Hairdresser Woes (Time and Price)
 

Ladies,
Is it just me and my hairdresser or do all hairdressers take forever to see a client and then all day to finish them up.

I wish that I could find a hairdresser for which I do not have to sit 30 minutes to an hour (yes, an hour) before she can even *start* on me. Come on, really. I feel like, they should be able to give a better appointment time...something closer to the time that they will actually begin on you. I also try not to go on weekends but even on say, Tuesday night, it will be 3 hours plus before I'm able to leave (although she can start earlier).

I know that getting my hair blow dryed will shorten the process but my hair is much healthier (and the style lasts longer) when I go under the dryer. Still, even with going under the dryer, I don't see a single head taking 3 hours plus.


Has anyone had any success finding a hairdresser that does not overbook and that can get a client in and out in 2 hours or so? I just don't see sitting in a hair salon all night (or all day) long. What did you do if you've been successful?

Also, I'm sure that this is just me (and my cheap self) but I just don't see paying $35 plus just for a wrap! I mean, as far as I'm concerned, I can wrap my hair and sit under a hairdryer at home (and I do sometimes). What is up with the high, high prices? Spirals are $45. I just don't understand paying almost $50 for someone to put rollers in my head, sit me under a dryer and take them back out.

Is anyone else out there experiencing this or am I just extra cheap? :D

My stylist recently went up $5 on all of her services. She used some excuse about high gas prices and etc. She used to charge $35 for shampoo and style. Now it is $40. Before the price hike I paid $80 for a deep conditioner and spiral set. For future spiral sets I will just use the products she use on my hair and set it myself. Those products contain little to no alchohol really make a difference on how your hair comes out if you do it yourself. I mainly go to her because she can color hair and make it look like your natural hair color. She uses the tubes and not a box. $85 for highlights and $70 for a single all over color application. This should have went in the other thread, but she leases from a non - AA owned salon. I heard her tell a non - AA client that she charges $150 and up just to glue in bonded tracks. I was thinking to myself I don't think so. I got hair sewn in for a few dollars more.

Yeah. It comes with the territory.

Have we EVER been able to accomplish this? Unless you are the FIRST one in the book. LOL

I like my stylist. She's personable, which does slow her down at times.
She is reasonable (perm$45; wash(regardless of the style) $35)

After this week, I'll be able to stay a few minutes with her. I won't have anything to do. :D

Soror, try not to go on Saturdays. LOL I don't get my hair done on a Sat. I am able to leave work early and get there when most folks are still at work (most times on Thurs/if not, Friday). So, my time at the salon is not all afternoon/evening.

Good luck!

I've been in and out of a Salon in 1 hour 15 before and only had to wait about 10 mins plus I did NOT have an appointment. But I didnt go under the dryer. When I go to the Dominicans it can be an all day process because for one they dont take appointments, 2 I do sit under the dryer and 3 they only have a few. I try to go early and during the week, Sundays are the absolute worst.

When I do my own hair it never takes longer than 1 1/2 hours and I;m no pro so it really shouldn't take a pro longer than that.

I have a hard time going to get my hair professionally done b/c I abhor the long wait times and the high prices. My soror took me to the Dominicans and I LOVED the outcome, but the time was a bit long for me. I'm just impatient, in general, though. I do want my hair to be healthier, so I may have to suck it up and drive to the Dominicans waaay out in Silver Spring. We'll see. :)

Glad to know its not just me.

I have had nothing but the best experiences with the Dominican salon in my old neighborhood! Originally, I was going to a place where I could go in at 11:00 on Tuesday morning and not get out of there until 3:30. To boot, I was paying entirely too much there ($145 for a touchup/condition/trim every 7 weeks). Now, I'm in and out in 1 hour for a shampoo and set ($12) and 2 hours for a perm ($40).

The prices don't bother me--it's just the apparent lack of respect for my time, as well as the time of every other client.

Do Dominicans relax their hair? I've only known a Dominican man and he wore his hair super short so I couldn't tell what a woman's hair would look like. Just b/c, I have a close friend from Brooklyn and although she raves about the pricing, she also indicated that they don't relax their hair and she wouldn't let them do that for her hair. She also indicated that they blow dry instead of putting one under the dryer. Are these general practices or do your hairdressers place clients under the dryer? Asking b/c we have a chain of hair salons in Chicago owned and operated by Ethiopians and they blow dry but, usually with a little protest by them, place you under the hairdryer if you basically demand it.

What are the practices? I've also only known Dominicans to be in NY. Does anyone know of any of these shops in Chicago or Southern Cali?

SC

I haven't been to a "traditional" hair salon in over three years. But from what I remember I used to pay a grip over $65 for a relaxer and stlye in Southern Cali. And the wait, forgettaboutit!!! I used to always have an appointment and I would still end up waiting at least 30 minutes to get in the chair and wouldn't leave the salon until about 2 hours later. I stopped going on Saturdays all together.

