Some hair salons are asking their clients to wash and detangle their hair before arriving for hair appointments.
In a now-viral TikTok video, Nerissa Kimble said her hairstylist at a salon in Houston required her to wash her hair before she showed up for her appointment.
The practice started in Caucasian hair salons where clients wash their hair before arriving for color and haircut appointments.
Kimble, who owns a fitness company, says natural hair is different from Caucasian hair.
“You don’t wash Black people’s natural hair back to back in less than 24 hours,” she said. “I’m so mad. I don’t like to be walking around with my hair looking like this.”
Kimble sometimes wears faux locs for weeks. When the locs are removed her hair is matted and dirty.
Before her silk press appointment, Kimble said she had combed “all of the build-up” from her natural hair.
Kimble said she noted that the silk press cost $95.
While discussing her service with her stylist over the phone, the stylist told Kimble that when clients remove faux locs, their hair must be rinsed, detangled, then washed again.
Kimble misunderstood the stylist’s instructions.
“Okay, so I’m thinking that’s their procedure,” Kimble said. “That’s weird, I ain’t never seen it, ain’t ever heard of that, I ain’t ever seen it, but I guess they’ve got to wash it, detangle it, wash it again, if that’s their procedure.”
She was “excited” about her visit. However, when she showed up at the salon with her natural hair in two buns, she said that another staff member was uncomfortable while she was escorted to a sink to wash her hair.
The stylist then informed Kimble that detangling her hair would require “too many hours” and claimed that every salon expects customers to wash and detangle their hair before their visit.
“I said, ‘No they don’t,'” Kimble recalled telling the stylist. “I’ve been going to a beauty salon since I was 8 years old. I can see if I asked you to take the braids down, that’s different, or if I came in here with braids [were] still in, that’s different.”
Kimble said she was asked to leave the salon without having her hair done. She added that since it was a Saturday evening, there were no hair salons with available appointments.
Kimble told People that she was able to schedule an appointment with another hairdresser in Houston thanks to suggestions from her TikTok followers.
Recent surveys reveal that a majority of hairstylists prefer working with hair that’s been washed 24-48 hours prior to the appointment.
Hair that’s already washed allows natural oils to slightly coat the hair, providing a better base for both cutting and coloring, said the Glam House salon in Denver.
Stylists in Denver appreciate when their clients “come in with clean hair, and it’s not fair to make them work with dirty hair.”
Clean hair without build-up from products or excessive oils can absorb color more evenly, resulting in a more vibrant and lasting hair color.
@bigbawsehognk I’m pissed!!! Like what type of rule is this? Why would I pay yall $100+ if I had to do my own hair as well! Can’t tag em bc their page private! But do not support them! @roundbrushsalon
