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.