I Cut My Hair at Valerie Signature Salon!

So you may or may not have seen/heard, but I cut my hair! I really wanted to shape my hair such that the back was shorter than the front, like the below picture that I’ve posted at least twice now:

So I reached out to the folks at Valerie Signature Salon in Harlem, who were one of the sponsors for my protective styling brunch last year. I’d remained in contact with Elliot, one of the co-owners and the son of Valerie, the master stylist who cut my hair! The salon is right on 118th and Lenox Avenue, and Valerie has decades of experience as a hairstylist and educator, and is committed to using all-natural products at her salon, which I’ve never encountered so was excited to try!

Before The Cut

So to answer the question most of you have: why did I cut my hair? Because I wanted something new. The end. Sorry it’s not a more juicy, scandalous, enticing reason. I just felt like it. No life crisis, no hair product that made patches of my hair fall out, nothing of that nature. I just wanted to breathe some life into my hair by giving it a shape. It was also on my 25 before 25 bucket list, so it had to be done sooner rather than later 😀 Full disclosure though: I was nervous as heck!

The Cut

There’s no better way to explain the process of my haircut besides showing you, so here’s a video and some images of the whole process! Valerie first finger-detangled my hair, sectioned it off, and dry cut my hair in its natural state (a first for me). She then cleansed, put me under the steamer, twisted up my hair in 2.5 seconds, and sat me under the dryer for 45 minutes, after which we had to take down my not yet dry twists so I could go off to work.

Some other photos of the process:

My Thoughts about the Cut

My hair is significantly shorter than I’d hoped for, and shorter than the image I showed Elliot and Valerie before scheduling the appointment. However, based on how my length and shrinkage were set up, I really don’t think there’s anything Valerie could’ve done. My hair before was shorter in the front than in the back, crown, and sides (the front was more of a bang), so in order for the desired shape to take place, the layers elsewhere couldn’t be longer than the layers in the front. Most of my length before was in the back, so that’s why it seems like all my hair is gone! I plan to take extra, extra care of my front section, which previously suffered the brunt of my coloring and styling experiments, which is probably why it wasn’t retaining length as well as the back and the sides. Either way, I’m confident my hair will be just like my inspiration photo by next year, if not sooner. More importantly, I really enjoyed having Valerie anoint my hair with her soft touch and all natural products, as well as impart invaluable knowledge about life, health, and haircare. Valerie Signature Salon is by far the best salon I’ve been to purely based on education, which is critical for us naturalistas who think that bloggers know what’s best. I still lightly gasp whenever I walk by a mirror, but overall I’m pleased with my new look!

So, tell the truth (and shame the devil), what are your thoughts on my new look?

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