Cherokee-n-Black
Well-Known Member
I caught up with a Dominican friend of mine yesterday. She is all natural (beautiful curly hair) and we were discussing my natural hair journey. Her curl pattern is a lot looser, but still afro-textured, so we were trading tips and stories, when she told me that at my wedding she was transitioning. I thought she was already natural and she told me no, that her stylist had--without telling her--mixed a relaxer into her deep conditioner.
The stylist only came clean when my friend started asking about some treatment that was incompatible with relaxed hair. This was someone she really trusted and had never before had reason to question anything she was doing to her hair. When she read the riot act to her stylist, the stylist defended herself by saying a lot of Dominican Salons do this and it's really just like a texturizer and the hair is still curly, but goes straight a lot easier.
I had a ton of breakage when I was going to a dominican salon, but I attributed it to cheap shampoo and excessive heat. But one thing I noticed is that any time I got a DC, they always shampooed it out of my hair. I'm now wondering if that is because they were mixing relaxer in with it. When I told my friend this, she said her stylist did the same thing. So, just beware. I don' think it's everywhere, but given how down they can be on the "pelo malo," keep an eagle eye out for what they put in your hair--or bring your own!
The stylist only came clean when my friend started asking about some treatment that was incompatible with relaxed hair. This was someone she really trusted and had never before had reason to question anything she was doing to her hair. When she read the riot act to her stylist, the stylist defended herself by saying a lot of Dominican Salons do this and it's really just like a texturizer and the hair is still curly, but goes straight a lot easier.
I had a ton of breakage when I was going to a dominican salon, but I attributed it to cheap shampoo and excessive heat. But one thing I noticed is that any time I got a DC, they always shampooed it out of my hair. I'm now wondering if that is because they were mixing relaxer in with it. When I told my friend this, she said her stylist did the same thing. So, just beware. I don' think it's everywhere, but given how down they can be on the "pelo malo," keep an eagle eye out for what they put in your hair--or bring your own!