During the final leg of my long transition to natural hair, I decided to try something different. I had a friend whose blowouts were always bouncy, shiny and bone-straight. I wanted to know exactly how she achieved the results without a relaxer. She shared that she visited a local Dominican salon and invited me to check it out.
I had been wearing my hair in protective styles but wanted to get it straightened for a special occasion and do a length check. I made the appointment and saw curl after bouncy curl on the heads of happy customers walking out of the salon. I loved what I was seeing.
Finally, it was my turn and the stylist was really welcoming. I opted for the protein treatment and hair steamer as a special, necessary treat for my strands. Once washed and rolled, I sat under the dryer – the normal stuff. But then it all went downhill. I hopped into the stylist’s chair and she proceeded to put a dryer that was seemingly set to HELL on my hair. Um, no. I remember thinking, “This can’t possibly be good.” I imagined heat damage would result and that all the hard work it had taken to transition long-term would be in vain.
I ended up telling the stylist “Thanks, but no thanks,” in a nice way. I have been under many dryers in my life, but in no way, shape or form should one be cringing in a stylist’s chair from sheer pain and discomfort.
I skipped that last step and I might not have walked out of the salon with bone-straight hair like the other women, but I still thought it turned out just as nice without the additional heat – and heat damage. Overall, I enjoyed the first half of my visit, just not the excessive heat styling.
