The Dark Side of Instagram Hair Stylists | Bri Hall (Mini Documentary) 

Comment your experience with social media hairstylists below! Am I alone in this feeling? Let's talk about it

When I saw the young lady that lost her eye because the stylist left the Got2b bottle near a heating source and it exploded, that was it for me. An unlicensed stylist will NOT be seeing me.

Girl.. I haven’t gotten my hair done professionally since 2012 because I am legitimately scared 😅

I think this is similar to the Keith Lee incident. Many Black people thinking they don’t need to treat black customers with respect, kindness, and professionalism. What’s so hard to understand? If you treat people right they will come back.

I found a hairstylist that actually washes hair and braid NATURAL 4 type hair, so this past Christmas I had to buy her a Christmas present because there's no way I'm going back into the trenches of black hairstylists.

They want to live that Celebrity -Stylist lifestyle they see on social media by setting Celebrity Stylist prices, but without the Celebrity Stylist credentials, experience or service 😂

As an African woman, the fact that salons in the US do NOT wash hair is MIND BOGGLING to me. We can literally make appointments just to wash our hair and get a treatment. No braids needed.

Previously licensed cosmetologist here. Fun fact! More than technique although very important. Being licensed is more of a public safety matter. Hair styles come in contact with many many people. Outbreaks can happen at anytime and rapid (lice, scabies, ect). The education of infection control and cleanliness is the true main benefit of going to a licensed cosmetologist. And actually is the reason why it's its state regulated. Love your videos!

Omg.. this is why im SO grateful for my old school stylist. This digital age created so many entitled individuals its just scary.

I’m also here in LA, and we got to talk about how these girlies are trying to charge celebrity prices for us regular ppl. God forbid you do find someone who DOES have reasonable prices and they do one celebrities hair. It’s a wrap

Barbicide is unheard of with these IG hairstylists. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it.

I was scammed before my wedding anniversary cruise. The shop didn't even exist. I hopped on RU-vid and braided my own hair. I didn't have time to panic; it didn't turn out too bad so a new skillset was unlocked by inconvenience.

This conversation is so wild cause some of the new stylists dont quite understand the point of building clientele. If you do a great job on my hair, of course im going to spend my coins with you, consistently

There are physical and spiritual reasons why you shouldn't let just anyone in your hair

I don’t support it because half the time they want to charge these prices to be eating seafood boils and go on lavish vacations. Then the way they speak to people is so nasty. No license. Recording with no permission. Just so much I’ll just do my own or look crazy

They starting to throw the word “luxury” on their services. Like girl what😂😂😂…

I learned how to do box braids over quarantine and I’m so glad I did. It’s not perfect, but I have control over the tension and how it looks. And most importantly, I’m saving $$$s of dollars.

A stupid wig stylist got my car towed when I went to her… she didn’t tell me anything abt them towing cars in that apartment complex and I ended up having to pay extra $200 just to get my car back.. she almost ruined my whole birthday since she made me miss my makeup appointment cuz she had someone in there when I got there.. The professionalism is really low with these hair stylists honestly 🤦🏾‍♀️🤦🏾‍♀️

My braider was 30 minutes late then took a 30 minute break without letting me know and came back on hair with her hands smelling of food. Sick of it

I found an amazing stylist who is always booked. She is literally an OG stylist, but can compete with new stylist. She washes and conditions, teaches hair health, and you leave feeling good. Plus no deposit and affordable prices. Only issue is she is always booked up. Her clients like myself are extremely loyal because she is a gem.

I booked with a stylist last August she canceled apologized and gave me my deposit back, I still wanted to give her a chance her work was amazing to me. Had an appointment booked for this Wednesday, she ignored my text and calls she even disabled her instagram, waited for 30 mins then left. Soon as I walked out the building my deposit was sent back with no apology or anything. Then today she put her instagram back up talking about how she’s accepting appointments for next week, I just laughed reacted the story and unfollowed her.

I am a licensed cosmetologist & i can’t stand a lot of these “new rules” within my field. However I’ve noticed that clients would rather go to the hair stylist with a bigger name and more followers VS a licensed professional with class. The bookings show for itself. It’s unfortunate but we will live & learn i hope lol. Great video btw. As always!

i talk about this ALL the time. the root of the issue is GREED and LAZINESS. wanting to become one’s own boss to make the most money while doing the least work!! It’s happening all across the special service industry.

