cut up to shoulder length, but she cut my nape up from 4" at its longest point, up to about an inch. the good thing is that i'm totally natural at the bottom portion of my nape! however, my hair won't be all one length until i BC for real.
she used a Solia flat iron, & aveda brilliant as a finisher. which helped, it was raining outside, & i was pleased to say my roots didn't revert.
also... i really didn't like the stylist's attitude. i told her that i was transitioning to natural, & she was telling me about all the things i was doing wrong with my hair. like my color (clairol luminize & henna) was damaging
, i need to go ahead and chop without a transition
, i needed to flat iron daily to keep the style looking nice
x1,000. i won't be returning. also, the experience took FOUR HOURS. i found out it was her first week doing hair 
i'd recommend the aveda institute for anyone who's already natural, or has super strong coarse hair. mine is fine textured, and she was very rough with it. i give my experience a 4/10, and the result an 8/10.
just wanted to share!!
i got my hair done at the Aveda Institute in Washington, DC. I went in for a shampoo, deep conditioning treatment, cut, & thermal styling (aveda's fancy word for flat ironing the roots

grand total came to $30!
Here are some pics, more can be found at my fotki (it's locked, check out my profile under the About Me section for the password)

ignore the silly face please!!!


Sadly the price was one of the few good things about this visit.
the stylist (who was natural) was extremely rough on my hair. aveda's methods for styling involve blow drying with a DENMAN brush. i said NO WAY. denman on this fine hair always means breakage. so she broke down & got a paddle brush. i brought a wide toothed comb for her to use, but she refused to use it, saying that she was being graded on the aveda methods. i thought it was in poor taste to ignore my request, considering i was a customer.
anyways, first she deep conditioned using the Zero End (?) Treatment. i think it's only available at the salon. it totally melted my new growth, & softened my hair (i clarified with bentonite clay the night before, & did a hardcore protein treatment to protect it, which is why it was so hard). she left that on for 20 minutes.
next was shampoo & conditioning. she used the Aveda Smooth Infusion lines. the products were WONDERFUL! smelled nice & all. but she washed my hair like they do in the herbal essences commercial. just threw it around on my head. which made it a tangled mess after she rinsed out the conditioner.
styling. a 100% pure nightmare. i'm almost 11 weeks post, and she used a paddle brush to detangle my hair. i suggested that she start off with a wide toothed comb. she said a fine toothed comb was the only combs they had available. i pulled out my wide tooth. she refused to use it, saying it wasn't sanitary, and that she had to use what the salon provided. so i lost (i am not exaggerating) a baseball-sized amount of hair after she blow dried it. i NEVER lose that much hair, even after taking down braids for 2 months.
the result came out nice, however she cut off much more than i wanted her to. i told her to only cut up to shoulder length, but she cut my nape up from 4" at its longest point, up to about an inch. the good thing is that i'm totally natural at the bottom portion of my nape! however, my hair won't be all one length until i BC for real.
she used a Solia flat iron, & aveda brilliant as a finisher. which helped, it was raining outside, & i was pleased to say my roots didn't revert.
also... i really didn't like the stylist's attitude. i told her that i was transitioning to natural, & she was telling me about all the things i was doing wrong with my hair. like my color (clairol luminize & henna) was damaging





i'd recommend the aveda institute for anyone who's already natural, or has super strong coarse hair. mine is fine textured, and she was very rough with it. i give my experience a 4/10, and the result an 8/10.
just wanted to share!!
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