The American Parlor | Black Hair and Skin Care |: hair growth

There's a growing phenomenon in this country and it's all centered around beauticians that hail from the Dominican Republic. I found myself on this site and before I knew it I was reading all the comments. It seemed that people were having a debate.

American Black Hair Stylist -VS- Dominican Hairstylist.

At first the Dominicans were winning then a few American black hairstylist showed up and they begin to win, then more women sided with the Dominicans and it just kept going back and forth.

Before I give my opinion on the whole thing let's just state this:

1. Many if not all women from the Dominican Republic have african heritage and many of them would be and are technically considered black. Though I hear that "indian" is what blacks are called in the Dominican Republic... long story short like most countries blacks were taught to hate themselves, hate curly hair, hate dark skin... and in this country in particular they began to just call Dominicans of a darker hue "Indian"... quick history lesson, but I digress. I just say all that to say when black Americans want to discredit black women who for patronizing their Dominican hairstylist and call them "sell-outs" you're horribly wrong. They are actually supporting black women... so get off your high horses.

I have heard about this phenomenon many times, first from friends in Atlanta, then when I visited to New York. People would always say, "I'm going to go to the Dominicans", and they would say it in a tone that made it sound like gossip... very interesting. I have never gone to a Dominican Salon before, but after the high praise I hear about them, I think I may (just maybe)

famed actress, Zoe Saldana is of Dominican descent

This is what seems to be going on, Dominican women are:

1. able to grow American black hair at a consistent and speedy rate
2. they have great prices, usually half your average american black salon
3. they have great service- they're polite
4. they are speedy- no waiting around for hours upon end.

This is looking pretty good to me, and the fact that women are SWEARING by them makes me believe the hype. I've read stories of women who have gone to atleast 10 different hairstylist in their life, then around the age of 40 they go to a Dominican and they have the best service and BEST HAIR they've had in their entire lifetime. I mean c'mon, that's pretty special right. (But I've also heard the COMPLETE opposite).

I just feel like to each it's on, if you want to go to those salons- GO and try it firsthand, and don't be fearful of not supporting your own because you are. I'm telling you black people need to stick together worldwide, but especially on this side of the globe- there are are blacks all throughout South America and Latin America and the Caribbean and we all struggled and still struggle the same way- so a black in Brazil is no different than one in The United States except that she speaks a different language.

And If you want to only patronize American black salons that is fine as well. But I feel like we should all just learn from each other and try to just run the best businesses that we can. And don't be fearful about helping a "dominican" business rise because most likely, when they succeed they'll get categorized as "black" anyway.

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Here's a view interesting comments from the unofficial dominican vs american blacks debate:

From: Arielle
For those of you that need a salon and practically an architect for your hair I say cool, do you. for those of us who have "straight hair", try this-- limit how often you get a relaxer this may not be feasible for some, but one of my best friends only gets relaxers 3 times a year. she washes and blows it dry herself, other times she goes to the dominicans. She also eats cucumber like its going out of style. Her hair is thick and beautiful. And all of the dominicans I go to do not "mix up" some crap in the back room-- they use brand name relaxers on my head.Motions, Optimum, etc. The only thing that they may mix up is that garlic treatment, which smells pretty damn good if your're hungry. In Brooklyn, I pay 30$ for a relaxer Mon - Wed, 10$ for a wash and set tose days too. The rest of the week is 12$ for a wash and set,35-40$ for a touch Up. 5$ for a deep or leave in conditioner. Browse the beauty supply stores and get your own stuff. Before I go to get my hair done,whether I get a relaxer or wash& set, I put conditioner on my hair the day before, this works well if Im also low on cash and I can save that 5$ -10 $ on that deep condition. Get the avocado or garlic conditioner from the beauty supply stores. If they dont have it in your beauty supply stores if you ever visit NYC check out ours, especially down town bklyn or the hood-- crown heights, bed-stuy,etc. And also, your hair gets blown to death when YOU request it. Some times you can find the good conditioners even in the 99 cent store. I ain't lyin!! (LOL) when black hair stylists stop putting a freakin bucket of setting lotion on my hair and stop charging a arm and a ass, then maybe Ill go back to them. But until then,I will remain loyal to my Dominican sisters. Lets all join hands and sing the Dominican national anthem, shall we? (LOL LOL)

From: Tanisha
Since I've been going to Dominican salon my hair is growing like grass. In the two years I've been going my hair is down past my bra strap from a very short haircut. I get it deep condition once month and get a dubie twice a month. I get my hair relax every eight weeks. I have nothing but good things to say about Dominican Hair stylist. Plus their prices are much cheaper than a Black owned salon and I don't have to wait all day to get my hair done while the operators are running their mouths about nothing.