I'm from an Eastern European country and here it is unthinkable that a hairstylist wouldn't wash your hair before cutting it or dying it

No because frfr I got a frontal sew in for my wedding and tell me why the NEXT DAY my frontal was lifted and the stylist told me it would be another fee to fix it... Girl I already paid almost $500 for the hair and install 🙄

I can't and won't blame RU-vidrs for teaching us to do our own hair because none ever pushed for us to do others hair. It has always been about empowering you the individual to do your own hair. I have been doing my own hair for over a decade now and I have gotten ask to do other people's hair and I recommend them to stylist i personally know can accomplish what they need. People need to have integrity. That's my two cents 😊

I have fine, dry, easily tangled hair… in 2014 I had a stylist shame me for not washing my natural hair with shampoo every week (I co-washed in between). She didn’t offer me advice on what to do to better the health of my hair. Then proceed to tear through and over heat my hair & blamed me for all the hair that fell out. I was so ashamed, embarrassed , and never had another person touch my hair since.

I had a silk press apt I booked on booksy and I freaked out the day of debating if I should wash my hair or not because I didn’t see any rules or anything. I barely had time after I got off work but i ended up doing it and running a couple of minutes late to my appt to which I then freaked out even more over because I’m so used to mean ass entitled hairstylists and thought they’d cancel my appointment. But luckily it was a traditional hair stylist, a middle aged black woman and she was so sweet! She washed and blow dried my hair AND used heat protectant. Was not used to that at all…. We also talked the whole time instead of just sitting in silence for hours like some ig stylists 😅 AND she wouldn’t even let me tip her…. These ig stylists are getting greedy af they don’t care about providing a service for someone. It’s only about the money for them, let’s be real.

People have HIV/aids, fungus, lice, etc. I went to beauty school and disinfection as well as blood exposure was a huge deal. You don’t know certain things unless you’re taught. Plus every state has different rules. Beauty school and getting your license is very very very important.

1) You gotta sell drugs to afford these stylists these days. And 2) the way idgaf about respectability anymore. My hair is my hair. Say what you want but I’m doing what’s best for me and my scalp.

As a mua with a cosmetology license and someone who grew up in a "old school" hair salon, I thank you for this video. This was full of truth and education. We used to call unlicensed hair dressers kitchen ticians. My family salon has been in business for 40 years through just word of mouth. Clients have left and returned with damaged hair because social media said. What most people don't realize is haircare and skincare is rooted in chemistry. Techniques and product ingredients go hand in hand.

This might be controversial: I attended a high-end private cosmetology school aimed at training elite hairdressers. Despite expressing my concerns about the lack of focus on textured hair throughout my training, the response was consistently, "They have their own salon". I was like… "why do you think that is?" I wanted to seek further education in textured hair to fill the gap in basic knowledge but didn’t want to appear as if I’m tryna replace black hairdressers knowing I couldn’t compete anyway. I cannot tell you how shocked I was when my textured hair friends BEGGED me to learn while complaining about how hard it was to find decent textured hairstylists who offer great client care (specially when not living in the metropole). Truth is, they didn’t care if I’m part of the community, when they go to the salon, they want to feel pampered (not working) even if it means going to someone a bit less talented. The saddest part is, as the white hair industry neglected black hair, some took their clientele for granted, ignoring the increasing education available to those, like me, eager to learn. While black stylists could rightfully blame cultural appropriation, could they also blame their ex clients for choosing a hairdresser who is upfront about pricing, provides complete services, and prioritizes the overall customer experience? I’m all for supporting black owned businesses but what’s empowering about giving your community a lower standard of service? P.S I want to emphases, this is just what I heard through personal experiences. I do know terribly impolite white hairdressers and very nice black hairdressers.

I was so glad to hear you include the hair boards/forums. I was a huge part of that in the early 2,000’s and we tend to get completely skipped over and all credit given to RU-vid’rs when in reality the natural hair movement started on those boards. I was there, it was wild times lol. We were coming up with all kinds of stuff and going against the grain to wear our hair natural when it was not popular at the time. I learned a ton and had so much fun. A lot of those boards are still there ….Long Hair Care Forum, Nappturality, Black Hair Care Forum. Most go back to about 03’. Such great times.

