My Hair Story: I’m Going To Miss My Dominicanos

May 24th, 2012 - By madamenoire

Tim Hussin for The Wall Street Journal

by Selam Aster

As I plan to make the move from New York City to my hometown in California, there’s one thing I can’t stop agonizing about: no, it’s not the great friends or the subways (that have spared me from anxieties related to car insurance or gas prices) that I’ll miss most. It’s really all about the Dominicans.

You see, they are important to my life. Ever since I moved to New York, the money and time I spend on my hair has been cut in half. By my own definition, that has greatly improved my quality of life. Less stress, less mess.

As many a Black female knows, going to the hair salon is a time-consuming affair that can drain 25 percent of your weekend.  Growing up, I thought trips to the salon would be glamorous and stress-relieving endeavors. I soon found out that unless you have a personal stylist, going to the salon would be experienced as a laborious yet necessary ritual.

For me, Dominican hair salons have alleviated the laboriousness of it all. It’s not a perfect experience but it is a better one for me. There are no appointments and not much waiting around (a signifier of many Black salons). This is how it works: I walk in anytime (including Sundays and Mondays), stand in line for the wash bowl, move to the hair rolling station, sit under the dryer and then get my hair blown out. I’m in and out in less than 2 hours, which is far less than the 4-5 hours I spent at hair salons when I lived in Los Angeles. Don’t get me wrong, it is a trade off. Dominican salons use cheaper products and don’t really prioritize customer service (read: rude and abrupt), but for someone who values getting the job done over customer service, I have been more than satisfied.

What I do miss is the camaraderie between stylists and clients in Black salons. Since I don’t speak Spanish, there’s not much “conversating” going on, and that takes some of the fun out of the whole thing. But since I am still not trusting of the Dominican hair salons when it comes to getting hair cuts and color, I’ll occasionally make a visit to my go-to Black salon and shell out $100+ for my quarterly services.

A friend asked me if I felt guilty for patronizing Dominican hair salons, rather than the Black salons I grew up with. My answer was no. I don’t see many Black salons completely suffering from the competition. If anything, this competition, which really only exists on the East Coast, may only help Black salons improve their way of doing things and becoming more efficient. I can’t discount the fact that some people just really love hanging out at the salon all day, and so, for them, the old way of doing things is no big deal. As for me, I’ve seen what my life could be like with less time spent on hair but am preparing myself for the rude re-awakening when I arrive in Cali. At least, I have an iPad to keep me company on my 5-hour trips now…*sigh*.

 

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  • Deja

    I live in the Bay and you can forget about it, you better be ready to drop at least $70 for a freaking wash and style!  I wish I could find a Dominican shop!

  • Pfinstir

    I am so with you.  I will probably never leave the East Coast for this one reason.  You also left out that your hair is more healthy.  No unnecessary frying with the curling iron after the hood dryer.  I stopped getting my hair blow dried years ago.  No need.  Just a doobie sweetie and I am on my way.  And, I have learned a heap more Spanish over the years.  No more Spanglish for me.  Yo soy una (honorary) Dominicana.  Been to DR with a few of my friends, etc.  Cultural blend.  It’s all good.

  • Tanya

    I myself started going to a dominican shop after I moved to VA. I at first went to a woman who had been in business for at least 30 years, i noticed how healthy her daughter’s hair was so decided to give it a try. We didn’t agree on my relaxer schedule (which I had been on since I was in pre-school and I was 29 then) and my hair snaps when its got a lot of new growth and she insisted on cutting my hair every time I went, which never happened before. I never had put any kind of irons in my hair and always used expensive salon products, and my regular stylist back home couldn’t figure out why she felt it had to be cut (and my old stylist has people fly in from all over for her to relax & style them to hold them for a few months while they went to others). She also complained about how much hair I had everytime. I realized later she mainly specialized in weaves, and shorter styles. Add the long wait time which I was used too anyway, I had to find another. I still get mad when I look at the photos from a ball I went to one evening after an appoinment; my hair was shorter than it had been in years without me getting an actual style cut into it, and it was just my regular silk wrap.

    So the dominicans it was every other week. I got my relaxers on time, and I was in and out in 2 hours at most – whenever I needed to get it done. I still had to do my own weekly maintanance with better products since some of their products were good – others weren’t, and it was damaging to have the blow-out done too often, so I would skip that part every now and then.

    Surprisingly though, my new stylist who is black, only takes about 2 hours on my hair, and that is for a relaxer, although I do get it flat ironed now instead of roller set and under the dryer for an hour or more.  They have the art of never overbooking down at that salon, but then again, they service white, black, hispanic, etc, but I still have the closeness of a black salon because they talk to me.

  • Lucygoosey

    oh, now i know why i saw a line outside a salon in lakewood/long beach,ca.

    • That Chick

      What salon? Or do you know the general area/cross streets?

      Thanks!

