Beware Of Dominican Salons!

I only go to Dominican salons for a rollerset and doobie with the occasional trim. I bring my own heat protectant and leave-in (usually Lacio Lacio or Aveda Naturally Straight) for them to use before rollersetting and have never had any issues. For blowouts, I stick to the BlowDry Bar. :yep:
 
Daina said:
@IslandGal27, you're welcome. The biggest changel I made was to stop being a straight haired natural. I only flat iron my hair now at most 4 times per year. Majority of the year I am curly with WnG's, braid/twist outs, buns or a french braid. My hair is straight now as I just touched up my color. I will leave it straight 2-3 weeks and then won't use heat again till March/April when I next trim.

For supplements I take Hair La Vie vitamins, drink bamboo tea, Chlorella and Spirulina. I recently within the last 2 months started using Xcel 21 as well. Finally as I have been transitioning Olaplex has been a saving grace.
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Great info. I need to stay far away from heat, gonna look into the supplements!
 
sharifeh said:
ive also cried in Dominican salons because of the pain and the heat- they hurt me so bad!
i get my hair straightened pretty often like all the time :lol: and I feel very little pain at the nicer salons I go to now
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aaaw lol. yeah its a matter of skill I guess knowing how to aim that dryer so it doesn't hit the scalp or the tops of the ears :shudders:. I will never forget that pain lol.
My hair was always dull and parched when I got blow outs. I think some people's hair just isn't built for blow outs. Mine is too fine I think. That combo of repetitive motion with a harsh brush, extreme heat, and pulling with a brush is too much for my hair.
 
Another issue was that I remember rinse out conditioner was being left in my hair after shampoos. My hair is of the kind of texture that any excess product buildup will result in dull stiff hair. I have to be very careful not to apply much of anything pre flat iron.
So when that conditioner was being left in the whole blow out went to waste because no amount of heat was going to give my hair the proper movement and shine. It really needs to be clean.
I'm so grateful that I understand my hair now and I know how to style it better than any salon has.
 
Ive been going to dominican salons for over a decade. I had very good experiences at different salon and others that were crazy. What OP mentioned about using cheap products...Ive seen it with my own eyes. I also challenged one of the stylist and asked her if that blue liquid was some type of decoration (barbicide). Throughout the years Ive learned that when you go to salon wether its a Dominican salon or not you cant trust the stylist 100% and if something doesnt please you...voice your opinion on the spot. Last but not least, I was surprised when I went to DR and got my hair done at a salon believe it or not, they were more professional, their products were on point and my experience was nothing like what Ive experienced in Canada or in the US. I genuinely believe that a lot of the salon owners in my area were not trained to do hair and just started doing hair to get by.
 
Casarela said:
Ive been going to dominican salons for over a decade. I had very good experiences at different salon and others that were crazy. What OP mentioned about using cheap products...Ive seen it with my own eyes. I also challenged one of the stylist and asked her if that blue liquid was some type of decoration (barbicide). Throughout the years Ive learned that when you go to salon wether its a Dominican salon or not you cant trust the stylist 100% and if something doesnt please you...voice your opinion on the spot. Last but not least, I was surprised when I went to DR and got my hair done at a salon believe it or not, they were more professional, their products were on point and my experience was nothing like what Ive experienced in Canada or in the US. I genuinely believe that a lot of the salon owners in my area were not trained to do hair and just started doing hair to get by.
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I got my hair done in DR too. Way different experience. I don't understand how things go so wrong here in the states.
 
Welp! I avoided this thread... but I'm about to get my hair cut after a bad mishap when I went to the dominican salon about 6 weeks ago. I washed and conditioned my hair at home myself and went in for a rollerset and blow out. I knew my hair was burnt b/c I smelled it as I left. I didn't think too much of it, just joked about the heat. But then, I knew the smell was pretty strong bc my SO told me he smelled my burnt hair when I was sleeping. I washed my hair the following week and my hair came out.... more like melted off. Came off in clumps! Like the hair just felt slimy and damaged and weak. It wouldn't stop coming out as I washed and continued on. I have pretty bad heat damage but more importantly my thickness and density is now GONE. Thankfully the breakage has subsided some but I really need a fresh start. My twist outs look struggle.. my hair is so much thinner.

Going to get a haircut tomorrow morning.
 
@Britt I'm sorry that happened to you. Hopefully after the haircut, your hair will bounce back and be healthy agian.