Love this!! As a licensed cosmetologist , I truly appreciate you covering these topics. It’s insulting to see how some of these “stylists” operate…

Appreciate that this is a historical approach and not just a bashing session.

I’m a licensed cosmetologist. When I went to school (2006). The African American. Curriculum was very small, braids, waves, marcel iron styles and basic hair styling. They didn’t show you everything on how to style black hair. I think it’s partially because black hair changes rapidly in terms of styles compared to white styles. I feel as though I learned enough to know how to maintain and keep hair on my clients head. “Hair care” was essential. Now lace wigs , micro links, faux locs and these things are new. How to install and maintain all these new styles the board would literally have to keep updating their curriculum every year to keep up with the instruction and maintenance to all of this. I think we as black women need to learn how to maintain our own hair. That’s the root of all of this I think. When I was growing up most if not all women I knew had an idea how to maintain their hair at home. Getting your hair done exclusively was unheard of unless you were more affluent. All these wigs and weaves aren’t worth it clearly that’s what this video is about. Most of the styles aren’t good for your hair or your health( in terms of the chemical used).

A huge reason why I ended up going natural and ultimately getting locs. 😂 I was so damn tired.

Home stylists making pharmacist hourly pay is crazy

I had an appointment canceled 😠 once before I was supposed to get braids for a concert. She had the 15 min late clause. I couldn’t find the salon in time which made me late and she kept my deposit and cancelled me. I was furious, I literate wanted to drive my car through the braid shop front window. 😂 I screamed in anger

im not even black but somehow ended up on the black hair side on instagram reels, and saw so many girls complaining about unprofessional stylists and their work. what shocked me how much some of the stylists charge, women saying how they somehow have to pay 2000$ for simple box braids. as i obviously never needed that kind of service, i felt so bad for the ones who have to pay so much for it and then they are sadly not even satisfied with the results. but i still find those videos super interesting, i always find it super impressive how much you can do with your hair, your skills and how much you know about haircare really amaze me. even helps me as a white girl from poland with wavy hair since most hair salons in europe focus on completely straight hair :) you look gorgeous btw!!

My stylist is such a blessing. He doesn't overbook and truly understands natural hair. Focuses on his client and is constantly learning and teaching. My former stylist was too focused on Instagram and because of that her service declined. I was done when she burned my hair and I had to visit my current stylist to correct it and helped to repair my hair.

It’s cheaper to buy a $400 wig with these practices.

It’s sad bc it’s always black hairstylists that I’m hearing so many horror stories about (I’m black)!

Thank you for this video. I went to a stylist and I wanted a straight bang….. she cut my eyelid, which I will now forever wear a scar. Please ladies and gents, be picky with who you trust with your hair.. for me it was more than my hair but my actual face. She had the nerve to offer a discount…. 😢

I tried to go to a stylist to learn how to care for my hair, after care etc. She said she could do that if I paid her a $400 curly consulting fee...i went to you tube 😂

Girl…. You did your big one with this one 👏🏽👏🏽. I love the way you laid out the facts in addition to sharing the history of salons and black hair in America. I enjoyed every second of this video. Thank you 🤎🤎

Also let’s talk about these cosmetologists that agrees to doing your hair a certain way knowing damn well they aren’t good that that hair style 😭 I was a victim to that just like the girl with the red locs

Let’s talk about it!! I was going to a popular curly hair salon in Orlando, FL for 2 years and I had to stop giving them my money!! The tardiness, the ROUGH pulling out of hair detangling, the no talking/conversation regarding hair, pickiness of clients, and so much more! Worse part was that, everyone working in that salon also had thick, kinky hair. A shame.

It’s literally a racquet. So many scammers and unprofessional people. I’ve met good ones too but the bad ones are messing it up for them. There is definitely going to be a resurgence of real shops.

So grateful I have a hairdresser that works AMAZINGLY with natural hair. And she doesn’t charge me an arm and a leg for what she does. I pay 140$ (that’s with a tip) for a wash, cut, color, and then styled either straightened or she will finger curl my curls-just depends on how she’s feeling. And I also let her pick my hair colors. I’m her favorite client cuz I get fun colors AND I let do her thing. She’s an artist and I appreciate her art and trust her. I’m so sorry so many of you are traumatized by bad hairdressers.

