A visit to your hair salon can be frustrating, if you actually know about hair care or have great experience with it.
Fashion and Beauty with Heather R
If you are oblivious to good hair care, then you may face a few challenges. Each time I go to the hair salon I end up having to put my foot down concerning the hair care products that hairdressers use in my hair, how they wash it or braid it.
They respond by telling me how they know about hair and how long they have been in the business.
True as that may be, they have been in the business of hairstyling not hair care.
Our hairdressers study hair- styles not hair care, the two being very different from each other, though hairstyling needs you to understand hair prior to styling it.
My response to their argument is that I have been carrying my head on my shoulders for a while, so I understand the hair that grows on it. I have also been in an ongoing relationship with it.
I know its strengths and weaknesses better than anyone else.
I look at all the women who walk into salons and wonder how many of them understand their hair’s needs and how to best nurture it. A good number of them blindly trust their hairdressers. I am considered a fussy client because I know what does and does not work for my hair. I have one friend who is tad fussier than I am, she says she has toned it down now.
She used to take her own towels to the salon.
Wash Process My friend and I take our own shampoo and conditioners to the salon. Then during the conditioning process I instruct the hairdresser to only condition the hair, since the conditioner is made for the hair not the scalp. It is designed to bond to the hair not the scalp because when it bonds to the scalp it results in dryness and flaking.
Post Wash I have natural hair so it is best manipulated when wet. I do not blow-dry my hair and it is now long enough to braid when wet and does not need to be blow-dried prior to braiding. I have to convince braiders of this. I know my hair and have done some research and know what it does and does not like. It is naturally dry, so blow-drying it takes out the little moisture it contains and I would strongly prefer not to.
The braiding process I do not like having my hairline braided because that is the weakest part of my hair and the yanking that goes on during the braiding causes it to break, particularly cornrows. So now I insist they steer clear of my hairline, another fight I get into because they believe that they can treat my hairline with the tenderness it requires.
They fail each time they try. I have put in so much effort into growing my hairline and have succeeded, once I allowed a stylist to braid it, upon removing the cornrows I could have cried, but I had no one to blame but myself. Now I am adamant about no braiding of my hairline.
I also pay attention to the tension. Taking ibuprofen just to numb the pain is not my idea of a good hairstyle, so I become feisty when they insist on braiding too tight. Tight tension gives you pus filled pimples, headaches and breaks your hair too.
Know what you are putting in
Know what the products you are using contain and what effect they have on your hair. For instance, when getting weaves done, a lot of women swear by diproson (a contraband cream) to prevent itching. I wonder how many read the side effects on the leaflet that say prolonged use causes infertility.
Petroleum coats the hair and prevents any moisture from entering the follicles, drying out your hair in the end. I cannot use Organics olive hairspray because it makes my scalp itch like I have lice. The list is endless.
Do your research online, find out your hair type and its specific needs. Try things out until you find the winning combination. It’s your right to have your hairdresser treat your hair the way you would have them treat it, customer is king.
Gentlemen, if you own your own shaving kit, take it with you, you can never be too safe.
Take your own comb and products if it makes you feel more comfortable. It’s your hair after all.
