The Silkout Bar — Local services in Pearland

I promised my daughter months in advance that I would get her hair straightened for the first time this Easter. I have been eyeing The Silkout Bar and was excited to try them. Even though their website says they take walk-ins, I booked our services in advance to ensure we would be serviced on what I knew would be a very busy day (the Saturday before Easter). Because both myself and my daughter have very thick and long hair, I booked the highest level of service for the both of us. The first kiddie press service talks about the amount of time, patience and product they may have to use for a first kiddie press so I booked that one for my daughter. I booked the extra long, extra thick Deluxe service for my hair.

We arrived at our simultaneous appointments on time at 3:30pm. The owner immediately acknowledged us and informed our stylists that we had arrived. After an 1hr of waiting a young lady comes over to us and says she will be washing our hair. We are taken to the wash bowls in the back. At this point the young lady picks at my hair and informs me that she will need to detangle my hair and I will be charged an additional $45. She waited for my response almost hoping I would say that I no longer wanted my hair done. At this point, it was late evening, the day before Easter and we had already been waiting for over 1hr. Confused I explained to her that I'm paying for a service and would still like my hair done. (Note: My hair was in a twist out and far from tangled. The stylist ultimately did not have to do any detangling prior to washing my hair. She found one twist that was not undone, untwisted it and proceeded to wash my hair without any issue.) Back to the young lady, after also picking at my daughters hair, she went back over to the owner and whispered some more. I heard the owner explain to her that I had booked the highest level of services so a detangle was already included in the fee. The next thing I know, I see the same young lady bring another little girl back that had just walked in the salon and started washing her hair, leaving both myself and my daughter at the wash bowl without any communication.

When I asked the young lady what happened, she explained to me that she is only a wash tech and does not get paid to detangle hair. She explained that the stylist would need to come over and "talk to me about my baby's hair." This left me confused as to what could possibly be wrong with my baby's hair. Eventually the stylist comes over and rudely asks me "What is in her hair?" I explained to her that she has a medicated shampoo that is required to sit on her scalp that I applied prior to arriving. I also explained that I used aloe vera water and a light oil to detangle her hair after taking her braids down. She rudely informed me that her press "might not come out good. Even if I wash her hair 5-6 times, people put heavy product in their kids hair and it might not come out." She didn't ask a question she just made this open ended statement, again leaving me confused as to the next steps and under the impression she was hoping I would just say, I don't want her hair done. I had to ask her if she was still going to do her hair and she finally proceeded to begin the service.

At this point, I was so disturbed that I went over and spoke to the owner myself to explain what I had just experienced. She explained to me that the wash tech did not wash our hair because she doesn't get paid for higher level services (of which neither of us ended up needing). Then she said she would talk to the other stylist about the way she...

Okay so I’ve sat on this for a while because I wasn’t sure. I came about 5 or 6 months ago. I loved the customer service from MY stylist. My silk press was cute! Ches’a was the stylist this is noooooo way a bad review of her. She was amazing. I did notice a customer that was not pleased with another stylist and the attitude was a little sketchy but I just paid and left because I was happy with my service.

Cons: the treatments were not explained. I could clearly tell the aloe was used which I don’t think was the problems but the excessive times to go back and forth to the dryer with various products and the process not being explained (this was done by another stylist who I assumed was helping out which made sense because of the flow of the establishment so I thought nothing of it) I’m knowledgeable about hair but I like to support other businesses and self-care so I was excited to try the aloe treatment but like I said the other products used and the excessive times under the dryer is what I think caused excessive shedding. As I’ve researched and checked many things I’ve noticed my hair change after that. Yes it’s been some months but I had to really document and pin point and research. Hair can get too much protein so with the aloe already being a protein treatment to hair the only product needed after that is a moisture/deep conditioner because too much protein can cause protein overload which could damage hair and cause shedding. I wasn’t sure because I thought it was other factors but after the treatment I realized my hair shedding, knotted, and tangled ALOT even my Braider noticed a difference.

Tips: explain the products being used and go east on the sitting under the dryer it almost seemed like a fill in time before getting to the stylist chair and if not knowledge you would think it’s beneficial to hair but in the long run it’s really damaging. Natural hair is already sooooo different depending on the person.

I was sad because I had been working on my hair prior to coming and it was thriving!! I heard good things about aloe and was excited to find someone that did it but all the other product in addition to the dryer time cause protein overload which has cause regression.

Ches’a gets a 5 for the part she did!! Hands down (trim ,silk press, and aloe) but the two helpers who put extra product (wasn’t told what it was and sat me under dryer SEVERAL times) get this low score.

Talk to you clients, explain the products, all natural hair is different.

Updated: I don’t know how to respond back to owner but thank you soooo much for replying but no thank you. I’m going to keep up my current routine. I greatly appreciate your response but I just wanted to leave the message or future references with...

Booking - My daughter's hair has never been "heat trained." She has worn her hair in natural and protective styles all her life. However, for her 17th birthday she asked for a silk press. I contacted the establishment before making an appointment. I spoke to share this information with Ches, the stylist who would work on my daughter's hair. She assured me that this would be a problem and we agreed that Level 3 would be the best option. According to the online booking this appointment was supposed to take 1 hour. Now, I was skeptical. I thought they must be magicians to make that happen. I figured 2 hours tops.

The Day of the Appointment - There is a reason I'm sharing that my daughter looks young for her age. She is mistaken for 13 - 15 years old frequently. I believe the employees thought this was the case and treated her accordingly. No one was very welcoming. They'd start a process and leave her for long periods of time and attend to others. She was left unattended and uninformed for the majority of her 3 hours appointment. She called me and shared her experience with me. I immediately called and asked to speak to Ches. I was told she was unavailable. I voiced my concern to the receptionist and told her my daughter's name. She said she would let Ches know. Miraculously, my daughter was in Ches' chair less than 5 minutes after I called. As Ches worked on my daughters’ hair she informed her that because her hair isn't "heat trained" the press might last a week, if she’s lucky. My daughter asked her how to maintain the style, she was given a flippant response, "Wrap it at night." When Ches was finished she asked her who was coming to pick her up. My child informed her she drove herself and that is sixteen.

The Aftermath - My child called me in tears. She has been waiting for a silk press for years! She said the experience was disappointing. I think my biggest point of contention is that Ches, as a professional, should have looked at her hair before starting the process and evaluated at that time that perhaps a $135 Silk Press would not be the best option. Perhaps the hair should be straighten or provide some other alternatives. Again, she is the professional not us. We would have been receptive to that option. But instead she simply took the money, offered no options, provide no instruction and sent her home. The pictures I am providing are less than 12 hours after she had her hair done. Normally, unsatisfied customers just go away and never return. I feel so strongly about we encountered that I don't want anyone else to ever...