I’m locked in with my auntie aged salon owner. I stopped messin with those IG girls. She gets me right every time and we have a good time chit chatting too. She ALSO has given me discounts when she overbooks and my appointment takes longer than expected bc she knows good customer service ❤

WELL MF SAID BRI! Felt like I was watching a hair documentary. I felt triggered (in a good way because these are things I've noticed and thought about recently) I've decided to do my own hair going forward. I'm tired of the deposits and the unanswered texts and the "natural hair specialists" that rips my hair out. Per my recent video on my channel, I've decided to wear my hair in plaits for 2024. anyway....Thank you for the conversation!

As someone who grew up with a mother that knew absolutely NOTHING about caring for natural hair… when COVID happened, I was devastated. We both were! I’m also thankful for all the hair tutorials on RU-vid & the natural hair movement for uplifting me when my hair was natural and educating all of us on how to do our own hair! I decided to do a big chop in 2021 & it’s much healthier now. And as of 2023, I can confidently say I’m able to do my own hair but I’ve definitely experienced some craziness from going to strictly salons (or even beauty schools in order to save money) from age 7/8 to age 22 😅

Once upon a time in the 90's, getting your hair done in a shop was an experience. They had full on services and nail tech in some salons. My mom was always getting her hair done, but I didn't experience it like my mom because I eventually learned how to do my own hair. I can literally count on one hand how many times I've gotten my hair done professionally. I've heard the horror stories of stylists today, and I'm just too scared to trust these new stylists, and the prices are just above me 😆. I'll just keep doing my own hair.

Ahh, I almost cried during the 2010s portion. I really learned how to do my hair and the importance of hair as a young black woman from RU-vid. 2010s were good times!

I have decided to stop using those ig stylists it’s not worth the hassle. They charge insane amounts, are incredibly rude, late, some are charging deposits that don’t go toward the style costs, unprofessional, and lazy! It’s crazy. I won’t give them my money. I wish everyone else would stop.

I’m so glad I have the same stylist of 20 years, at the end of the day the reason this is an issue is because ppl are patrons of these “establishments”…if ppl didn’t patron these so called businesses this wouldn’t be an issue.

Watching this video after I just left my professionally licensed natural hairstyles who wash, conditioned, trimmed and Styled my hair.... When you find a good one never let them go!

It be the rules, regulations and deposits for me. I refuse to pay $3,912 for somebody to spray Got2b Glue on my head or charge me for parting my hair with an attitude and unprofessionalism. God forgive me if I book a nail service and change my mind or the design I originally picked. Don’t have 4c Hair either. You getting charged extra extra. No Thank You! I’ve been self sufficient for years in doing my own hair and nails. The audacity be on sale with these people.

I think it's very important in tis conversation to note that in some states it's illegal for braiders to wash and blow dry hair without a license.

Loved hearing an educated perspective to this hairstylist crisis. I have made it my business to go back natural and wearing my own hair to avoid it.

Oh baby this is journalism. I have been letting the algorithm do its thing while keeping I braid my hair and this is the second video that has completely captivated me. Subscribed.

I have four horror stories. I finally found someone for wigs and locs and sticking to them forever.

It because a bunch of people got into it to make money rather than because they have a passion for the art/ trade. That is why customer service and hospitality ain’t a thing. Also these prices and all the Prerequisite to getting your hair done is pure laziness. They’re not trying to give you a full service but to just squeeze in as many clients as they can to get more money! I remember this girl tried to charge me an extra $80 only because my hair was long for the same exact style as my friend, and I said hell no and did the braids myself (thank GOD I can do all my maintenance myself)

I recently went to a “salon” to get a wash, press, and trim. My nana goes to this lady, so I thought I’d try her out. I wanted to cry. I should’ve left, but my nana was there getting her hair done as well. She told me to just give it a try. Firstly, the lady overbooked herself. She had a sew in, loc retwist, and me all at once. Btw, my appt was at 3:30 and I didn’t leave until about 7PM. She asked her coworker to blow dry my hair. Nobody detangled me, she barely conditioned my hair, and they didn’t use heat protectant. She had her flat iron in the stove as if it wasn’t already hot on its own, and used the wax stick all throughout my hair. She did multiple passes and went in with the hot comb as well. I would’ve been better off doing it myself. I could’ve saved my money. I paid for someone to damage my hair and the sad part is, she’s just going to keep doing it to others until someone tells her. I’ve got to get into cosmetology school and also find the time/patience to do my hair. I am a stay at home mom during the weekdays, and work on the weekends so it’s hard, but I will never go to the salon again

