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How to find a hairstylist who can work with ethnic hair

Chris Rock’s movie Good Hair exposed the business and politics behind black hair. It’s a million-dollar industry with massive trade shows, yet in our fairly diverse city, it’s still difficult to find a salon that can cut so-called ethnic hair.

If you have curly ethnic hair, you can’t just walk into any old salon with a good reputation. The shape of hair follicles in curly hair, along with the fact that it’s often drier, make it more prone to breakage. Hair with loops, waves and curls doesn’t lie flat, making it more complicated to cut and style.

The bottom line is you need a stylist experienced with ethnic hair or you’ll end up with a regrettable J.Lo look, pre-straightened and lightened. Last time that happened to me, I spent a year growing out my overly thinned curls.

Journalist Diane Campbell knows this first-hand. “After a salon hair-straightening experience that resulted in severe damage, I was very wary about straightening or chemically altering my hair,” she says. “I decided to go natural around age 22 but didn’t start wearing my hair in my current natural style until about age 34.”

Stylist Tricia Hall went natural in high school. “I discovered my natural curl pattern by accident when I went too long without getting it relaxed. I didn’t go to anyone. I just grew it out myself.”

Women straighten their hair for many reasons: they learn from the women in their lives who also do it it’s easier to manage society says straight hair is more acceptable. Many women of colour straighten and damage their hair for years before finding a way to work with their natural hair texture.

To find a hairstylist who knows how to work with ethnic hair, you usually have to rely on word of mouth. Many people trade recommendations on Twitter and Facebook. At NaturallyCurly.com, the grandmother of curly hair sites, contributors recommend salons and stylists who cater to clients with curly and ethnic hair.

Sometimes you just have to stop people on the street and ask where they go. I found my current hairstylist at Earth Salon in Yorkville by approaching a woman at Burger King.

Once you decide on a salon, always book an informational appointment and come armed with questions, like Campbell did when she tried Curl Ambassadors: “Can you trim my hair? How will you go about it? If I want to wear my hair in a natural style other than my everyday wash-and-go, what kind of looks can you suggest? If I need my hair pressed straight for a special occasion, can you handle that?”

A knowledgeable stylist will take the time to listen to your concerns, be ready with multiple solutions and offer an at-home regimen to maintain your mane between appointments.

Still, it’s hard to find the right fit. Hall still hasn’t found one she likes. She says you can’t walk into any “black salon” because even those don’t know how to handle all types of black hair.

As for me, after achieving straight, shiny hair with a flat iron for a year, I also suffered a lot of damage and had to cut off 6 inches. I immediately retired my flat iron and have embraced my curls and experienced stylist ever since.

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