Every Saturday starting around age 5 or so my mom would take me to the room where our clothes were washed, wrap me in a towel and place me strategically in front of a huge double sink.
She would shampoo, condition, add aloe vera or something else I considered gross, re wash detangle and style my hair right in there. To be honest I really can’t remember when it all started, I said 5 because that’s probably as far back as I can remember.
We had a routine, I hated it and I loved it for many reasons, all of which were mostly kid stuff because I am sure there was more fun stuff could have done with my Saturday morning, like play Duck Hunt on Nintendo for instance.
But then again I loved talking to my mom at that time, it was bonding time and I appreciated that, we had a thing and all the girls at school were doing it with their moms too.
If you really think about it, the DIY trend has been around for years, our moms took care of our hair the best way they knew how when we were kids and to this day we have moms doing what was traditionally passed on to them as they wash and style their own daughter’s and sometimes son’s hair every weekend.
Fast forward to our teenage years and early twenties, we started exploring salons and using stylists more often because of course having relaxed hair was the thing to do as early as 13 years old and even younger if you were ‘lucky’.
Saturday was now spent again still with mom but at the beauty shop with your favorite stylist and all your girlfriends at that time were doing that too. Like an addiction, we supported the cosmetology industry even when we were broke.
And even though we appreciated the services we received good or bad, we did it at the expense of not learning anything about our own hair care. Women literally put their hair in the hands of an established professional and trusted that she or he would do the right thing.
According to a British survey conducted by Tresemme, the average woman spends a shocking $50,000 on her hair over her lifetime. Now considering that black women are not exactly ‘average’ as numerous studies have shown that we spend up to 6 times more than other races, you can imagine the mind bending figure that we black women actually spend over our lifetimes on hair salon visits and hair products.
If they are then they should do something we can’t do at home lol
Regardless of the DIY trend there will be women out there that can not do their own hair or will not attempt to. Personally, I LOVE doing my own hair for the simple fact if I don’t like the style, hair texture or color, I won’t be kicking myself for wasting the money on the hair and paying someone for something that I hate!!!
No not ever cause some chic’s a look at all that and still don’t know what they doing!!
Yes
many are mobile stylist on CL these days. think thats awesome. although I’m DIY. 🙂 good reputable stylist shouldn’t hate it. good stylist is priceless and irreplaceable . it just seem to be rare .
Folks have been doing their own hair for decades, so I doubt they have an issue with it.
Yes she is!
I dont hate it at all. I still do stuff for my clients they cant do themselves. And even those who can, still want to be taken care of every now and again!
Great read! I think that the black hair industry is marred with lack of education and ethical practices. I personally started my DIY hair journey because I was sick and tired of the “Hustle” Of the beauty shops. These women with all their licenses and years of experience STILL can have very little knowledge of how hair works across different women of the SAME ethnicity. To them it’s all black hair and must require chemicals to whip it into shape. They will relax, color AND weave all in the same day with out batting a single eyelash. Stacking services JUST to get your money and rarely thinking themselves culpable for the resulting damage.
I also really like the part where you mention manufacturers being honest about what is in their products. With all the crazy claims these black hair products make, its very hard to separate the real deal from the silly snake oil.
No we just charge more to clean up the mess! !
This is a very well written blog post that made a lot of good points. I think that hair stylists will continue to have business because there will always be ladies who prefer bone straight hair, weaves, color, short cuts etc. Therefore I don’t think that hairstylists hate the natural movement at all because it probably hasn’t had and won’t have much of an impact on their business.
I’m sure they are. If they don’t like it then stop scheduling 5 people for 9:00. My time is precious & I don’t have ALL day to wait. I’m a DIY gal now
I’m a prime example of a DIY woman primarily b/c of the military lifestyle not every where your stationed can you find a good stylist but with that being said that is actually one of the main reasons I got my cosmetology license. Because at the end of the day we are like doctors for the hair. When u get a cold u take over the counter meds but when you’ve done all the home remedies you can do you have to go to the doctor. Same for us…. a true stylist is flexible and tries to keep updated on all the new techniques that some can’t do themselves so they come to us. Me personally I’m not mad at the DIY trend for one because I’m natural and it’s unrealistic to think tht your client is going to come in for every service tht is needed to keep up natural hair and b/c if my client is as much involved and educated with the health of their hair it makes us a team thus great results!