Now, I wear my hair natural and I don't have these problems. I go to a natural hair stylist every 5 weeks to get my locks retightened ( I have sisterlocks), and it's just me in the chair from beginning to end. I come at my appointed time and I always know what I'm going to be paying in the end. Simple as that.

My stylist is also personable which also slows her down. She can do some hair but sometimes I am in there all day long. I hate being in hair salons all day. I want to get in and get out. I try not to go on Saturdays because I will waste the entire day. I usually try going after work on a Friday.

BTW, I have heard alot about the Dominicans. Nikki there is one in Silver Spring? Whats the name?

I had the best hair stylist. He had me in and out in 2 hours. I have long hair so I had to be under the dryer for an hour. I never had to wait, he was always ready for me. He was excellent! Of course he moved to New York City. (I live in PA). So my Ethiopian friends in college introduced me to their hair salons. Now I only get my hair done by Ethiopians in the DC area. They roller set my hair and sit me under the dryer and then press it straight with a flat iron. No one has ever gotten my hair as straight as they do. My hair is natural and curly and long so a lot of salons I would go to would not do a good job and charge me an arm and a leg. The Ethiopian hair styists charge me $35 for what is essentially a press. They can take a while when it's busy b/c they don't take appointments. So I try to get there early in the morning. I have a friend in Brooklyn who goes to Dominicans and I hear good things about them too.

I have few hairdresser woes...my sister is my primary stylist and I get the "family discount" (read: free). I have had to wait, but I understand because the other clients are how she makes her living.

Now I've never seen a Dominican salon in San Diego or the O.C. Then again, now that I'm wearing half-wigs, my hair has become much less of an issue.

I agree that prices can be ridiculous for the services rendered. My stylist is very fast, but she recently went up on her prices. I used to go at least once a week when she charged $20 for a wash and style. But at $35-$55, she won't be seeing me that often for something that I can do at home.

We don't have any Dominican or Ethiopian salons around here. I'd love to try it out when I'm on vacation though. Where are these salons predominantly?

Summerchild, the prices you quoted in your first post seem about right to me. I was paying those prices in high school (5 years ago). I was going to my hair lady in Chicago Heights, but last summer she just "disappeared" on me and I haven't been able to find her :rolleyes: She would charge me about $35 for a wash and blowdry or to sit under the dryer. I don't like sitting under the dryer for a wrap b/c it takes entirely too long for me, my hair is too thick and it usually takes well over an hour for it to dry. I do agree with you though that the prices are high nowadays.

I recently started going to my grandmother's hairdresser over on 71st or 73rd, I can never remember the exact addess, and she did my hair very well. However, she had the nerve to charge me $65 for my perm!! saying my hair was too "long". Then she charged me another $15 for my haircut which I thought would just be a trim. To make a long story short, I had to go to the nearest GAS STATION to pull out extra money to pay her. No tip :mad: I haven't gone back since and still do not have a hairdresser. If you find one please let a sista friend know. Also, has anyone ever been charged extra for the length of their hair?? I know mine is a little past my shoulders and as soon as it hits that length hair dressers always jack up the prices. I don't think it's long enough to up the prices though.:eek:

The two hairdressers I go to now are a give and a take. They both do a great job, but one is a "traditional" salon-- she has better prices but takes a while (3-4 hrs). The other only does natural hair and is too expensive for me to go every 2 weeks, but she gets me in and out in an hour and a half. So I have a "regular" and a "special occasion" stylist.

Back when I had a perm, I had one lady who hooked me up with the PERM OF AGES-- Lawdamercy it was so straight and shiny and bouncy... but I was always in her shop for 4 hours minimum, and I had to go on weekday afternoons because it was an all-day affair on the weekends. But between my grades suffering and my hair suffering, you know I had to make that good choice. After I stopped going to her, my hair just went south, so I grew the perm out a little and cut it all off!

The first stylist I went to after going natural was always late for my appointments, but she did the prettiest twists and kept my eyebrows arched and everything. I knew it was close to the end when she was late for my appt. the day of my cotillion and it was over when she straight FORGOT about both my mom and me the day before my graduation and we had to wait on her for two hours. :rolleyes:

I have been going to my hair dress for 9 years. Her prices are very reasonable which keeps me going weekly. $30 for a wash & set, $50 for a perm( (though I usually do my own perms), Trims are ALWAYS FREE, Wash/Set/Cut $45, Wash/Set/Rinse $40, Wash/Set/Streaks $45. Her prices have been steady over the years....she went up $5 dolllars like 4 years ago to the prices above. She is comtemplating going up an additional $5 this year....I told her well then there goes your tip. :o

My stylist is great on time. My appt is every Sat at 9:00AM and I am out at 11:30 -11:45 NO matter what I get. I think that our wait time has been minimized because we have a Hair Wash Assistant who continually washes hair so the Stylist can set you for the dryer and style you. When I had a shorter style I could go to the stylist on my lunch break and be in and out and back at work in 1 hour 20 minutes.