RU-vid (including you, bri) helped me learn to love and nourish my hair. Which helped with the self love journey. I let go of salons because I just hated being tied down to that two week schedule, can’t wet it, can’t alter it, I felt like a slave to my hair before going natural. Then I was a slave to my natural hair in a different way, before getting locs lol. Anyway, I haven’t been in a salon since 2013. Stylists just never did my hair how I wanted it 🤷🏾‍♀️ I was NEVER satisfied. I’d ask for specific things and they’d just do whatever they wanted to do 😂 and I mean this was a licensed stylist in a whole credible shop. I ALWAYS felt like I could do a better job with my hair than a stylist and I did and do! Our hair is personal. Stylists have many clients. Not every stylist has the time or want to treat your hair how you’d treat it, yourself. It’s like the difference of something homemade and something made in a factory. Nobody pays us to do our own hair. So when we do our own hair it comes from us wanting to look and feel good and to treat ourselves well. But with stylists, they’re getting paid. They’re on the clock. It’s work. A job. They’re on go go go go next client next client next client. There’s less room for that individual care that we would give to our own hair. The best thing I could’ve done was learn to do my own hair.

I have multi textures 3c 4a 4b hair that waves at the roots. I went to walmart smart styles got 7 zigzag cornrows got hair washed/ condition, hair steamed hair blown out, for sixty two dollars 62 $ I left 15$ tip. They threw the steaming treatment and blow out in for free. I was shocked at the low price.

out of big three : nail techs , hairstylists & lash tech’s . i always found hairstylists the most unprofessional.

Bri, your storytelling skills have always been remarkable but you are really putting in WORK with collecting this information and editing! Thank you for bringing another great conversation to the table and keeping it entertaining as well!

We literally need a black hair directory. I’ve lived in NYC for 5 years and still have no clue where to reliably get my hair done. So many horror stories and so many hoops to jump through!!!

I’m just on 1:17 & just a week ago, I THOUGHT I found someone who can do hair affordably with wash and blow dry included ($165 traditional sew in). All for her to not even be in the shop during my scheduled appt, her mom had to start my wash and blow 35mins after my scheduled appt time. there was already a client in her chair, that her mom was also helping do ‘til her daughter showed up. Oh yeah. And all of this caused me to run late into another appt I had scheduled later on that day. & the stylist shows up & the stylist still wanted to charge me FULL PRICE. Definitely informed her of all the inconveniences and got $20 off. I’m done with these stylist !

New (white ) hair stylist here, seeking information on textured hair this was great thank you so much.

This is why I learnt to do my own hair

This was such a good overview of this current state of the hair community! So well explained and executed. You always deliver! 🥰

I haven't been to a salon in almost a decade. I went when I first went natural, and it was an awful experience. The stylist didn't listen to what I wanted and never called me by my name. I was "the natural girl" the time I was there. Never went back.

We also need to talk about consumerism as a community. We’re being constantly influenced to purchase and try new hairstyles and products.

The mini doc we didn’t know we needed! Sis! You asked us our feedback on sooo many topics! But ima say this…I don’t think it’s a stylist change or an industry change…I think it’s both.

I went to cosmetology school in the 90s. The curriculum lacks diversity. I went to two schools. I left knowing how to do old white ladies hair from those ppl. My Black hair stylist friends were bomb! Not one of those schools taught us how to do Black hair outside of relaxers, permanent waves aka jherri and wash and roller sets. Our Black instructors were limited in what they could teach us. We had to teach and learn from each other. They told us they didn’t teach Black hair care (theory or practicum) because it’s not on the State Board exams. I learned quickly why some Black stylists were not up with the latest trends. You had to take additional classes or go to hair shows because we didn’t have the Internet😩…as you can see by my username, I changed career paths. I figured out I only wanted to learn how to do my hair and didn’t learn that ish from school. Thank God for Pell grants.

