Cutting Curly Hair Dry for Shape

Hi Everyone,

I'm new to CN. I'm still learning my way around the site and trying to read through all the posts, but I am currently obsessed with a mission to get my hair cut/trimmed and need some recommendations. And I don't mean the big chop kind of cut, I'm letting my hair grow out after keeping it short for some time, it's been a year and a half since my last cut (well professional cut - I did give myself a "trim" about five months ago which made matters worse). I've been natural 12 years and every 2-4 years cut it all off when the shape goes awry. This time I'm going to try to keep the length, but I need to find someone who can give it a nice shape.

Everyone I've stopped in the past year in DC or MD has had their hair cut by some celeb stylist in NYC, or done it themselves (why can't I do that?). I've considered going to see Miko of Miss Jessie's fame because the "angle and balance" approach sounds good, but there is just something offensive about being asked to pay a minimum of $300 for a hair cut and then my hair doesn't even seem to like their products. I've considered trying Dickey of Hair Rules in NY but I'm sure he's going to be close to Miko's price point as well, and again Hair Rules products and my hair don't really get along either. One of my favorite bloggers, Afrobella, loved her cut from a Deva Curl salon in Miami, but I have no trips planned to Miami in the near future and the only Deva Curl trained stylists in this area all seem to be in salons that I am sure are not used to dealing with African-American hair.

I want to be able to wear my hair loose instead of always pulling it up into a puff, I can't even wear a head band anymore because the back looks so bad.

Does anyone one know a good stylist that is used to cutting natural hair while it's dry to give it a nice shape? I have family in Atlanta so would even take a trip down there, that's how desperate I am.

I was going to go to Miko or Titi or Tito or whoever as well, until my stylist told she could do the same thing, it was just layers. Durn if she didn't do it, cut my hair curly, the cut was exactly what I wanted, and for $40!

Oh, blondie, I'm so jealous.

I really didn't think Miko's "angle and balance" technique was anything more unusual than great marketing. I know there have to be people out there used to cutting curly hair without blowdrying it first who don't charge an arm and a leg.

Being African-American is definitely not a criterion to do my hair, but anyone who is going to cut my hair has to have experience cutting my kind of hair, Deva trained or not.

I've thought about cutting my hair for shape as well. I think I'll wait for some length though. Good luck in the quest to find a stylist to shaper ur hair. I've not been to a natural hair stylist before...x

A fellow curly at NaturallyCurly.com recommend Tameeka from Christo on 5th Ave. She raved about how the stylist was so attentive during her consult and did not force the company's products upon her. Always go for a consultation first then schedule for you choice of service. I plan to BC before the summer comes and am seeking a reputable stylist within the NYC area particularly Brooklyn.
Here are some other salons to look into:
Khamit Kinks
Mishon, Mishon
Nubian Kinks
Sabine's Hallway Natural Hair Salon
Tendrils
De Lux Salon
Lady Leo Beauty Salon

All the above salons are located in Brooklyn. HTH

What's special about a Deva trained stylist?

I live in Atlanta and there are several salons that have a mostly natural clientelle. The stylist I went to to cut my hair (she did a beautiful job) and that a friend of mine goes to regularly as she has natural hair but prefers a straight look and she keeps her hair looking BEAUTIFUL is on the South Side of Atlanta... I will be happy to send you her contact information AND pictures if you send me a private message.

@Chrs - thanks.

I can totally relate to your experiences. Going natural hasn't been easy. I am actually sitting here trying to figure out if I should straighten my hair for a different look...but I am soo scared I will loose all the progress I have made over the last few months.

Nonetheless, I went to a salon in Rockville, MD called Oasis Hair Salon. A curly coworker suggested I try them. Now she was not a 4a or 4b sister but when she told me of some of the hair tips they gave her I became interested. That doesn't mean I wasn't nervous as hell. I barely know what I am doing with my hair, so to trust it to someone else is somewhat nerve racking. I was also concerned that I was going to walk into the salon and they would have no clue of how to work with my hair type. However, when I did go I was pleasantly surprised to see that the hair stylists were different types of curly sisters. They were very understanding and informative. They use Deva Curl and other curly hair products. She cut my strangley ends, talked me through what she was doing and how I can maintain it. I was really pleased with the outcome and I plan on going back to them.

Oh By the way....The stylist cut my hair dry to give it some shape.

Oooh, knmiddle, do you have before and after pictures? I trimmed/cut my own hair in September. I would love to go to a professional in the future. This salon sounds like it may be the one.

What was your stylist's name and the charge? You can send me a PM if you feel more comfortable. TIA

I was thinking of going to the Devacare salon in NYC. My hair loves their products and I have heard so many grreat things about them from AA people with 4a/b hair. The only thing negative I have heard is that they are expensive. Very expensive.

Devachan is expensive, but not nearly as expensive as Miss Jessie's (or Anthony Dickey, I'm guessing). When I got my hair cut at Devachan, I paid around $130 for a cut and style.

Another option is to go to a Deva-trained stylist who works at a salon other than Devachan. I've been to Deva-trained stylists at Beehive Salon and Hello Beautiful in Brooklyn (both in Williamsburg). They were both cheaper than Devachan and cut my hair dry.

Wish I had read this post before my bad experience at a barbers. I just started a different post asking for tips about trimming a TWA.

Still so sad. Haven't cried yet tho...