From: Alice
I am a 55 years old black female women who have had too many hair stylist. I recently left yet another black hair salon, who only interest is to continue to put a bandaid on the problems that I am having with my hair by weaving. My hair has been falling out in the front for a couple of years. I went to a dermatologist to see what the problem was but none of the test gave any conclusion to my problems. Our hair stylist are clueless as to how to help you in this situation. Their only answer is to braid or weave your hair,they seem only interested in the money being made and not the person. This has been a very difficult situation for me a womens hair is her crown and glory. I met a dominican hair stylist at the clinic where I work. After seeing me she told me about a product that she uses and brought the product to my office. She asked me to come to her salon she felt that she can grow my hair back. My hair is growing. I notice that all the women in the salon hair is very health looking. I have never seen hair that look like that at the black hair salons. The prices at the black salons are too high, and the service is poor. I agree that they keep you waiting too long, they are rude and have bad attitudes. I have not met a one that goes for continue education class for their craft. I will continue to go too the domincan salon for the great hair care and prices. These prices allows me to go for the weekly treatments that I badly need. The only problem with the domincan salons are many of them cannot speak english very well which sometimes can be a problem.

From: Mary
As for the dominican stylists, yes personally i like that look however too much heat will damage the hair over time. I have seen temporary alopecia on someone from the results of visiting the dominican salons.

From: Rod Horton
To start off... I'm a black hairstylist in NYC. I started my career in the south, GA. I can only speak from my experience in dealing with clients. When I worked in ATL... women were very serious about their hair and hair care. I found it to be a challenging when moving to New York working in black hair care. I notice in black women that would come to me alot of breakage around the hairline and strands of hair that looked damaged. After asking them the history of their hair and finding out they frequent the Dominican Salons, it led me to believe through the process of over "frying" the hair with the blowout and roundbrushing...the hair shafts were being stripped of it's layers and breaking. Most clients don't understand the make up of hair. The cuticle layer of the hair becomes damaged with the strong heat that is used in their process which causes the hair to then split. If you pay close attention to clients that frequent those types of salon...the hair tends to be very thin on the ends. Though it's long... it's not that healthy. Dominican salons could work for some but it's not for ALL! Know your hair and choose wisely on what works best for your haircare.

To add... not every black stylist keep clients waiting. My clients are taken on time at their giving appointment and out within 45 to 60min for a quick wash&style.

From: Portia

I don't know about the not being licensed part - BUT I can definitely believe it! Just as I can believe that their products are homemade and re-mixed (in fact one blogger (who was dominican herself) just told us that they have been making their own perm before Revlon even existed (let's ask ourselves what's in it)...

I went to a Dominican salon in Marietta, GA and I can AGREE that in the beginning the results were AMAZING... I went in with all natural below the shoulder hair- that took me 3 years to grow out after cutting my permed hair off and wearing a short natural. The purpose of me going natural was to have FULL hair and to be able to wash and wear in a beautiful natural style AND to be able to press from time to time for a straight look. 2-4 months later my natural hair was a WICKED MESS!!!!! I didn't realize it until I tried to wash it myself and NO CURLS would come back!!!!! It was LIMP and did not do a thing!!!!! I had about 4 stylists try to assess what caused my damage - no one can figure it out- some say they SNUCK a perm in my hair (people say they have liquid perms in the "deep conditioners" to straighten the hair without sitting you in the "perm chair" so that you are still thinking that our hair is natural)... others say its from the EXTREME heat + bristel round brush that the use. All I know is that I am PISSED- that was 3 years of hard work and MANY bad hair days gone to waste!