It happens here in Jamaica too. the IG braiders are out of control and I'm very glad to stick with my old school stylists because as a 4c girl, dont ask me to come washed and blow dried. I cannot blow dry my hair. And why am i spending 200us for braids and it doesnt include ntn. For context, on average with traditional braiders, it starts at roughly 30usd and it increases based on size and length. Its getting out of hand bcuz many of these IG stylist cannot healthily style 4c hair

Hairstylist nowadays are bullies literally as of right now My aunt is the one doing my hair I don’t go to hairstylist anymore because of the way to keep people with 4c hair like me and I just think it’s weird even if I blow out my hair is still gonna be very thick what even surprise me is they would talk badly about my hair in front of my face just because I am a teenager 🙁

We need a makeup artist one next girl because as a pro MUA the horror stories I hear have me appalled!

Hey Bri! Love your video, it is very well researched. I went to college twice before going to cosmetology school and I think that made a huge difference. There are many ways to get your license, even through some high schools. So that also adds to the difference in professionalism across hairstylists, even the ones that did go to cosmetology school. But also when I looked for cosmetology schools, only one had just created a program that taught the basics of styling curly and coily hair… And that was Aveda, in 2021. Mind you, I still had more experience with different curl patterns than some of my instructors, because I have been braiding hair since I was in high school. That’s why I always tell people they gotta stop assuming that you can learn everything you need to learn about this industry in school. Especially when every school isn’t created equal! And my program was $21,000 so in this economy it would be tough to go to school right now. Then people don’t realize that you have to be licensed to shampoo hair in most states! And when I tell you all these extra payments that comes with all the various licensure when you try to do this stuff, legally… It isn’t made for the people who don’t have money to spare or who don’t have a lot of clients. Also, with Barbicide tools are not supposed to sit in it long term. The chemicals break down the actual tools. You are only supposed to let it sit in there for about 10 minutes depending on the tool. But it is definitely necessary!

Thank you for this video! As a beauty professional of 15 + years, I appreciate this content. A stylist is only as good as the work they do on their craft and the passion they have for the industry. Love this video!❤

In my opinion, I think when someone from (out of their home)asks you to come shampooed and blow dried it’s mostly for a braided process. It does take a while to do braids depending on how small they are. If it’s a cosmetologist in a salon you will automatically get all of that no question. Also SOME people know they wouldn’t wanna sit in someone’s chair 8 plus hours. To tell you the truth the ones saying come shampooed and blown out probably has no experience with doing those things and don’t plan on having it.

Great video Bri ❤ honestly dealing with these shady hairstylists encouraged me to start doing my own hair back in high school, which led people to ask me to do their hair too but its not worth it anymore now 😕 I’ve been learning how to make an income doing my own hair & making content, i’ve heard it makes more money than doing others’ hair

Just 5 minutes in hearing about the history and how it relates to community and political changes is so fascinating, thankyou!

I turn my hair to locks and I found a good hairdresser but she doesn't wash hair either and they do charge their own rates. Which can be frustrating. I also go to her home and not the salon. I wish the black community was more put together.

I’ve learned how to do my own wigs on RU-vid and I know longer get knotless braids because they don’t last long on my hair type and I’m not paying 300+

I’m currently bald because I can’t be bothered

This video was executed very well! It was very informative, funny , relatable also it inspired me to start learning how to do my own hair. This is why I love your videos so much! It truly is a struggle just getting my hair done I dread going to the salon these days because you never know what you’re going to get 😞

This was deep. I feel like my best self when my hair is done! The thing is… I’ve learned to hair on my own. From my natural hair, to sew-ins and slick ponytails, I’d rather do it myself now to keep the health and length of my hair. I know how tight and how I want my hair to look. May take me while, but it’s significantly cheaper and I don’t have to deal with mistreatment❤

I have a question for the braider… If you went to a restaurant and they only served you half the meal, would you then pay them what the restaurant thinks is fair according to what they gave you? 🧐

Thank you for the video, I’m a hair braider, and it’s so sad that the minority of people who have no regard for their job, are being seen as a majority. I’m based in Montreal, Quebec and being a braider is such an important part of the community. Not everyone can afford to open a salon to offer hair washing service, not everyone’s long term goal is to be in the beauty service industry, but it’s a needed service and a important of black culture. I personally have had some really amazing experiences while being a braider and have created some amazing bonds with my clients. some nuance that needs to be added to this conversation though , is that some of the clients are disrespectful and have really bad communication skills…period,that contributes to a bad experience. And often it feels like a clients forgets that we’re people, they just see us as a robots providing a service.But we’re risking arthritis, severe back and neck pain, 12plus hour days to be paid less than minimum wage, and were retaining our culture in our communities especially braider in low black population communities like mine. Most braiders i know are extremely talented, professional and serious about what they do. I really think there needs to be more empathy on both sides.