Me, myself, I don’t hate or dislike the DIY trend. As a licensed estheticIan, licensed nail technician and soon to be licensed cosmetologist, is doesn’t bother me in the least. I respect my clients time because like their time is precious, so is mine. There are a lot of women going natural, I’m one of them, but there are plenty that prefer their relaxed hair. We are here to teach the health and care of hair to our clients. Also being diverse in hair helps, so I not only have my Black clients, but white clients as well. So again, there is no need to be upset by the DIY’ers. Also as someone noted earlier, when they mess up, they end up coming in for correction.
yes they are no more payin $80 for a style I can do it my own #I’m loving it
I don’t think so, my stylist is natural her self and while most of the time I do my own hair, I still come to her every few months (currently sitting under her dryer with flexi rods) #ILoveMyStylist
I say most definitely 😉
Yes. Speaking for myself, I do have an issue with all the tutorial videos on how to style; how to trim; how to color and the list goes on. I feel that as a stylist I went to school well over a 1250 hours plus advanced continued training that I have to pay for to maintain my license. Youtube stylist don’t understand that there is a science behind doing hair and caring for your hair and scalp. I had to learn chemistry, anatomy, hair physiology, sanitation and some. I do understand that some things on hair can be shared from your own personal experience but some youtubers are getting paid to share their inexperience and lack of knowledge as if they were professionals.
A true professional who’s dedicated to client satisfaction, is open minded, flexible & educates themselves & their clients is priceless. Just like people can cook their own meals but choose to frequent restaurant businesses, or clean their own homes but choose to have a cleaning service, people will still visit salon’s even though their capable of doing their own hair. It’s nothing new, it’s just broadcasted differently. I’ve learned to grow with the times vs. becoming obsolete
Sometimes we cannot afford those prices and learning would really help save money.
Funny, this was posted 1 week post bc I couldn’t do it anymore to much maintenance with the other stresses in my life . I went to get my hair braid this morning licensed cosmetologist aka hair braider was 30 minutes late for my appointment. I arrived to her place of business before she did along with to other 2 females who she scheduled at 9 o’clock, the exact time that was supposed to be for my appointment. Funny thing is I normally do my own hair. This lady did a perfect job on my hair and reminding me why, I dont have the time to waste waiting for someone who doesn’t value my time. P.s. these are the only braids I have had in 10 years. My head really hurts.
Are cornrows consider a protective style?
“Of course they do” mess with their income!!
yes they are
Yes, My stylist hates the fact that I can go on YouTube and learn something she Dnt know lol
I love DIY styles and doing my own DIY conditioning and oil mix recipes because it saves a lot of money….hair styles are expensive and if I can save money learning how to do it myself I will…..I do my own braids and twist…..learning to do my cornrows and flat twist…..gotta be versatile with your natural hair…..
I’ve been naturally curly since 1998. In those days, there was not a stylist that I could go to within a 100 mile radius who knew anything at all about caring for natural hair. So I had to learn on my own. I’m so glad to see so many people caring for their hair and sharing their experiences with everyone. I love the DIY movement! And the proof is in the pudding – so many are having awesome results with taking care of their own hair.
Every stylist needs to read this article. I want to go to a professional for my hair, just like I go to a dentist to have my teeth cleaned, etc. I begged my stylist to consider doing natural hair for years before I even went natural but she played it off said it was a trend, most mixed people could tolerate their own hair, etc. etc. Then when I started to transition she worked with me but after the first year started to tug and pull and use way too much heat on my 4C hair. She encouraged me to let her “heat train” my hair which I did at first but then regretted and stopped. I had to go transition from the relaxer AND from her 6 months of heat training. I love her as a person but she has now lost her shop due to lack of clients and is working full time on a different job and only doing a few clients that are still relaxed out of her home. My heart breaks for her, but she is not uncommon. Even if it is a trend stylist need to be business savvy and stay on top of the trend. The did this with weaves, learning to quick weave and apply lace fronts… why are so many resistant to doing natural hair? I have yet to find a natural salon and I miss going to the salon every two weeks. I would go in a heartbeat if I could find one that would embrace my extremely thick 4 beyond C hair and teach me ways to style it and such. But for now You Tube is all I have and sites like this one, so I’m grateful to you all.
Maybe the stylist, should lower their prices. I am glad YouTube is available for tutorials. It has helped me so much with going natural.
No, because they still have me! I don’t do hair unless it’s an emergency, lol
Probably.
I usually go to a stylist to get my hair relaxed but usually my mom does it for free since can’t always pay 60+ bucks every few months. Don’t get me wrong the lady I go to does a really good job and she trims my hair and styles it like my mom can’t necessarily do, but sometimes you just can’t afford it. Gonna try and learn to do my own hair soon. .I know it’s probably not difficult to relax ones own hair but I just don’t want to risk screwing up especially since I don’t even color my own hair xx; baby steps.
If my stylist would stop trying to get me to put relaxer or some kind of texturizer in my hair I would go more often lol. Besides. I like doing my hair sometimes. I give it more attention. Most stylist just rush through trying to get the next person in her chair.
Hair stylist will damage your hair and then say you need a trim and cut more than an inch off.