Black salons closing due to changing trends

[ActionActress]

Maybe someone should tell the kind professor that some Black people go to church, volunteer at community centers, get soul food take-out and read the newspapers...as well as gossip with friends and family. Black salons as a rich cultural experience might be the case for some but not for all. Besides, they are often overbooked, wasting your time and money. I don't care much to hear about Laquisha's boyfriend last Saturday night and the fight she had with LaTeesha's cousin where the police intervened. I also don't want to be asked to buy fragrance oils by a man with henna-tinted beard, carrying a rickety cardboard box and selling bean pies in the trunk of his car. Foremost, I want my service started within 5-10 minutes of the appointment time and certainly do not want to have it stop mid-air while you go and get fried catfish and hushpuppies at momma-anem, bring it back, talk on the phone and juggle bites and licking fingers while touching my head. Those were ghetto salons. As for the buppie bougie Black salons in the burbs? They replaced professionalism with attitude-ism, thinking it is one and the same.

I'm cracking up at this one...So true!!

 

[ryanshope]

And another thing...lol( I could go on for days) going to the hair salon has never been a TREAT or an act of pampering for me---it is at best maintenance; at worst a hair butchery. I have left the hair salon in tears more often then with cheers---the cut was too short, the style didn't resemble the photo I brought in, I was charged for "additional" services, or I was quoted one price and paid another. I have been in the salon for 4 hours for a wash n set, had stylists do their BFF/GFs hair before mine---and don't get me started on the cliquish behavior in some salons!

As a consumer, an AVID consumer, I love, love good customer service. I will frequent a store and pay more for good customer service. So when I am dealing with someone that is servicing something that is very personal to me(my hair) I am sensitive to how it is treated---don't rough house my hair, don't get short because I have different hair goals and don't straight out LIE to me about techniques and products.

 

[empressri]

I'm not a salon goer much anymore, but I also don't really see African American salons going the way of the dinosaur anytime soon. I know plenty of women who don't know how to manage their hair and still, despite the downturn in the economy, and all their complaints about their stylists, drop $60+ every other week to get it done.

you know what they say, folks can be broke but best believe that hair and nails is going to stay did

i think the economy and folks that cant pay rent are closing, soooo many places that i used to frequent (non hair!) were shut down sadly.

 

[yaya24]

Well all good things must come to an end.

My former beautician told me that it was not a good idea for me to go natural with my texture of hair.. that was the end of that relationship.

I am sure she was just concered about missing out on that additional 75$ for my touchups

 

[thenimblelife22]

Maybe someone should tell the kind professor that some Black people go to church, volunteer at community centers, get soul food take-out and read the newspapers...as well as gossip with friends and family. Black salons as a rich cultural experience might be the case for some but not for all. Besides, they are often overbooked, wasting your time and money. I don't care much to hear about Laquisha's boyfriend last Saturday night and the fight she had with LaTeesha's cousin where the police intervened. I also don't want to be asked to buy fragrance oils by a man with henna-tinted beard, carrying a rickety cardboard box and selling bean pies in the trunk of his car. Foremost, I want my service started within 5-10 minutes of the appointment time and certainly do not want to have it stop mid-air while you go and get fried catfish and hushpuppies at momma-anem, bring it back, talk on the phone and juggle bites and licking fingers while touching my head. Those were ghetto salons. As for the buppie bougie Black salons in the burbs? They replaced professionalism with attitude-ism, thinking it is one and the same.

This is so right! Especially the henna-tinted beard man who smells like patchouli. And let's not forget the CD/DVD man, but I digress.

As for the bolded, yes, many of the upscale black salons unfortunately think attitude and professionalism are one in the same. Not all upscale salons of course, but many. In fact, to justify the nasty attitude, they'll often "remind" you of their professionalism by saying things like "This is a business!" or "I am a professional!" If you were, you wouldn't have to say it all the time. It's kinda like when 16 year olds constantly tell everyone "I'm grown!"