I just got suggested this video yesterday, and I'm PISSED I've missed out on these videos all this time! The number of times I've yelled at my phone, "Preach!" and "come ON, now!" is ridiculous. You would've thought I was watching the SuperBowl.

**Me watching this as i do my own hair.** I don't trust people with my hair so no experiences i can share but this video had such great facts. Thanks for sharing!

I truly love your approach to this topic. I can not wait to see more. Given the fact the I am a hairstylist, i love how you highlight the pros and cons of it all!

This was amazing !! Thank you . I am natural hair care specialist & A lot of these questions I have been asking myself and writing about . I have been both in a communal salon space and an individual suite space and I am returning to the communal space . We need more salon communal salon spaces that are not centered around one individual person(s) . It places a lot of unnecessary stress on both client and stylist and the stylist has a lot of unwarranted control . We need that 3rd space as a community, we need the flexibility, we need the accountability, we need that support, and as you mentioned the black dollar circulates more in these spaces. Think about vendors who would come into the shops and sell as well. I believe it’s time for us to not wait for the system to be fixed bc as long as it benefits them it won’t be ! We have to take matters into our own hands and adjust our attitudes& mindset regarding our hair and how we spend our money. My background is in psychology and the whole issue is deeply rooted in mental health . I’m standing on business regarding this issue and I thank you again for so eloquently putting into words what needs to be discussed!! Peace sis

Licensed Cosmetologist here, class of 1998 lol Cosmetology school DOES NOT teach you to do hair. It teaches the history, the foundation and the business of hair. Consultations, shampooing, customer service etc… are taught. The goal is to pass your local State Board and that’s what they teach you to do. There are plenty of people who went through cosmetology school and still can’t “style” hair. We’ve always had add on classes for color, new techniques etc… The styling game is ever changing and there’s no way schools can constantly update curriculum with the “latest trends”.

