I feel used by the beauty supply store owner [vent]

[SEMO]

I've been completely natural since July 2006 and my hair has been growing and doing really well since then. Well this girl I know also went natural after me and yesterday she came to me asking for my advice about products. She told me she was going to the beauty supply store and asked if I would come to help her pick out some products. I agreed without hesitation and was flattered that she wanted my help.

Well, we get to the beauty supply store and I try to show her some products there that I myself buy and others that I avoid (b/c of things like mineral oil). But the thing is the guy working there wouldn't leave us alone. He immediately jumped in and started telling her all these things and trying to convince her to buy various products (he always does this). He was telling her that durgstore hair products were bad, dermatologists were a waste of money, and that she could only use products specifically made for black people erplexed . He even rubbed some oil product in her fro without even asking her if she wanted to try it . I didn't see him about to do this or I would have stopped him. She's younger than me in age and length of time being natural and I felt like I should look out for her.

But what made me really upset is when he tried to use me to sell her on some homemade hair product they've started selling. I have been in the store numerous times and he's tried to sell me on some mystery product called "Freedom." It's supposed to relax the curl of the hair but supposedly isn't a chemical. Well he told her that she should get some. He said, "yeah if you use this product your hair will loosen up and look like hers." I turned around to see who he was talking about. Come to find out he was talking about me ! I have 3c/4a hair and hers is 4a/4b type hair and I resented him implying that something was wrong with her hair and that it would be better if it was like mine .

Luckily, I was able to get her to leave the store without buying some of the things he suggested that I could tell weren't going to be good for her hair (the product he put in her hair left if feeling greasy and heavy--but to him that was "moisturized"). She only left with an ORS olive oil conditioning pak (which I can strongly vouch for). I ended up giving her some of the extra products I have (ex. garnier fructis curl and shine leave-in conditioner) to try on her hair. I also tried to correct some of the misinformation he gave her. I hate to think what would have happened if she had gone by herself .

Thanks for letting me vent.

 

[baby42]

wow you are a good friend now you have to teach her how to tell some one no thank and leave me alone and if i need some help i will call for you and dont put your in my hair or any thing if you want to keep your hand he was trying to make the owner think he could sale the stuff and keep his job he had no right to put any thing in her hair he tryed that mess because she was young keep being a big sister to her until she can stand on her own from all the user in the bss

 

[SparklingFlame]

WOW! Thats CRAAAAZY! I'm glad you were there with her too. Thanks for helping her out!

 

[buttaflye03]

Is that the only BSS near you? WTH does he thinks he is? I wouldn't give them my money anymore if possible.

 

[lil'paw]

Yeah that was pretty durn rude and desperate of the BSS guy to do something like that. I think a lot of these stores are loosing business or something. Every time I go by one of them, I may poke my head in and there's never anyone in them.

 

[SEMO]

Is that the only BSS near you? WTH does he thinks he is? I wouldn't give them my money anymore if possible.

We stay in a small college town and that is the only beauty supply around that sells black haircare products (besides places like Wal-Mart or Walgreens--which both have a really limited supply of products as well).

The worst part about it is the guy who did that is the co-owner. So it's not like I can call and complain to his boss. I don't go to that beauty supply very often, but the other person who owns it is a woman who's very nice. She wouldn't try what he did on a customer, but she was in the back supply room most of the time.

One time I asked her about an unfamiliar product and how it worked for people and she said, "I'm not sure how it will work on your hair and I'm not going to tell you it will work just to get you to buy it." But when I came in another day (looking for a shea butter lotion), the guy was there by himself. I told him I was looking for products w/o mineral oil in them. He said, "companies have to use mineral oil. That's the only way to get the minerals to the hair." I wanted to ask why hair needed minerals but I didn't want to argue.

Plus, I have to go back because they are ordering in some Kid's Organic Shea Butter Lotion for me .

 

[happylocks]

Semo you did a great job in protecting her from trying things that could have messed up her hair. I would not try someone homemade products without knowing if I can trust them. There is nothing wrong with 4a/b hair and I love my texture. I would have had to get rude because no one really asked his advice. Until you deal with natural hair for yourself its hard to just give someone advice, I think. Because alot of ppl dont know how hard it is just to comb it out and taking the hair section by section its alot of work that some ppl never experiance. Great at protecting your friend

 

[firecracker]

What was his problem Chile next time simply put on a slight screw face and say in a low hiss "if you don't shut the helz up"

 

[malibu4590]

@

What was his problem Chile next time simply put on a slight screw face and say in a low hiss "if you don't shut the helz up"

The sales assistants in the Asain BSS do the same thing here in Philly. Always trying to sale you what you DONT want. I don't get it erplexed . Wouldn't they want your hair to flourish so you can come BACK and bring friends with money.

 

[hrtbndr21]

@

The sales assistants in the Asain BSS do the same thing here in Philly. Always trying to sale you what you DONT want. I don't get it erplexed . Wouldn't they want your hair to flourish so you can come BACK and bring friends with money.

No because then who would be the ba-zillion packets of weave hair they have displayed on their walls? If you stay bald headed you have to keep coming back for more.

 

[Iluvsmuhgrass]

What was his problem Chile next time simply put on a slight screw face and say in a low hiss "if you don't shut the helz up"

 

[NantanYah]

No because then who would be the ba-zillion packets of weave hair they have displayed on their walls? If you stay bald headed you have to keep coming back for more.

 

[CAPlush]

Those sales assistants do get kinda hectic on you when you don't want to be bothered. And on top of that they give you bad advice and wrong informationerplexed I was told the last time I went that the ORS Lye was same as the No-Lye Kit, but, and I quote "You get more with this one." I was just like STFU if you don't know anything about your products, I didn't ask, and I'm only going to buy what I want anyway. I don't think anybody really actually listens to them.

 

[Blossssom]

She would have been dead broke and penniless if she had gone alone.

 

[Christa438]

Usually when you go into stores and beauty supply places, they ask you if you need any help, and if you say "no thanks I know what Im looking for" or "Im just browsing to see if I want anything"--they leave you alone but still kinda watch you or they ask you again after some minutes in my experience. At the supply store I go to, a lot of times, the women are hardly ever alone anyhow so I don't see that sort of thing happening. Plus, I think that the workers know how certain women can get and they use good judgement as far as not stepping on any toes. I can't believe he was bold enough to put something in her hair.
And I hate how some people will sell you anything to make a buck. One time, this BSS manager try to get me to buy a wig that made me look completely and utterly rediculous. He had the nerve to tell me how good I looked--and if I would have listened instead of turning around and looking in that MIRROR, I would have walked out and became a laughing stock.
Anyways, as far as I know, anything other than heat that relaxes the curls has chemicals. On top of all this, he insulted her hair type/ my hair type. oooh I want to get him. It's a good thing you were there.