I haven’t been to a hairdresser since I went natural. This is now almost 3 years ago. Before my natural hair journey I was texturized and had to visit a hairdresser every 6-8 weeks to texturize my hair. I have to admit that I was missing the time as I loved my salon. Sometimes, I just went there to buy me some hair care products or to get my hair washed. So I was very pleased when I was invited by a brand to visit a hairdresser to test a new hair care product. I was curios to see how much time they need to get my hair done. But my experience was not what I expected. Have you ever stopped a hairdresser, while he or she was doing your hair? I did that. Here are 5 signs of a bad hairdresser.

Most of the salons I know are specialist in weave, relaxed or texturized hair, but not really in natural hair. I remember the look the hairdresser gave me when I entered the salon. “Oh, you are natural”, she said. “Yes, I am for almost 3 years”, I proudly replied. Hmm, was her answer and then she started to touch my hair. Looking back, that was the first time when I had the feeling that it is going to be an exhausting day. I should have crap my bag and leave the salon but I stayed. This was a mistake.

Signs of a bad hairdresser

I finally got into the shampoo chair. I closed my eyes when she started to massage my scalp. She washed the shampoo out and reached over to the conditioner. I opened my eyes when she started to comb my hair with this tiny little rat tail comb. I immediately noticed her own thin edges and asked her if she could comb my hair with a wide-tooth comb. She rolled her eyes and said: “We need to comb your hair with the rat tail comb, otherwise I can’t style it”. Don’t get me wrong, I am all about detangling my hair, but not with this super small comb. So, I asked her again to use a bigger one. She went to her desk to get a wide-tooth combed and what then happened left me speechless. This lady who was the nicest on the phone began to comb my hair so ruff that I have the feeling that she is ripping my off my entire hair. My relaxation was immediately over and I was like “what is the f… is she doing here”. Obviously, she was upset with my attitude and my natural hair situation. I stopped her and detangle my hair by myself. My aim of this whole experience was to leave this salon with my hair on my scalp and not lying on the floor. Maybe this was the first sign of a bad hairdresser, but I ignored it.

After I detangled my hair, she direct me to the hairdresser chair in front of a mirror. I thought: Thank god, now I can see what the lady is doing.  For many of us, our hair is our crown and to let somebody play in it is not always easy. Although I felt that she not the perfect hairdresser for me, I stayed which was my mistake. Before she style my hair, she began to detangle it again with this rat tail comb. I had the feeling that I would have no edges anymore if I don’t stop her. After 2 hours of arguing back and forth, about the size of my twists, I decided to leave the salon with my hair still wet. I don’t like super small twists only done with my own hair as I always have difficulties to open them and I don’t like wasting my time.

This hairdresser was experienced dealing with other hair textures however, there were some signs that she was a bad hairdresser for natural hair.

She was constantly texting or talking on her phone

The first time when the phone rang, I did not care, but after the 5th time, I was starting to get annoyed. She was constantly on the phone and screaming in my ear. If she was not busy with her phone, she was deep into conversations with other people in the salon. She was not focused on my hair. Have you ever experienced a crick in your neck and blood rush to your brain because your head has been hanging backwards over the chair so long that you could not even move when she ask you to do so? Yes, then you might me dealing with a bad hairdresser.

She never listens to me

I know my hair since I went natural, but guess what? The hairdresser knew my hair better. I have had an idea how I wanted her to style my hair. But as soon as I sat down, she started to convince me to try relaxing my hair or to cut it. She wanted me to try something new. It was not easy to let her know that I am not interested.

The End Result

I was super glad, because I left the salon before she could finish my hair. It was difficult to open the mini twists. I lost a lot of hair that day. Although she knew that I have thin hair she wanted to do mini twists and this is another sign of a bad hairdresser for natural hair.

She was not experienced with my hair

Many of the hairdresser I know are still not really experienced when it comes to natural hair. She told me that she does not like dealing with natural hair because it takes much time to get it done. In addition this, she also mentioned that she always avoid styling Frolicious hair if possible.

No setbacks

After while, I was recognizing that she would make me lose hair that I have worked so hard to retain in the last few months. Her twists were small and tight and she used a small rat tail comb to detangle my kinky hair. At the end, I wanted to keep my hair on my head and not on the floor, even if this mean that I have to argue with her. So I left during the season with no regrets.

Conclusion of my experience with a bad hairdresser

Okay, I am not saying that she is per se a bad hairdresser or that I will never visit a hair salon again, but I am now aware that certain hairstylists are not happy with natural hair clients. Next time, I would have spent some extra time to stretch my hair and to prepare it for the hairdresser so that she or he won’t have a hard time styling my hair.

 

Have you ever had a bad hairdresser? How often do you visit a hairdresser?