All of my hair experiences have been interesting, to say the least. I only write this because of the experiences that I have personally tried. It's not my place to name stylists or salons because people should be able to form their own opinions and quite possibly, it could just be me and my hair that have the issue.
Flagstaff is a dry place and most people require a little extra moisture and I get that. The first stylist I went to was cool, expect I thought she out way too much grease in my hair to compensate for the dryness. In the end, I didn't like how my hands felt after I wrapped my hair, plus I didn't feel like she really "did" my hair.
Two weeks later, I decided to try another stylist and salon. I loved the cut, but didn't appreciate the service. She started to flat iron my hair when I heard sizzling...no good! No one likes to be told how to do their job, but I knew my hair wasn't dry so I had to speak up. Soon after, she says that she has an obligation to pick up her nephew. At this point, she had flat ironed my hair, but knew she could have worked a little harder to make it look that much better. Moral of that story: another disappointment.
About two weeks ago, one of the student workers in my office heard from other staff member about another stylist in Flagstaff. I hadn't heard of him, so we decided to check the salon out. I was blunt and asked, "Can anyone in here do Black hair?' His response (and I should have run away then) was, "Everybody can do everybody's hair in here." NOT TRUE. Sorry playa.
I made an appointment for the next day, figuring that curls wouldn't be too hard. I was under the impression that the man would be doing my hair, but was mistaken. Cool, not a big deal, I thought. The shampoo girl takes me back to the bowl, neglecting to use a towel until I reminded her (another sign that I should have not been there). Then, she asks me what a relaxer is. I was told the day before that they did not use perms and I didn't trust them that much to put one on my head anyway. As I explained what a relaxer is, she sounded intrigued and said "That's cool." I felt like she should have at least known what it was, but whatever.
Long story short, the curls were horrendous! She didn't use any kind of setting lotion before putting the rollers in and even started using a pick on the curls when they were dry. I felt like that defeated the whole purpose of why I was there. Needless to say, I was embarrassed to even walk outside and will never return there.
Like I said, thank God for the referral I got to my stylist in Phoenix. To me, the drive and cost is worth it. I know the whole "I am not my hair" concept and I get it, but when your hair is not the way you are used to, you know it and you feel it. Since being in Flagstaff, I've had to do my own hair much more than I've liked, but I think a proper presentation begins with a decent hairstyle.
My final opinion is that if a person would move here and could really do some hair, they would be paid....just saying!