Wow, I hadn't looked at this thread in a while. My quest for a stylist continues, but thanks for all of the leads everyone. I actually took to the scissors myself again and just trimmed the back a little bit, but it actually looks pretty good. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

I learned about Deva Curl from Afrobella.com, she wrote a great article on going to a deva trained stylist in Fr. Lauderdale. I'm actually wondering if maybe I might wait and try to see him when I go to Miami in June, if I can wait that long. I'm definitetly going to look into Oasis Hair Salon knmiddle, that sounds promising. Would you recommend a particular stylist?

So eager to get my hair trimmed I made an appointment at Oasis Hair Salon a couple of days ago and went this morning. Hopefully the link to my newly created fokti album will work. I'm still working on streamlining all my usernames so that I have just one for hair stuff.

Yesterday I combed out my hair so this morning I just rinsed it out and added a little bit of Carol's Daughter Lisa's Elixir oil.

At the salon the stylist, Mimi, asked what I wanted. Basically I needed a shape so that I could wear it with or without a headband, and it really needed a trim especially in the back of my head where I hadn't attempted to cut it myself.

My hair was still a little damp, but she cut it as is (dry) by pulling pieces out and trimming them. I could see the rounded shape take place. I had never tried Curls products so agreed to try them out. After a deep condition and wash she used a Curls gel (I'm not sure which one) and Goddess Glaze and set me under the dryer. My hair was so hard and crunchy! She added some oil and then I was off.

I have to say that I hated the way my hair felt. I like my hair to feel soft and even though some people complain about their hair feeling crunchy with Kinky-Curly Curling Custard, I have never had much problem with that. I can usually run my fingers through it to get the crunch out. Not this time. I also thought that the hairstyle would have looked better with a headband so I bought one in the salon to wear while I was out.

I came home and immediately jumped in the shower. I washed with KC come clean and then my regular KC Knot Today leave in. I had the worst time trying to comb out my hair. Although I'm not a fan of Miss Jessie's products I have to give it up to their Rapid Recovery, I really could have used some of that today. After rinsing out the Knot Today once and them reapplying and combing again I was fine, but that was rough. I added some oil and then KC Curling Custard and now can really see the cut. I'm really happy with it and I'll try to take some pictures after it dries.

Hope this works:

http://public.fotki.com/Taylorgirl/curly-nikki/

powerpuff girl wrote:Oh, blondie, I'm so jealous.

I really didn't think Miko's "angle and balance" technique was anything more unusual than great marketing. I know there have to be people out there used to cutting curly hair without blowdrying it first who don't charge an arm and a leg.

Being African-American is definitely not a criterion to do my hair, but anyone who is going to cut my hair has to have experience cutting my kind of hair, Deva trained or not.

I've been going to my stylist for fifty-eleven years and she isn't a "natural" stylist. I think a well trained hairdresser SHOULD be able to do natural hair, she's always cut and trimmed my hair curly. I feel for you though, I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have a stylist I could depend on. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Good luck!

I saw Powerpuffgirl's hair in person a few hours after the cut (after she washed out the Curls stuff) and on a few days since. Mimi gave her a great cut for anyone interested. I don't have length since I am still get damaged ends cut but, when I get some length, I'll be heading to Mimi at Oasis. PPG's hair is beautiful and she inspires me everyday in my natural hair journey. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

I just made my appt. at Oasis for next week Sat.!!!! My hair needs a shape-up soooo badly!!! The front and middle is a much looser curl than the sides and back so my hair ends up looking very odd if I don't spend eons loading product onto the back and sides to S----T----R-----E----T----C----H out the curls, lol. Thanks ladies for the reviews b/c I would not have known where to go! And at $60!! WOW!!! Can't wait to come and post my review next weekend !

Thank you ChrsLvsBks and Sunbaby. I'm loving my cut more and more every day. That's it in my new profile pic.

jcanalena, please let me know what you thought about the salon and your cut. Hope you loved it. I saw two other naturals come in while I was there and they were styled by someone else so I'm curious about who you saw. Mimi was my stylist. I ended up spending an extra $25 for a deep condition too (which I probably didn't need but it was all a part of the experience) - it's still cheaper than driving to NY and spending $300+.

Hey ladies. I'm late, lurking :-/ But I had to add in two stylists in the DC area I've been to and would go back to. One is Beth at Fiddleheads in NW DC. She is a Deva-trained stylist, white, but was not intimidated at all by my hair. She said it was beautiful and complimented how well I'd been taking care of it. She even said I had a great natural color and told me to leave it alone- which made me trust her. She understood that I wanted to take "the corners off" and painstakingly cut it dry. She then rinsed it (maybe washed-I can't remember) and used Paul Mitchel's The Conditioner to re-set the coils a bit. I think she used a bit of Aveda gel as well. I loved the Paul Mitchel and bought some- still use it to this day. I paid about $80 plus tip though- which I thought was pricey at the time. I would, however, go back for shaping. That was back in May of 08.
Before-
http://images35.fotki.com/v1162/photos/1/1330805/6175356/ATT145386-vi.jpg
and after-
http://images34.fotki.com/v1144/photos/1/1330805/6175356/ATT145387-vi.jpg

The other Salon was Salon Revive on U st in DC. I hadn't got my hair trimmed professionally since the above cut. I went this Jan 2010 to try someone new/cheaper. I paid about 65 plus tip. I wrote a whole post about it here > http://www.itsjusthair.com/2010/01/pictures-before-during-and-after-hair.html
You can click the picts in the post to make them bigger.

Hope that info is helpful!

Blondie, can you share who your stylist is in VA Beach? I'm in need of a good cut and there is no one I know that's good in the area.