As an aside, I really, really want to get in on the Dominican salon train, but all the one's I've been to thus far (DC area) try to charge an ABSURD amount for natural hair, and seem to have an attitude when it comes to servicing black clients period. Yeah, they're cheaper, quicker, and the results look really nice, but for the terrible service and the not-so-subtle attitude? I'm good. I refuse to go to ANY salon that charges the "natural tax", but the fact that Dominican salons—who specialize in STRAIGHTENING NON-STRAIGHT HAIR—would charge extra for not just for "natural hair", but any hair with a texture greater than, say, 3A really grinds my gears . Especially when the stylists/owners have kinky/curly hair themselves. I mean, why would I go to a salon where I'm blatantly discriminated against, even if my hair does look great afterward?

*Climbs off of soapbox*

 

[Valerie]

I haven't been to a Black Salon since '05 or '06. I will never go to one again unless they change!

-They need to stop being slow! You come in at 7am and leave at 7pm. I don't spend that much time at my job!
-They need to stop eating all over the clients head! Who eats around hair anyways...Nasty much!
-The clients have to stop having drama with other clients wanting to fight!
-The stylist have to stop bringing their baby daddy drama to work!
-They need to stop with the "somebody stole my clients from me" drama! Upgrade your skills ma!
-They need to stop talking on the phone while curling, flat-ironing or relaxing people's hair!
-They need to stop asking their clients to do ish for them like, "Yeah I know you are MY client and you are PAYING ME to provide a service for YOU, but while you waiting for your turn to get under the dryer... can you run next door to the lickka store and get me a pop".
-They just need to be professional!

Maybe this will be a wakeup call for them!

Totally agree with you. In Uk, I used to go to black hair stylists, the way the pull your hair and I went to quite a few salons, which did afro hair and I have to say, they were very good and very professional. Now I do my own hair, even when I went to get advice about getting my hair highlighted, the black man told me that I can only get an over all over, however the lady at Aveda salon give me what I wanted. They have to be willing to give people exciting colour treatments, etc.

 

[BeautifulFlower]

I think one of the reasons why black salons are losing business is because more and more people are choosing to do their own hair. For two years, i had been searching for a stylist who would take care of my natural 4B hair. I found that many people either a) did not want to deep condition my hair and b) were rough with it when blowdrying. Many of them would often towel dry my hair roughly. I said enough was enough. I bought my cortex flat iron from TJ Max and use my redken products and my hair turn out just as good, if not better than when i was going to the salon. Also, I take better care of my hair than anyone else will. You will not find me in the salon for a while.

This is why I stopped.

 

[Beverly Ann Properties]

Now that I have the comb chase method of flat ironing down to a science, I have no need for a stylist for my natural hair. I went to a stylist to cornroll my hair into a beehive so I could wear my wig for a month and no one in the salon could understand why I did not want to get a relaxer. When I ask for a service, I don't want any opinions on what services I should be getting. They need to listen to the client. Anyway, if I need another beehive, I will go back, otherwise no way. My hair is thriving without their services and I am loving the care I give to my hair.

 

[lorr1e1]

My local salon has closed down.

I haven't been to a Black Salon since '05 or '06. I will never go to one again unless they change!

-They need to stop being slow! You come in at 7am and leave at 7pm. I don't spend that much time at my job!
-They need to stop eating all over the clients head! Who eats around hair anyways...Nasty much!
-The clients have to stop having drama with other clients wanting to fight!
-The stylist have to stop bringing their baby daddy drama to work!
-They need to stop with the "somebody stole my clients from me" drama! Upgrade your skills ma!
-They need to stop talking on the phone while curling, flat-ironing or relaxing people's hair!
-They need to stop asking their clients to do ish for them like, "Yeah I know you are MY client and you are PAYING ME to provide a service for YOU, but while you waiting for your turn to get under the dryer... can you run next door to the lickka store and get me a pop".
-They just need to be professional!

Maybe this will be a wakeup call for them!

100% agree. My local one shut down this month, I had a love hate relationship with her to be honest didn't do everything right it was hit and miss.

 

[vevster]

As in any industry if you don’t get ahead of the trends, you die.