I am beyond excited to share this platform. As the owner of Preeminence Salon & Boutique for the past three years-I have definitely been on a journey. As a southern bell-born and raised in Sumter, SC – I come from very humble beginnings. Since a very young age, I had a passion for beauty, fashion and hair. I was one of the gals that would constantly change their hair, cut it off, color it, and weave it up down and all around lol! If there was a style-I probably tried it. As I grew into my college years-I realized how the stigma of having a “professional” hairstyle impacted a lot of women and played a role in their overall style. This was a notion that always confused me, after-all I grew up in a household that taught me how important it was to be a beautiful, caring person on the inside-so essentially the saying, “I am not my hair” was something that I lived by. Of course, the discussion of good hair, bad hair, natural hair straight hair has been beaten to death over the past couple of years, but I wanted to preface this post with my humble beginnings because is has played a larger role in my journey as a salon owner.
I currently reside in Atlanta. Now, for those of who have visited-you know that this is the HAIR MECCA of the south. Bronner Brothers is huge here as well as an influx of salons. When I moved from the city to the suburbs- I was finding that there were not many salons that could properly condition and style my natural hair. I would drive to the city on the weekends and literally sit for hours although I made my appointments in advance. I can recall on several occasions entering at 9:00 am and leaving at 5:00 pm-I mean it was ridiculous. So of course, I researched salons closer to my home; however, they were largely Caucasian salons. And when I would enter, they would look at me and my natural hair as if they saw a ghost lol. They had no clue how to manage my hair. There was, of course, one person who conveniently catered to people with natural hair, but she was never available when I wanted to make an appointment.
I am happy to say that I have created a multi-cultural salon that is located in Marietta, GA. I have a diverse clientele and stylists who service individuals such as myself as well as women with various textures of hair.
If you are searching for a salon home in your area here are 5 tips:
1. Research the salon on yelp, but do not stop there-As a salon owner, I get so upset that Yelp publishes negative reviews but does not highlight positive reviews nor do they make them generally available for the public (You can’t please everyone and the ones that are not pleased are quick to go to yelp, lol) – I say this to say-do not exclude a salon solely based on yelp reviews.
2. Decide how far you are willing to travel and research salons in that radius
3. Check out first time specials at salons or even check out Group-on deals so that you are able to try them out and save some money in the process.
4. Ask family and friends if they could refer you to a stylist/salon that they have had great experiences with-There is nothing better than a referral and often times their salon will get an incentive for referring them.
5. Do not be afraid to venture into a specialty or boutique salon- A stylist does not have to have your same hair texture to know and understand the science behind styling and maintaining your hair.
Please leave your comment below- Have you had similar experiences at the salon? If you are ever in the Atlanta area-I invite you to visit Preeminence Salon & Boutique. Learn more about our salon & Premiere Make-Up Classes here.
New York City makeup artist, beauty and mom blogger . I immensely enjoy helping myself and others feel beautiful inside and out, which is why I started this blog and my YouTube channel. If you have a beauty or makeup related question, contact me. Your question could be featured on the site! I also accept guest post submissions, check the guidelines.
***Brands and PR firms sometime provide press samples of products for review consideration. These brands are not guaranteed a review on Makeup by Kim Porter Blog, nor do we accept payment of any kind for our reviews. For more on our disclosure policies, please see my terms . 24 Comments on Hair Care Tuesdays: Introducing Philisha Mack, CEO Preeminence Salon & Boutique
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this is awesome!! great tips! i need to find one in my town.
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Extremely proud of you Philisha! Will she be a consistent contributor?
Yes- I will be on every Tuesday! Whoop Whoop!
Great post Philisha…. Great tips!!!
Thank you!
I'll mention your salon to my friends in Atlanta!
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Thank you!!
Your experience about people staring at your hair as though they saw a ghost strikes a chord – I've taken to cutting my own frizzy, dry and damaged hair because the comments from the salon people make me feel bad. Great tips; I'm going to try out a new salon in Dubai next week.
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I found my stylist by just walking into a local salon. She was the first person to speak to me and she was so sweet, understanding about my hair goals, willing to book me in that day… She has been doing my hair, since.
I stay far away from Yelp, I don't trust it. That site is is far too negative and people get on there to trash and bash, more often than not.
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Erika- not only are you beautiful- you are smart! Yelp review are not accurate especially for salons!
I found my current stylist through a friend. I use Yelp a lot too, but I agree that you have to also look beyond just the reviews there.
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Yelp is good however the reviews are not always accurate. So be careful with that.
Finding a hair stylist for my curly hair is an ongoing battle. If we had a multicultural salon here in Daytona, I'd check it out! Looking forward to reading more from you!
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Yes- with natural hair ensure that you are keeping it detangled and moisturizer. Shampoo less and condition more!
My hair…. it's always a battle!
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If there is anything I can do to shed light on your styling or management process let me know!
Philisha
These are great tips! I grew up in a house that none of the women went to salons or anything, so I learned a lot of these things the hard way!
Yes- I am
Glad now you know
I am the kinda person that doesn't require a lot of upkeep with my hair. I do understand that the struggle is real though. Great tips!
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Great tips! Research is SO important… I've followed my hair girl to every salon she's moved to over 12 years. She's finally now settled at her Uncle's place (phew). A friend of mine goes to her also and didn't want to wait to get her hair done and went to another salon… the result was NOT okay. She basically went to the first place that could take her right away. Which could be high on a list of what NOT to do ever lol
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Brook yes you are dead on with this comment- definitely do your research not only on the salon but ensure that the stylist is knowledgeable with haircuts and especially color!
Philisha
Looking forward to Tuesdays & getting this new haircut styled on point!
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Yes! Please share pics! I know that it will be super fab!!
Philisha
I just recenty found a haristylist!
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