The first and last time I went to a Dominican salon was a terrible experience. This was almost 10 years ago but apparently I see the same problems persist to this day. At the time, they were complaining about how thick/kinky my hair was and that I should never stretch my relaxer due to my hair type. I felt disrespected and told myself I would never tolerate that ish agian.
 
flyygirlll2 said:
@Britt I'm sorry that happened to you. Hopefully after the haircut, your hair will bounce back and be healthy agian.

The first and last time I went to a Dominican salon was a terrible experience. This was almost 10 years ago but apparently I see the same problems persist to this day. At the time, they were complaining about how thick/kinky my hair was and that I should never stretch my relaxer due to my hair type. I felt disrespected and told myself I would never tolerate that ish agian.
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Thank you!
 
Britt said:
Welp! I avoided this thread... but I'm about to get my hair cut after a bad mishap when I went to the dominican salon about 6 weeks ago. I washed and conditioned my hair at home myself and went in for a rollerset and blow out. I knew my hair was burnt b/c I smelled it as I left. I didn't think too much of it, just joked about the heat. But then, I knew the smell was pretty strong bc my SO told me he smelled my burnt hair when I was sleeping. I washed my hair the following week and my hair came out.... more like melted off. Came off in clumps! Like the hair just felt slimy and damaged and weak. It wouldn't stop coming out as I washed and continued on. I have pretty bad heat damage but more importantly my thickness and density is now GONE. Thankfully the breakage has subsided some but I really need a fresh start. My twist outs look struggle.. my hair is so much thinner.

Going to get a haircut tomorrow morning.
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That's not just heat damage, that sounds like a chemical was snuck in.
 
Napp said:
Cheap hair products, improper use of barbicide if used at all, burning people's scalp with undiluted white vinegar after scratching the scalp to remove dandruff. They modify their dryers to get even hotter than the manufacturer setting. also they did not wash their towels
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Eewww! Gross!
 
You have to watch that heat and the stank attitudes toward Afro hair!

The first time I went to a Dominican salon, she used a "conditioner" on my head that burned my scalp. It left me with a quarter size scalp burn (my hair reverted back). Mind you, I've been natural since forever. My hair was laid though. :lachen:

I was going to a Black American stylist who's good but my hair would revert back if I sweated or it drizzled.

With the Dominicans, it didn't do that. I didn't get the roller set but the blow out. I ended up going to another Dominican salon twice before deciding to take a year-long break from straightening (I was still pretty new to it). I've only been to Dominicans a total of 4 times and one of the things I dislike most about them is their disdain for Afro hair. Yes, these women are black. They kept trying to convince me to get a relaxer because I have 4a/3c hair. We almost got into it a couple of times. I had a black Moroccan Egyptian stylist who did the same thing. She and I really got into it about my hair and the amount of heat she used.:arguing: My hair was laid tis time (I had another event) but I had small amount of heat damage after seeing her that one time. Never again! The Black American stylists were looking at me like, Girl, we were trying to let you know on the sly. o_O
 
Exactly!
I was natural but the stylists (and her co-workers) kept trying to convince me to relax! :huh:

flyygirlll2 said:
@Britt I'm sorry that happened to you. Hopefully after the haircut, your hair will bounce back and be healthy agian.

The first and last time I went to a Dominican salon was a terrible experience. This was almost 10 years ago but apparently I see the same problems persist to this day. At the time, they were complaining about how thick/kinky my hair was and that I should never stretch my relaxer due to my hair type. I felt disrespected and told myself I would never tolerate that ish agian.
Click to expand...
 
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I agree. Sounds like you have a great regimen.

I didn't straighten my hair until 10 years after being natural and learned the hard way.

You also have to watch out for some of these "natural" hair stylists too. Some, though they've been natural for years, have a negative view on natural hair (had one be shocked to see "kinky" hair grow to BSL) and don't always know how to handle it properly. I'm at the point where if a stylist hasn't had hair longer than APL or clients who she's helped grow longer than that, then I don't need to see them.

Daina said:
@IslandGal27, you're welcome. The biggest changel I made was to stop being a straight haired natural. I only flat iron my hair now at most 4 times per year. Majority of the year I am curly with WnG's, braid/twist outs, buns or a french braid. My hair is straight now as I just touched up my color. I will leave it straight 2-3 weeks and then won't use heat again till March/April when I next trim.

For supplements I take Hair La Vie vitamins, drink bamboo tea, Chlorella and Spirulina. I recently within the last 2 months started using Xcel 21 as well. Finally as I have been transitioning Olaplex has been a saving grace.
Click to expand...
 
