Natural hair just seems to stay in the news. From the good hair vs bad hair debate, natural hair not being seen as professional in a work environment and now salons have hopped on board to join the ridiculousness. It was not to long ago when one women’s salon visit resulted in her finding out they slipped relaxer into the conditioner, permanently altering her natural hair texture. As if that was not a wake up call enough for to hairstylists dealing with highly textured hair, just recently Bianca was told her tightly coiled natural hair was an animal that can not be tamed.
A 24-year old from Minneapolis went to the Denny Kemp Salon & Spa and booked a two hour appointment for wash and style. What seemed to be a new adventure turned out to be a horrific experience. Bianca wanted to go from her natural hair state to a straightened style with the use of a dryer and flat iron (as pictured above).
So What Happened?
The stylist who was set to work on her hair said:
“This is an animal I can’t maintain”
Then went onto to say “he didn’t have the tools or the time”, Bianca explained
“I asked him ‘so black girls can’t come here?'” Dawkins said. “He stated ‘this is not the 1950’s or 60’s where we can just put up a sign.’ I didn’t respond. I was trying to process what was happening here and how I was feeling.”
Bianca had the courage to take to social media and share her story with others.
The salon owner took knowledge of the faults of his salon and how the situation should have been handled differently.
“We failed miserably with that on Friday last week. That can happen with anybody and that is not our intention,” Kemp said. “We are really sorry and we just want to make the situation better not only for Bianca, but for many people that could walk into our salon. We just want to make that transition moving into and knowing and understanding the culture of African American hair that we are lax on. There are many salons that could be able to learn from this.”
Education is the key here. As a result of what happened to Bianca, Uptown Curl is hosting a panel on how to care for naturally textured hair. Denny is sending two of his own stylists to this panel to learn more about how to create a positive in their salon as well as learn the science of natural hair. It is no secret that textured hair can be challenging at times. While it can range from loose curls to tight coils, each head of hair is different.
Have any of you had extreme hair experiences? Let us know in the comments below.
Source: audacitytobeyou.com
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