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1237703024 Angel Ayers

    Brooklynite here and I was a dedicated Dominican Salon goer. I moved South and was fortunate enough to find another and a bit cheaper. I always paid extra for their 15  deep conditioner. I even had by hair color by my stylist and it came out well. As i transitioned for 6 months I still patroned their services. But Alas on stylist had to say in broken english”you need a perm”. That wasn’t going to happen. I made a decision to remain true to my roots. So I BC’d . It’s now 13 months later and I do in the back of myhead miss the shine, straightness,smell and bounce of straight hair, I imagine walking into the Dominican Salon with an Erykah Badu size fro asking for a wash and set and being put out lol or well taken care of.

  • Msskyywalker

    I used to leave on the east coast and I practically jumped for joy when I was introduced to the Dominican salons. I have thick long hair and for some reason beauticians see my hair as a cash cow. It takes extra time to do…… My hair budget literally went from hundreads of dollars a month to about 50-60 dollars a month. My thick time consuming hair never looked better. But then I moved back to Cali. First trip to the salon 200.00 perm/wash &condition / flat iron…I hate the flat iron. My hair didn’t have that same bounce as it did when the Dominican salons did it. So I asked for a roller set (doobie on the east coast) It was like I was speaking another language and they didn’t blow out the root. Moral of the story: I stop going and went back to natural hair.

  • Jaida Bang

    the Dominicans are here in Atlanta! love them. I don’t go often to the salon because I rather do my own hair but I do enjoy a nice blow out now and again.

  • Keshia07

    I also can agree with the author I have always tried to stick with mixed salons because the times I have been to primarily black salons I have found them to be rude and very unprofessional. I couldn’t stand all the gossip and hours under the dryer not to mention their lack of punctuality. I recently went to an Egyptian salon and I was much more pleased I was in and out and my hair was flawless. They do use a lot of heat so I dont go biweekly but when I want my hair done right and on time I know where to go.

  • Blatina

    The African descent diaspora is not limited to Black Americans. WAY more slaves were south of the border than here. 85% of Dominicans are Black and multiracial. The reason they know how to do diverse coifs is because their ethnicity ranges in complexion and texture. I am a New Yorker who moved to LA and can say that my Dominican stylist in nyc uses very good quality products, is fairly accessible but it’s ideal to make an appointment, and her shop is not much of an assembly line. She is bilingual and very into maintaining healthy hair. I have also met African American stylists like that too as a child in NY. Yes, I spent more time at the American salons and I spent more money… I would let either stylist do my hair if the time and price are right.
    FYI, there are 3 Dominican salons in LA, you can find them on yelp and Dominican Elegance is not very good. The owner doesn’t know how to blowout hair properly and she charges too much. Many Dominicans are moving to California so there are more options but they charge around $45 for blowouts bc that’s the standard price here. I do wish they used Dominican products like back in NY. 

  • Playbaby4

    I live in the Bay and I wish we had Dominican salons!  

    • Poohbear

      There’s a Dominican Salon in The Bay at Hilltop Mall in Richmond (Dominican Puerto Pelo). Those ladies have my hair swingin, growing and healthy!

    • Blatina

      Find them here: http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=dominican+hair+salon&find_loc=San+Francisco%2C+CA

  • Guest

    In chicago, the equivalent to the dominicans are the egyptians. they are fast, fast fast! and can blow dry some hair!

  • lockstress

    uhm…dominicansare BLACK! I can’t!

    • Guest

       THANK YOU, Lockstress! Black people in the U.S. (and Latin blacks) have lost all concept of the history of the Americas and Black people. So sad…the stupidity is shocking. Their is a HUGE difference between nationality and race. Afro-Dominicans, different nationality, but same race.

  • Jolie

    In this particular post, black salons are getting a bad rep. They all aren’t bad, slow, lazy, unprofessional, with lackluster talent. There are some ethnic salons that have skills that rival those of Warren Tricomi! What it really comes down to is choosing the salon/stylist that meets your expectations. This probably will require some time, money, and research.

    • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_2ROHTTPGLUUCDHXXH6FAAMELBQ D

      Thank you for saying that.  To get your hair properly done and to remain healthy at least takes between 45 minutes-2 hour (or longer), depending on what type of service you are receiving (relaxer, wash/blow dry/curl, braids-longer, etc.).  The Black stylist I have books accordingly so that when she is finished with you, the next client is just arriving or only has to wait for at least 5-15 minutes. This is in Spring Valley, CA (San Diego County).  You find bad, slow, unprofessionalism, etc. from all types of stylist….don’t believe me watch Tabitha’s Salon Takeover on Bravo.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_JAI4SRENU2A5WKRTELXXYJPDSI Kayla

    This would be a great business idea to open up salons that cater to black woman on the west coast… such as a weave shop…. I may look into it.. (I CLAIMED THIS THIS IS MY IDEA DON’T STEAL IT)!

    • Intelligent Blaminican

       Sorry KAYLA—THERE ARE PLENTY OF BLACK SALONS, PLENTY OF DOMINICAN SALONS and PLENTY OF OTHER ETHNIC SALONS  ALL UP AND THRU THE WEST COAST…….
      however as u know, doing hair in ANY LOCATION will always pay off if you have skills..so by all means open your business but PLEASE BELIEVE you will have COMPETITION.

      • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_JAI4SRENU2A5WKRTELXXYJPDSI Kayla

        aww damnn….

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