Being natural has been amazing for me so far. However, like all good things, it has its challenges. One of those challenges being that I don’t go to the hair salon anymore. Now there are a ton of type 4 naturalistas who get their hair pressed in the salon once in a while. But, let me tell you why I personally pass on the monthly salon trips.
The Time
I can barely wait to stand in long lines in BJs. I cannot stand waiting 3 hours plus in a salon chair on a Saturday when people are coming in the most. My mother would rush me in the mornings so that we would be the first client to get out hair done. But, I refuse to wake up at 8 am just so that I can get my hair done. I can barely do so for my classes.
The Expense
Depending on what you are getting done, going to the hair salon can be pricey. Even if I want something basic such as a blowout, I’m at least paying $30 if I am going to a Dominican salon. That may not sound like much, but if you’re making frequent trips to the salon, then prices will add up.
Now in terms of these natural hair salons, in my area, their prices are much higher. Besides, after a cold experience with a “top” natural hair salon in NYC, I rather keep my own money and do it the way I like it.
The Lack of Knowledge on Natural Hair
People treat type 4 hair like its type 1 hair. These “beauticians” with their bogus “licenses” often don’t know a thing about natural hair. As a result, we as the consumer suffer the consequences. Heat damaged, burnt edges, bleeding scalps, the list goes on.
Before going natural, I binged watch on these natural hair horror stories by my favorite natural hair Youtuber Traeh. These will truly educate you. I’ve already been through some of the horrors myself when I was relaxed and now I am the only one who can touch my hair.
The Bad Mouthing Me Because of My Hair
Being natural and going to a Dominican salon is not a great mix. I’m from the Bronx and all we see around here are Dominican salons. However, every time I attempted to transition, they would look at me in disgust and ask why I would ever go natural. They would roll their eyes and sigh as they relaxed my new kinky growth.
My mom wouldn’t really say anything and she would gladly take me back the next time. Looking back, I get angry at her silence and at those Dominicans for being so nasty towards not only what grows out of my scalp, but also the choices to what I wanted to do with my hair.
The Reality
The reality is that not everyone is going to accept or know how to manage natural hair. Thank goodness we live in a world where we have thousands of natural hair tutorials on Youtube to help us through out journey. Even then, many of these girls don’t even go to the salon that often. Many of us become masters of our own hair which makes the journey even better.
This really answered my problem, thank you!
An interesting discussion is worth comment. I think that you should write more on this topic, it might not be a taboo subject but generally people are not enough to speak on such topics. To the next. Cheers