Recently in Central London, a mother asks why is it so hard to find a decent UK child friendly black hair salon. Mom was horrified (and slightly traumatised) to experience a nightmare hairdresser that could not cater to her daughter’s natural hair. A situation that is all too familiar for parents of afro haired children.
Filled with excitement and joy, a family prepared for their youngest daughter’s Holy Communion. Relatives and friends would be travelling from near and far to witness this special occasion. Everything was set. The church at midday, the reception hall prepped the night before, and the caterers were busy cooking up some deliciousness. Mum had been planning the event for months; a professional photographer was even hired to capture the beautiful memories.
As a surprise treats for her daughters aged eight and nine, the mother booked a 9 am Saturday appointment for a deep condition, dry and style for their natural 4B/4C hair. When making the appointment, she explained to the hairdresser the significance of the day. She also explained the importance of sticking to a tight schedule. The Holy Communion was at midday. Therefore, leaving enough time to go home and dress for the big event. Mom expected it to be a UK child friendly black hair salon.
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Lack of time management
Mum and daughters arrive on time, to a seating area filled with women waiting for the same hair stylist. plot twist the hairdresser is MISSING!
The face you make when you arrive on time but your hair stylist is late
The unimpressed added, “booking all of us for the same time, is unprofessional and shows lack of respect for your customer’s time.”
Lack of afro hair knowledge
Mum also noticed the absence of professional salon products. Instead, they used products that most parents have in their bathroom cabinets, for example, insert name of any cheap store bought afro shampoo here. Looking back the mother remembers advising the hairdresser that her children require alcohol and sulphate free products. This is in addition to explaining, that one of her daughters has 4C high porosity hair which does not take to protein conditioners or hair mayonnaise.
Hair porosity is the ability of hair strands to absorb and hold onto moisture. High porosity hair is harder to retain moisture and allows for more frizz and friction (NaturallyCurly.com).
The hairdresser chose to ignore the customer’s request when working on the young girl’s hair and mum could feel her temperature rising, She felt triggered by the foolishness taking place before her very eyes – that a black hairdresser did not have alternative protein-free products and the stylist wanted to use hair mayonnaise on her daughter’s hair. Mum said, “it seemed like they were freestyling the whole thing. It was like they didn’t know how to handle my daughter’s afro hair. It’s bad enough to receive rubbish hair service as an adult, but not the kids, they do not deserve this!”
Subsequently, the mother ended the appointment and left the salon with her girls’ hair half done. The trip to the salon was supposed to save mum time on her daughters’ special day. However, she ended up styling their hair at home. This is due to the hairdresser’s lack of customer service, poor timekeeping, and below average knowledge of natural hair. She continues to add
“This is ridiculous and disappointing that in this day and age there are black hairdressers that don’t know how to do natural hair. All I wanted was to find a child friendly salon that is able to care for my children’s afro hair, nurturing what is already there, with high quality products and techniques.”
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