So African-American ladies-this one's for you. I just moved from MA where I had found a go-to salon that did my relaxer, touch-up, perm, whatever we all call them (hopefully using all those buzz words will get you to this review and not something about soothing music or whatever!) Anyway, I was struggling to find somewhere that wasn't super expensive and wasn't incredibly sketchy or unprofessional.
This place is GORGEOUS-it is painted a beautiful blue color, which if you can imagine is quite soothing when your scalp is getting chemicaled! (Although I left with not one burn!-which is crazy for me since I have a sensitive scalp.)
Anyway, I called SAME DAY and got an appointment within 2 hours of my call with the amazing owner of the salon -Blu. She looked at my hair and was honest and explained to me the do's and don'ts and praised me for what I was doing well-which is a really refreshing departure for me.
She uses a line of products that were new to me but were incredibly effective and did not cause me any discomfort-which is saying a lot for a relaxer. There were a lot of steps of protein reconstruction, conditioning, deep conditioning (which made me nervous I was going to be slapped with added charges-I was not, which was GREAT.)
She was very caring and talkative, but worked quietly and politely when I didn't talk too, which was nice. The salon has a great staff of very professional and polite women that really care for you from the moment you walk in (free coffee and tea people!!!)
At another salon-I recently got my hair "trimmed"-and by that a hairdresser whose known me since i was little didn't listen to me when I said I'm growing my hair long and chopped 2 solid inches off. So I told Blu this and she was VERY KIND and FLEXIBLE about how much she trimmed.
She gave me a BEAUTIFUL TRIM with fantastic shape, even though she didn't have to.
At the end she only charged my $80 for a relaxer, blowout, trim, and flat-iron (like 3 months of growth ladies) and no more!
Also the salon is incredibly close to the 19th street Bart station and through a scenic and upscale part of Oakland, which is good for small women like me walking alone.
I won't go anywhere else while I'm living in the Bay area-and ladies looking for a salon-home, look no further! read more