The two first and only experiences I had with 'stylists' were terrible in the unprofessional aspect. I went to a nail tech and braider. The area I live in is limited in black hair stylist and salons, so my selection to start off with was very limited. I began to try stylists because the salons' work were outdated/not trendy anymore and they didn't have the skills to do the things I wanted. 1. Nail Tech Story: I had gone to the same nail salon my entire life. They work they do nowadays is satisfactory but dated, and the products/techniques they used are old; It showed up the most in the sets I got because the acrylic near my cuticle always chipped after a couple of days and I felt like the worker's there put less effort into really cleaning and taking care of my nails. Fast forward to my senior year of high school, I had my senior prom coming up. My mom bought this gorgeous dress for me and was willing to pay for a more expensive set for me for prom. So, she found this nail tech about 40 minutes away from us. She dropped me off to the appointment, and ya'll... when I stepped into her studio it was messy and disgusting. She had a small dog (which was fine with me because I love dogs, but I couldn't help but wonder after the appointment why she didn't mention that on her page or to me beforehand? what if i was allergic or didn't like dogs?) who peed and continued to pee on it's pee pad, the floor, and the couch she had... and it STUNK. The floors besides that were dusty and in general she just had a lot of clutter in her studio. I was trying not to be judgmental, so I continued in the appointment. The stylist was really nice and enthusiastic to do my nails, and seemingly capable in what I wanted. Everything is going well, until like 10 minutes into nail prep she SEVERELY cut my cuticles, like at least 3 or so fingers on each hand were bleeding. Im not sure if barbicide is meant for open wounds or just for disinfecting tools, but once she saw I was bleeding SHE PUT THE BARBICIDE ON MY BLOODY CUTICLES...AND IT BURNED SO BAD. I had to step out for a moment because I started to cry (embarassing) and I began contemplating if it was even worth it, trying to figure out how I could get my nails done 2 days before prom, maybe I could just get a manicure instead of acrylics somewhere else, etc etc. I decide to go back in, and my mom (who i called because I was wondering if it was supposed to hurt that bad) and a conversation with about how she needed to make it less painful and we went on from there. She does my nail's but curing under the lamp was really painful so everything took a bit longer than probably what both of us were used to. However, mid session (after the conversation), she started vaping (in my face; I hate smoke, it gives my major migranes, and again she DID NOT mention anything on her page or to me or my mom beforehand that she smokes) and got on a facetime call with her friend, which made it difficult to talk to her about my nail design and nail pain because she had this slight 'your interrupting my conversation' attitude when I tried to say something; I think her being distracted by her conversation led to her placing the nail on my index finger completely crooked but she couldn't fix it because that was one the nails she cut, so applying remover and using the uv lamp was way too painful on that nail so we just had to leave it. Mind you, I think this set was around $190 dollars...my mom was so upset when I came home with a nail missing and bloody cuticles. After the appointment, I realized that she probably had been drinking too because I saw bacardi bottles on her shelves and one open bottle with a cup near her, but she never drunk from it while she was working on my nails. 2. Hair Braider Story: Going into this appointment I was really confident and comfortable because she did my mom's hair and it looked really good; I also went to the same black hair salon my whole life, but when i started to wear my hair natural more often I had to resort to at home techniques because my hair stylist didn't know how to do curly hair besides perms, silk presses, sew ins etc. and when I went to get my hair trimmed it had to be straighted (which overtime caused a lot of damage), but I tried to meet her half way but blowdrying my hair as straight as possible (which she said she could do ) but the last time i went to her salon she BOTCHED my hair cut and burned my hair to the point when certain parts of it wouldn't turn curly when I reverted it, and since then I've struggled to grow it out of its weird shape and get my curl pattern back in some spots (this inspired me to do a big chop soon). This happened around 2 years ago and my hair is still damaged and weirdly shaped. Moving on to the braider stylist, I was excited to see her because I was going on vacation in a week, and it was my first time getting cornrows/fulani braids. Overall, she was really sweet, her price was semi affordable for my mom, she had a great personality, we watched a lot of good movies together, we had good conversations together, my hair came out great, and she even drove me home because she finished my head 2-3 hours after the booking stated. However my biggest issue with her, was her smoking weed in our session. Like I stated before, I hate smoke and i'm pretty sure i was underage when this happened. She didn't start to do it until mid session and she said it was for her back pain and she preferred it over painkillers and she jokily told me to 'do drugs' which made me really uncomfortable. One of her friends brought her packs in and out of the session, and mid session she would leave like every 10-20 minutes to take a smoke break which is probably why my appointment ran until 3am. I tried to tolerate it and i was scared to say something because it's her apartment but it was really unprofessional and shocking (AGAIN she didn't mention this to me or my mom beforehand or on her site and when I asked my mom if she smoked in her session she said no) and i left the appointment with two headaches from cornrows and smoke lol. The inconsistency point your brought up was so true because when my mom went to get her hair done again (same style she got from her last time, which came out amazing) and came back home it looked TERRIBLE and she hated it so much she thought about cutting all her hair of. And a few months later when I took it down I had to cut some pieces of her hair off because this stylist applied nail glue on the ends of her REAL HAIR. Overall, these stylist have gotten out of hand and are extremely unprofessional. I shouldn't have to worry about potential drug or alcohol use in a session and i didn't consent to be around that. Like stuff like this wouldn't happen in a professional salon. I also feel like maybe they feel entitled to act casual and treat you like a 'friend' because its a one on one stylist service, and they're their own boss and make their own rules, which maybe is why they try to blend party/casual life with professional settings. Now i thought, the solution would just be go back to the salon but not everyone has one near them, most of the time they're pricier, but like the vid stated a lot of liscensed stylist do know how to really take care of/style/cut naturally curly hair and don't have the skill to do more creative protective styles, and a lot of people have also had terrible experiences with licensed stylists. Thankfully, I found a curly hair salon near me that knows how to really take care of curly hair for an affordable-ish price (only cut, style, and color wise).

Hell no lmao. Im Armenian so i dont have this type of hair but i kept catching nyself screaming "youre charging HOW MUCH TO DO BRAIDS ON ME?!" 😂😂