They are damaging to the hair with the heat and pulling with the round brush. Your hair is bouncy at first and then becomes dry and brittle. I avoid them like the plague and have seen friends with thick hair got to thin hair as a result of those salons. Then some have the nerve to blow dry without heat protectant or conditioning the hair.
 
Well, this seals it.
I was going to check one out because I want to do something different with my hair.
I want to straighten it and color it reddish gold highlights.
But I don't want to lose my hard earned long hair over that.
Plus if any of them wenches disrespects my natural hair, we will have words.
 
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Britt said:
Thanks!
I cut my hair off recently... still lots of heat damage. Gonna baby it and start over.
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Sorry to hear that but I'm sure you are going to love your cut. I went to the salon Thanksgiving break and got 3 inches cut off to start with fuller thick ends. I love the way my hair lays and I can see a difference. My hair was past bra strap but it was long and thin. I hated that it seemed to be fuller in the crown and top and thinner toward the back and nape. I have a cute little past shoulder length bob and I am loving it!
 
Napp said:
Cheap hair products, improper use of barbicide if used at all, burning people's scalp with undiluted white vinegar after scratching the scalp to remove dandruff. They modify their dryers to get even hotter than the manufacturer setting. also they did not wash their towels
Click to expand...
I realized this after a stylist used a dirty comb (and by dirty I mean caked with dirt) on my hair.:mad:
 
I used to to go to this Dominican salon back at home to get my highlights done. At one point my hair was texturized and I remember having my hair blown out (see my avatar)and the girl was frustrated because my hair kept reverting. The salon was hot, the hair dryer was hot and that caused me to sweat. I just got tired of it all- the heat, the pulling, the porcupine like brush- including the time spent in the salon. When I went back as a natural, they were surprised when I said no to blowing out my hair. They said, "It's no problem!" I told them it was a problem and I didn't have the time. After my rollerset I would go home and straighten my own hair with with my instyler. It wasn't bone straight but I was fine with that.
 
Daina said:
@IslandGal27, you're welcome. The biggest changel I made was to stop being a straight haired natural. I only flat iron my hair now at most 4 times per year. Majority of the year I am curly with WnG's, braid/twist outs, buns or a french braid. My hair is straight now as I just touched up my color. I will leave it straight 2-3 weeks and then won't use heat again till March/April when I next trim.

For supplements I take Hair La Vie vitamins, drink bamboo tea, Chlorella and Spirulina. I recently within the last 2 months started using Xcel 21 as well. Finally as I have been transitioning Olaplex has been a saving grace.
Click to expand...

How has the olaplex helped you and do you still use it? I just ordered some
 
icsonia22 said:
How has the olaplex helped you and do you still use it? I just ordered some
Click to expand...

@icsonia22, hi I still use it occasionally maybe every 6 weeks or so. I'm more in maintenence mode now as I have transitioned most of my damage. I do believe Olapex was able to save me 4+ inches in length where the hair was repaired. For the hair I've had to transition and trim I was able to do it gradually and not have to big chop. For 3 months I faithfully used steps 1 and 2 weekly. After that I used step 2 only twice a month. Finally when I went into maintenance mode I used step 3 monthly. Philip Kingsley elasticizer was also a product I used as well. Both expensive but well worth it. If the site cooperates I will try to post pics.
 
Ok this first pic is when I first joined the site at the end of 2015. My hair was broken off and thinned considerably. I started using Olaplex in March of 2016. The 2nd picture is how my hair was able to rebound after about 9 months.

2017-02-23 16.41.32.jpg

20161029_185511.jpg

Not sure why the dates are showing weird but the blue shirt is before and the pic in the dress is after. Currently I am maintaining between WL and HL. So all together it took 2 years to really repair the damage. I'll never go back to a Dominican salon.
 
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Daina said:
Ok this first pic is when I first joined the site at the end of 2015. My hair was broken off and thinned considerably. I started using Olaplex in March of 2016. The 2nd picture is how my hair was able to rebound after about 9 months.

2017-02-23 16.41.32.jpg

20161029_185511.jpg

Not sure why the dates are showing weird but the blue shirt is before and the pic in the dress is after. Currently I am maintaining between WL and HL. So all together it took 2 years to really repair the damage. I'll never go back to a Dominican salon.
Click to expand...

Wow! Talk about a turn around. Your hair looks amazing! Now I'm even more excited to start using olaplex. I just have to learn how to trim my own ends. Last time i tried, it was an uneven hot mess lol.
 
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