There was an apparent breakdown in the beautician-client connection when quarantine had Black women reaching for their in-case-of-emergency hair supplies.
At the height of the pandemic, hair appointment bookings were on pause, leaving non-hairstylists to rely on YouTube tutorials, hats, and–my favorite–headwraps to conceal our unmaintained tresses. Hairstylists had some downtime, but the energy with new clients felt tense upon returning to the shop. What happened?
Let’s theorize for a second: Common issues now result from our misunderstandings of roughly the past five years. Beauticians are more defensive of clients who do not respect their schedule and deposits. Clients dread the aggressive booking policies and anxiety-inducing “hey boo” text (meaning last-minute cancelled appointments). Late-millennial and Gen-Z hair spaces are often rented lofts for one client at a time, making the need for sisterhood harder to build. And now, the heightened paranoia and distrust continue to boil over into viral beauty salon brawls.
You’ve seen the video if you haven’t already heard the backstory. Last month, an 18-year-old hairstylist, Jayla Cunningham, found it reasonable to physically drag a client on the floor, accusing her of trying to leave the appointment without paying. It would later be revealed that the client was 15 years old, but the damage was done; Cunningham had already bragged about the assault on social media, and now faces an assault charge. One year before, a Dayton woman, who was pregnant at the time, was viciously attacked by a hair braider who, like Cunningham, also alleged that her client was fleeing payment. These occurrences are becoming frequent, making it almost impossible to find the perfect stylist.
When I thought I found a consistent braider shortly after moving to Los Angeles, she was a nightmare. The result was fine during our first two appointments; however, the hairstylist lacked conversational boundaries and spent more time doing hairstyles that with other professionals would take a maximum of five hours. Then came our third and final appointment.
She didn’t tell me that she relocated to a salon that would require clients to park at a meter, which I kept having to run outside and repay every two hours. After six hours, we were close to finishing my passion twists when I briefly left to pay the meter for a final time. I returned, and the hairstylist abruptly left the room to chat with a male non-client visitor. After waiting five minutes, I walked over to find her snacking away. I hadn’t eaten that entire time, but I told her I only put 45 minutes on the meter. It was close to rush hour, and I didn’t want to be stuck in traffic. But even after patiently returning to my seat, she walked in with a noticeable attitude.
We all need breaks while on the job, but the braider hadn’t even notified me that she would pause for a quick bite. The stylist beside us ate between clients and was focused entirely when the next person was in her chair. And because my braider couldn’t self-soothe quickly enough, she started being aggressive with my head and gave a surly goodbye–she’s never getting booked again. It would’ve been different if she had taken accountability or informed me that she needed to eat.
I now prefer hairstylists in their late 30s and up for maturity reasons, but we need to reel in the messy salon experience. This isn’t a one-size-fits-all resolution, but starting off right happens when the professional and client vet through open conversation. This means being vulnerable about bad experiences they’ve both had in the past to get an understanding of each other’s limits. There should also be an instinct to know when someone isn’t the right fit.
My new braider, who will hopefully be long-term, was candid about her nightmare clients when we first met. In turn, I explained why I had to return my last hairstylist to StyleSeat. We kept our expectations real, weren’t defensive and gave one another a chance. It’s a talk that Black women should have if they want to build a strong hairstylist-client balance. Work must be done on reciprocating trust and respect upfront, because healthy hair starts with healthier communication.
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