Recently I took a trip downtown to visit my favorite hair stylist, Quiana at Maxine Salon in Chicago Illinois. I first heard of Quiana’s work after sharing with a friend some of my dissatisfaction with other stylist that I have visited in the past. I hate to say it but I have not had a lot of great experiences in the past, especially since I have natural hair. There is nothing worst than going to a stylist who treats your hair as if it is a problem because your hair is natural and not relaxed. Although most stylists won’t come out and say this, you can tell by the confused look on their face and how they seem to be frustrated at the fact that natural hair takes longer to deal with.
Even when I did have a relaxer, I always hated that most hair stylists seem to double book clients, you make your appointment thinking that you have just that, a scheduled appointed time to get your hair done, however what seems to happen is you arrive to find 2 to 3 other women have been scheduled at the same time and you end up waiting 5 to 6 hours. One time my total wait was almost 10 hours, I am not kidding!!! I thought I found a solution for this, after hearing from several women that I should go to a stylist who specializes in the Egyptian blow out. I looked at my friend’s hair and thought it was just beautiful! Unfortunately, my experience was not that different, and you add into that the language barrier. Yes, you will have beautiful silky hair, but the shampoo technicians have no idea how to comb out natural hair, as a result of having my hair pulled at vigorously I now come prepared to comb my own hair out.
The first time I went to Quiana I arrived expecting the same thing, to be in the salon at least 4 to 6 hours. From the time I arrived I enjoyed being treated as if I was a priority, I was ushered to the shampoo bowl right away and was in Quiana’s chair within 15 minutes of my arrival. She did a quick consultation and I did not have to figure out what was best for me, with her experience she made suggestions and I could tell she was confident and not frustrated with my hair texture. I was still a little nervous about heat being used on my hair, I had grown accustomed to my hair being blown out using the “round brush” technique. This technique manages to get hair really straight but can actually damage the hair if done consistently. Quiana does not use the “round brush” technique and managed to get my hair straight with a blow dryer within 20 minutes!! Hair stylist that I have gone into the past have taken at least 30 minutes to an hour to do this. I knew we were off to a great start after she finished so quickly. I sat there expecting to be moved to the dryer and told to sit for at least an hour or two while she started on other clients, to my shock, surprise and utter disbelief I was the ONLY client she worked on for the entire time. I could not believe she finished my hair in 2 hours!!!!!!! I wanted to hug her. This is why Quiana is not your average hair stylist. As you can see I am thrilled with the service I received, I must warn you because she is located downtown, you can expect to pay a higher price, $70 for wash and style but it is well worth it. I highly recommend Quiana at Maxine Salon.
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| before my hair in its natural state |
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| After my hair cut and blow dry. Quiana is the best! |
