Trying a new stylist...plz help!

[unalteredone]

I'm in college and there aren't any black salons anywhere near here as far as I know, only expensive, white salons. I went to the only black guy i've seen around and he was good enough, but he cost SO MUCH. 83 dollars for just the relaxer. As in, that is the price for you to go in, get the relaxer, and walk out with wet hair. To get your hair cut/styled is an extra 50 dollars or something. I couldn't bring myself to walk out of there with wet hair, so i paid up. never again.

So a friend of mine went to another guy at that same salon who is morroccan, and less expensive (ie less experienced) but not cheap. She is biracial and has a looser curl pattern than i do, but she said that she liked him so i was happy to hear the news. But then another girl i know went and had a "bad experience", which meant in her email words,

He definitely didn't leave mine on long enough, and didn't relax the edges too well either - I'm not sure what he was trying to avoid exactly.

Plus he hovered awkwardly around the front desk so I had no choice but to pay him a tip. I think he's new, and is at least somewhat aware that he's not that good.

Mind you, her hair is prob 4b, neck/chin length, likely damaged, and i've never seen it look good.erplexed And honestly, i was glad to hear that he hadn't left it on long enough...i'd rather that than too long! But at the same time, i have planned out my relaxers from now until graduation in june, so i need things to go smoothly.

Given this information, i'm unsure about how to prepare. I will obviously be protecting my relaxed hair with coconut oil and silk amino acids, but i was thinking about spraying some SAA on my newgrowth too since people said that they were getting good relaxer results from that. But, if he is guilty of underprocessing, i'm scared that my attempts to protect myself will backfire. I think that my hair processes fairly quickly: when i go to the salon, after all of the relaxer is applied, she smooths for a little bit and then it's over to go wash it out, no real sitting around time or anything. Also, i have a sensitive scalp. However, I usually don't put anything on my new growth.


What would you do?



PS: I wont be returning home until graduation and my only other choice is to pay ~$25 roundtrip to go to NYC and find a cheaper salon there... but again, i dont know who to trust there either. If you know of any other salons in the Princeton, NJ area, that would be great too. If you have any nyc/nj salon recommendations... let me know!

 

[msa]

Can you self relax? You could practice with conditioner and read the self-relax support threads and what not. Or even have a friend help you.

If you're not comfortable with that I suggest only going to someone whose work you've actually seen. If they let you, you should sit in the salon and watch them do a relaxer just to see their technique and what you'd be getting into. Also, you need to be very clear about what you want, the products they're using, and how they're going to do the service. I suggest you don't let the person trim your hair.

Hope this helps! Good luck.

 

[unalteredone]

thanks, i have no intention of letting him trim my hair, simply because i dont think i need it and i want my length darnit!

As for self-relaxing, i dont feel comfortable doing that simply because i dont have my own bathroom/shower/well-lit mirror/etc to be experimenting with self relaxing right now. (Ahh dorm life...)

I thought that my friend who gave him a positive review's hair looked good. I dont know how the other girl's hair looked.

 

[unalteredone]

bumpin bumpin

 

[RavenMaven]

Get some good research in, and maybe toy around with doing it yourself?

 

[wheezy807]

You should go to the salon selection and search for a salon in the ny/nj or dc area. If not, you should start a thread. Best of wishes!

 

[prospurr4]

Given this information, i'm unsure about how to prepare. I will obviously be protecting my relaxed hair with coconut oil and silk amino acids, but i was thinking about spraying some SAA on my newgrowth too since people said that they were getting good relaxer results from that. But, if he is guilty of underprocessing, i'm scared that my attempts to protect myself will backfire. I think that my hair processes fairly quickly: when i go to the salon, after all of the relaxer is applied, she smooths for a little bit and then it's over to go wash it out, no real sitting around time or anything. Also, i have a sensitive scalp. However, I usually don't put anything on my new growth.


What would you do?

If you are applying the coconut oil to your previously-relaxed hair only, then I can't see how that would backfire on you; spraying SAA on your hair, even the new growth, shouldn't cause any problems, either. If he underprocesses you, then it should be only the new growth that's underprocessed.

Personally, I would self-relax, but I do understand your dorm situation. If I just had to go to a salon, I would prepare my hair, similarly as you described above.

 

[natasha]

I feel your pain. I will tell you that I have heard your story over and over again. I have had the same experienc many times. I have never had longer hair until I stopped going to "hair professionals". If you are in any way hesitant about going than you should NOT GO.! I will tell you from previous experience having had a year of hard work messed up by an incompetent stylist who only WASHED MY HAIR that you will be angry and very dissatisfied if they do not do your hair well.

Actually you will be lucky if you only dislike how your hair looks. If they totally jack up your hair and it all falls out (as has happened to me on many occasions, coworkers and most recently my natural sister who went for a flat iron and her hair never curled the same again and subsequently broke off) you will not be happy.

I would recommend you read the many resources on self relaxing etc... If you mess up your hair then at least you are not paying for the experience. Paying over 100 dollars to some one to mess up my hair is what finally caused me to get the gumption to take care of my own hair. I personally will NEVER go back to a "hair care professional" again. NO ONE WILL CARE FOR YOUR HAIR LIKE YOU WILL.

Good luck with your decision. I feel strongly about this because I have been where you are many times and I have never walked out of my salon experience feeling reassured (at least not for long until my hair started falling out.) I posted a thread recently on a friend who had a bad hair experience so please feel free to take a look!

I am sure what ever decision you make will be best for you. Good luck!

 

[natasha]

thanks, i have no intention of letting him trim my hair, simply because i dont think i need it and i want my length darnit!

As for self-relaxing, i dont feel comfortable doing that simply because i dont have my own bathroom/shower/well-lit mirror/etc to be experimenting with self relaxing right now. (Ahh dorm life...)

I thought that my friend who gave him a positive review's hair looked good. I dont know how the other girl's hair looked.

oh I just saw this part. Well I think the recommendations of the other ladies are good. Protect, protect protect. I would also find a good stylist. You really don't want to have some of the hair catastrophy experiences that I have had. Trust me, it only takes one visit to a bad stylists chair to destroy years of work.

 

[BostonMaria]

Sounds like a disaster waiting to happen...

OP, I feel your pain and I know how hard dorm life is. I would suggest two things to you:

Keep searching for a GOOD stylist. Don't settle for somebody mediocre. It'll be the difference keeping your hair or having it in the garbage.

Self-relax and just give it a shot.

Worse comes to worse put it in a ponytail