Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Retightening Session from Hell -- at 8 months
So, I'm in Chicago now. Found a consultant with "to die for" sisterlocks. I should have known it was going to be a long day when she saw me and laughed when I told her my retights never went longer than 4 hours. Generally, 3 1/2 to 4 hours. She said, "You've got a lot of hair..." So, I show up this morning at 8:30 a.m., my appointment time. She's only 15 minutes late, but things happen. Anyhow, as she dives into my hair, she tells me what horrible condition it's in. Now mind you, I've been going to my appointments methodically -- two weeks late at the most. She says my consultant used the wrong pattern and she'll need to do a lot of repair work. She says my hair has a three pattern and it should have had a four pattern. That's why I have so much slippage. That, and the fact that I don't wash it enough. I LOVED my consultant, so this is disturbing news. My birthday is on Saturday, but I had planned this to be a "just for me" day. I took the day off and had all sorts of plans for how to spend it. In fact, I thought I had almost lost my "personal" day when my husband got wind of what I was doing and asked if we could have lunch and spend the afternoon together instead. I love my hubby, but I really, REALLY wanted this "me" day. I reluctantly agreed, thinking I might be able to slip out later. But as my new consultant got going, the chatter got worse and worse about the condition of my hair. "You've got so much slippage...You've got tons of lint... I don't think she did your entire head at one sitting...there's just no way...Look at these ends!" Hour after hour lapped by. Slowly my "just for me" day turned into a "just for my hair" day. I thought I'd be finished around noon...at 2:45 p.m. I broke down requesting a break. We had been going at it solid. I had starbursts and cheetos for lunch because I was afraid I wouldn't have enough cash to pay her if I ordered in. She's $45 an hour...so with each hour, I'm counting the cash I'm going to have to lay out. I left at 6:45 p.m. ... and she wasn't finished! She says I have three more hours to go. My hair looks jacked. My birthday is on Saturday. I'm feeling incredibly crabby. We decided to meet on Thursday morning at 6 a.m. so I'll look nice for my birthday, but I'm still crabby. I paid soooo much money. She's telling me my retights are going to fall in the 5-6 hour category. Geez! My hair may be jacked, but I still loved my old consultant better. I'm debating on whether I need to keep looking for a new consultant...one that isn't scared off by so much hair, is $10/hr cheaper, and can do me in under four hours. Chime in if you have any suggestions or thoughts. I agree that my hair seemed a bit out of sorts...she showed me the proof. I'm just not convinced I need to pay $45/hr to fix it.
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I have to comment. I'm so sorry that you had to spend your day like that. Locs are supposed to free us not enslave us. Your hair is gonna lock no matter what pattern you have. Even $45/ hr for 4 hrs is steep. I'm not convinced she can do it in 6 hrs. I'm not sure I would return to that consultant. If you decide to search for a new consultant, it might be a good idea to go for a consultation prior to scheduling an appt. Eventhough you said your hair looks "jacked", you can probably spruce it up and enjoy your birthday minus the salon visit.
ReplyDeleteyes, I think you're absolutely right. I can't seem to get past this $45/hr thing. I don't consider myself a cheap person. I'd go up to $35/hr if I felt the consultant was wonderful. But $45/hr pushes it for me. Thank you for weighing in. I needed that uplift this morning.
ReplyDelete$45/hr.??? I would consider that if she can be done in three hours (and that cost should be of experience + speed). I have way more locks then you and I'm done in 4-5 hours, so I doubt she is the "best" choice. I would get a second opinion if you can. Even if she was the best, the constant bashing of your hair and the consultant works is such a turn off to me. If I come to you to maintain my hair I don’t want to be lecture about how my hair is for HOURS. I came to relax and pamper myself.
ReplyDeleteKreyola, you are so right. I just wanted to relax and have a mommy break. It's time to move on to a new consultant! I do worry that this $45/hr thing could be an upward trend in hard times. I can see natural haircare salons feeling frustrated with locks. After the initial outlay of cash, it's much more economical than hair extensions for the client. But for the natural haircare beautician, it probably cuts into their bottom line quite a bit. Plus, beauticians have always been able to count on black women to spend enormous amounts of cash on their hair. So they know, if pressed, we'll fork it over. I never thought I'd say this, but I think it may be time to take a class. I still want a loctician, but I don't want to feel like my options are limited.
ReplyDeleteThe bashing of the other consultant is not cool. She should not have been telling you how bad your looks look who wants to hear that. She should have been on the positive side telling you she will fix them and you ae going to be so please with them etc. You don't need to be paying $45/hr to hear negativity.
ReplyDeleteYes, I've been struggling with that $45/hr. I guess I just feel like it's not necessary to pay *that* much for sisterlocks. And who needs the lecture?
ReplyDeleteI probably shouldn't mention that in the UK, ladies pay between £45 and £75 for a retightening : this is not an hourly rate, just what the full fee is.
ReplyDeleteI think if I lived in the UK, I'd have to take a class!!!
ReplyDeleteHey Shari, I think you must have misunderstood me or I've misunderstood you :). Currently you are paying $45/hr for your retightening right? So after 4 hours you will give your consultant $180. In the UK for a 4 hour session you will pay £45 (if your consultant is a trainee) or £75 (if they are fully certified). That's About $120 with today's exchange rates. Most of the trainees have to charge a flat fee, so even if your session took 6 hours (for example), you would still only pay that $120. However, if we used a straight like for like comparison instead of a currency conversion: there's no way a UK consultant could try charging £180 for a retightening :) the clients would laugh on their way out the door :). Funny how things differ around the world.
ReplyDeleteYes, I guess I did misunderstand you! :) I was thinking you meant £45 an hour. Thanks for commenting!
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