I have heard other Atlanta women talk about haw much damage their hair has suffered after being with the Dominicans after a couple of months. A girlfriend in NY never has complained about the Dominicans (maybe they are better up there, or maybe since she had a perm, she doesn't notice the damage... I don't know...)

What I do know is that I will NEVER go to a Dominican salon again! I will seek out a stylist who values my time, has reasonable fees and knows haw to do natural hair the HEALTHY way so that the natural curl STAYS for those wash and wear days!!!!!

From: Kacie

THERE IS A WEBSITE CALLED: WWW.IBEAUTYNY.COM. I USED CINAMON AND SOLE OR KUZ THAT'S WHAT A LOT OF DOMINCANS USE..ALSO SALEM 21..

My Conclusion: The dominican hair salons work great for some women and very very bad for others... so you should really think about it when deciding to try one of their salons...

So what do you think about Dominican Salons? What are your experiences? Please share?

The key to growing black hair is not a secret... it's more so common sense. It takes patience and routine.

Here are the basics when wanting to grow long hair:

1. Less Heat
(or no heat, put the curling irons down, and wrap your hair more)

2. Less Chemicals
(completely loose the gels and spritz or only use in moderation)

3. Silk Scarf and Pillows (avoid your hair drying out, you must use silk scarves)

4. Nightly Moisturizing Routine
(it's important to moisturize your hair every night, so that your hair will be nurtured as you sleep)

5. Nutrients/Vitamins- Eating Healthy
(what you eat affects yours hair, eat alot foods with Vitamin E or consider a hair and nail vitamin)

6. No Stress
(stress is a big factor in hair loss, avoid stress and relax as much as possible, exercise is also a good way to combat stress. At the least try the Dr. Oz/Oprah daily deep-breathing exercises- simply close your eyes and slowly breath in and out, do about 3 sets of 10).

7. Water
(you MUST drink water... this is very important when on the quest for naturally long hair).

8. Weekly to bi-monthly shampoos and conditioning
(daily will dry out your hair and going for over a 2 weeks may cause your hair damage because of the dirt and chemicals in the air that will get in your hair).

Those are all the must- dos for everyone... no matter your hair texture. Now, you have to figure out what product is best for you- here's a LIST of the best products. Check out the list and make your decision. For some, finding the right product is trial and error and for others it will be easy. I would suggest finding out what hair products that people in your family with long hair use. I would also just ask around.

I must be honest and say that unfortunately your average african-american hairstylist is not going to particularly know what is the best product for you to use. I say that because many simply just use what they hear is the best products overall- and usually those are products that are designed for whites/european-americans. And others simply don't educate themselves (this is true for many average stylist in general-black or white), they worry more about the end result than the complete process.

I say all that to say don't particularly expect to receive the best advice, I suggest doing your own research and put thought into choosing products. If you still have no idea I would personally suggest starting with: patene pro-v relaxed and natural shampoos, mizani moisturizers, and dr.miracles foams and oils. But really you should check the products from this list out.

I must stress that this takes time- hair does NOT grow 5 inches over night... I know that you're anxious. But just relax- you may have to go through a few months with your hair in simple hairstyles (hanging down and pulled back), but its worth it if you want that long hair. The modern way to grow out your hair includes getting a weave.... I'll talk about that in the next article. And the less you think about your hair growing, the sooner you'll see the results. Meaning that you should set your mind on it, but don't stress over it- time flies! So you've been living with short hair for years, what's a few months... your hair will and CAN grow- you just have to take the necessary steps and make sure your hair is HEALTHY over all else... before you know it your barely shoulder length hair will be down your back:-)

Please share your tips to growing long hair...

UPDATE (6/21/2009):
It seems that african-american women with the strongest and longest hair- wash their hair every week. And many do it it twice a week... and some, even 3x a week (when they're 6 weeks post perm). Your hair must be clean to grow and it must be healthy.

More tips: Its important to deep condition- with a protein conditioner and a moisturizing conditioner. Switch between the two each week. Also a good leave-in conditioner is a must, as is air-drying your hair.