Kokovi African Hair Braiding — Attraction in Belvedere Park

This place gave me the worst experience in the history of hair braiding. I just left this place 10 minutes ago with only half of my head braided, literally 1/2 of my hair is curly and the other half in box braids!! I called in 2 weeks ago to reserve my time. They said that they open at 5am and to be there on time. The agreed upon price for my braid job was to be 130.00. I get there at 445am, but no one is there. I am the only one sitting in the parking lot waiting for the place to open. Finally a woman shows up to unlock at about 545am 45 minutes late. I follow her into the salon and ask her if she is a stylist, she says yes and I tell her I am here for the 130.00 box braids I was told about previously. She proceeds to say box braids are 180.00. I then explained that I was previously told by an employee the price was 130.00. She seemed to get annoyed, I then told her I only brought the 130.00 I was told to bring and that I would have to find another braider and was on my war to leave, she then says "well go to the ATM machine and get 20.00 and I'll do it for 140.00" Even though she just told me the price was 180.00. I say no I only have 130.00 and that's all I could afford right now. She says ok she will do it for the 130.00 the price I was quoted. She starts on my hair at 630am. As more customers show up at the salon she leaves me and starts to work other people hair!! 20 minutes later another stylist comes over and continues from the previous girl?? Then this girl leave to braid other people hair!! So now I'm a little concerned almost an hour goes by and I am just sitting there waiting for the original girl to come back. I see her and ask if everything is ok and what was going on? She tells me one moment and starts speaking to the other employees in African-French. I don't see her again for another 30 minutes. I ask her hey are you going to finish with me, so I may leave? She doesn't respond to me and then the 2nd girl who was filling in for her comes back to me. 4 different women have now come and gone with their hair complete and I only have half of my hair done!!! What a Nightmare! Why me? I have the 2nd girl go get the manager of the salon a lady named Koko. I ask her outside where we can speak in private to let her know what is happening. As we walk outside the original girl who wanted 180.00 and started my hair and left me follows us so that she may hear my complaint. I ask the manager if she can send here away. Koko brushes past my request and ask what is the problem? So I proceed to tell her. I told Koko Would pay 30.00 for the amount of work done. She ask to see the 30.00 then snatches the money from me!!! And tell me to come back at 430 before they close and she will finish me for the 100.00 Umm no ma'am!! I don't know why this was done to me or why I was treated in such a manner. Then to leave me stranded to work on other customers was just wrong! Koko should have stopped what she was doing and finished or put me as her next client, she instead wanted me to return later?? I will never return to this place as long...

I got my hair done on a Sunday. I popped into the shop on Saturday to get a sense of what was expected of me and saw that there was a line out the door. Because they only do walk-ins on the weekends, it's important to get there early in the morning. I arrived around 6:30 am and there were already people waiting to be braided. If there are enough people in the waiting area before 7am they will start early. Something to note is that the employees come in at a staggered schedule. Every braider will not be there right as the shop opens (this is important to know). It's first come first serve but, because the braiders don't come in all at once, you may not be able to get someone who does your specific style.

What does that mean? Some of the braiders don't do certain styles. And, on a busy Sunday, it's not the time to experiment on Thanksgiving if you know what I mean. A woman who came in around the same time as me wanted twists. There wasn't a stylist that could do twists at the shop as yet. I believe she ended up getting boho knotless to move on with her day. Based on what I have gathered, all of the stylists know how to do box braids, boho knotless, knotless, and cornrows. Not all of the stylists do twists and microbraids (which is what I got).

They will not ask you to bring your own hair. There is synthetic hair at the shop and it is LONG so you can get #downtothebootybraids. My hair is short and when I walked in the day before, one of the stylists advised that I get some Freetress Deep Bulk. I ended up getting two packs so I could do highlights.

My experience was honestly so good. My stylist was amazing and did a great job with my microbraids. Some of my hair was around an inch and the braids are super secure. It cost $200 which is more than reasonable.

It's your standard old-school beauty shop set up. The stylists were having conversations with each other (not sure what language) and two vendors came through — one guy with snacks and the other guy was from one of the beauty supply shops around the neighborhood and was trying to sell human hair. There were max 10 people getting their hair braided at once.

The wait didn't seem ideal for folks who came around 8 (a few hours)... But as I mentioned earlier, come before 7am. Last call is 6:30pm so if you're not in a chair by 6:30pm, it's not happening for you.

All of this to say... If you don't want to deal with the weekend craziness, just call and schedule an appointment on a weekday. I also think they should use a sign in sheet or some sort of sign-in tablet to streamline things. There were A LOT of people in the waiting area who might have been more content in their cars.

PLEASE TIP...

I recently visited this establishment and, unfortunately, my experience was far from satisfactory. While I was initially attracted to their pricing, which was presented to me prior to my appointment, I was met with discrepancies upon arrival. The prices advertised did not match what I was quoted in person.

I requested medium knotless braids, and after the stylist began, I noticed that the size was incorrect, as they appeared to be large knotless braids instead. When I pointed this out, the stylist acknowledged the error and attempted to rectify it, but the result remained the same. Unfortunately, her demeanor changed, and I felt uncomfortable as she began discussing me with her colleagues in their native language. If there are concerns about communication, it would be more professional to address them in English, especially in front of clients.

The situation escalated when the stylist abruptly cut the ends of the braid and walked away, leading me to express my dissatisfaction with the service. I reminded her that I was a paying customer and that there are numerous braiding options available in Decatur.

Fortunately, a younger stylist kindly approached me and offered to assist. She asked to see a reference picture, and I was relieved to find that she successfully delivered the hairstyle I originally requested. The young stylist braided the top and someone else braided the back. Now when we get to the back of the braids it looks like a toddler parted them. If you don’t say something they will definitely play in your head! My overall experience was disappointing.

I would rate this establishment a 0 out of 10 due to the rudeness and disrespect displayed by some staff members. My visit was motivated by the unavailability of a preferred stylist, and I would suggest that potential clients seek services from stylists who speak the same language to avoid misunderstandings. Additionally, I was concerned by the lack of sanitation practices observed; the combs were reused without proper cleaning, which is unacceptable. They also make you pay before they get half way done with your hair !

In summary, I cannot recommend this business. If you are in Decatur, GA, I advise looking elsewhere for braiding services to avoid similar frustrations and...