Ouidad: The Curl Experts

Before meeting a client for her second cut and style, she greeted me with, “You won’t believe why I made my appointment.” She explained that she noticed that her hair style was getting out of control and she was wondering about the cut. My client continued, “I was thinking, ‘When did I last get my hair cut?’ Oh, my God…it’s been four months…no style has ever lasted that long. ”

Curly hair is sustained by cut, care and style. When you learn to take care of your curls, a good cut is the only missing ingredient. Cutting too frequently may interfere with length and curl formation, so clients can go longer between cuts.  Often curly haired people “feel” something is not right before their hair appears out of shape.

As you become in tune with your curls, your natural sense of what is really needed and what is possible can be discussed with your stylist. Take your hair to heart and share what you really love about having curls.

Vincent, Stylist, 57^th Street Salon, NYC

I have been at the Ouidad salon in New York for about ten years – starting out as an assistant and working my way up to a stylist.  Now I’m one of the national educators teaching the carving and slicing technique to an ever expanding pool of stylists who want to become experts at working with curly hair.

Before my time at the Ouidad salon I never imagined that a place like this existed.  And since working here I have been amazed at just how much I have learned and continue to learn about curly hair.  I have worked on photo shoots and with celebrity clientele and it amazes me that no matter how much money you have it is still incredibly difficult to get a good haircut for curly hair.

I also have a large number of clients who are African American and have had one bad experience after another with other stylists.  They come here at the end of their rope in terms of being satisfied with their hair.  After they leave my chair they tell me it was a life changing experience.  They never imagined they could be happy with a haircut.

Ayanna, Stylist, 57th Street Salon, NYC

I would like to thank all of the clients and stylists who have inspired me over the years. I can still remember the first day that I came to work here. Like many of the clients, I felt like I just entered another world. I also couldn’t understand why more places didn’t cater to curly hair clients.

After years of seeing amazing transformations and satisfaction from the clients I’ve decided that I would love to be a part of that happiness. I  love the look that the stylists have when they realize that they just helped someone relieve the stress of battling with their curly hair. Now that I have my license I can’t wait to get the ball rolling. I can’t wait until the day that a client offers to take me home with them so I can do their hair everyday -  lol.

Latesha, Stylist, 57^th Street Salon, NYC