N Natural Hair Studio — Local services in White Oak

REVISED: I changed my score for N Natural Hair Studio in White Oak because, immediately after I posted my original review, the salon reached out to me and asked what could be done to rectify the problem. They offered to fit me in the next day to redo the marley twists that weren't done correctly in the front or to take them down and put my hair in two-strand twists, a style I normally wear. Unfortunately, that date didn't work for me and I needed to travel out of town within a few days. I always try to support Black businesses so we came to a different resolution that was fair on both sides. The person I communicated with said they just wanted to make things right, and I believe them. They seemed to really care about me as a customer. Original review: My overall experience at N Natural Hair Studio in White Oak was terrible and I will not be back. The only good things were my shampoo - the person was friendly and washed my hair with care and attention - and the detangling the stylist did after my wash - she took her time and was very gentle; I didn't feel a thing. That's where the good stuff ends.

For starters, the $25 virtual consultation you're required to do is a complete waste of time because, even though I told the person exactly what I wanted and was quoted a price, I had to retell everything to the stylist when I arrived and ended up paying $100 more than I was quoted. My $250 shoulder-length marley twists ended up being $350. Why? First, the person who does the scheduling added an additional 30 mins to my appt after it was set even though I had a visual consult and told her exactly how I wanted my hair. After I sent a text confirming my twists would be shoulder length and not any longer, I was told shorter twists actually take more time than longer twists (what?!!) and would require an extra 1/2 hour. Fine - but I was not told the extra time would cost more money than the $250 I was originally quoted. I didn't find out until I checked out. Second, I had to pay for another 30 mins because the shop didn't have someone to "finish my twists" after the stylist started them. She specifically stated that if they had a person there to help do my twists, like they normally do, "I would have been done by now" and that was around 11:30am. Because of that, the stylist didn't finish until noon. So, I was charged $50 for additional time. How was that my fault in any way? My $250 marley twists ended up being $350.

Then, to top it off, the stylist totally messed up the length when she trimmed them at the end. I specifically told her I like to wear my twists up. She told me I'd also be able to wear them down. Well, after she cut the twists in the front too short to pull back with the rest of my hair, I have to tuck in about 5-6 twists to make it look right when I wear it up. And I cannot wear it down because she did not cut them in any style - they are all different lengths and the ends are ragged. Looks a hot mess. The icing on the cake, however, is that the front parts weren't even. So I had to take them out when I got home and redo them myself.

The wonderful shampoo and detangling didn't outweigh the negatives. I will not go back to N Natural Hair Studio...

This was my first visit to this salon, and I will not be back.

My appointment was at 1 PM on Valentine’s Day. I was excited about looking extra cute for my evening dinner.

My appointment was for a trim and curl defining style.

Pros

[ ] Warm and welcome and stylist [ ] My appointment started on time [ ] Plenty of parking [ ] Phenomenal trim. She definitely got off all of my old and split ends. I like that she did it before my curl definition styled and then cleaned up a bit more after.

Cons

Im accustomed to getting a shampoo that feels AMAZING. Afterwards I’m confident that my scalp is clean. This shampoo was mediocre at best. ] It’s was a 3 hours appointment. I’ve never had an appt more than 2 hours. [ ] When she finished my curl definition, there were no dryers available so I had to sit and wait about 20 minutes for a dryer. There’s only 2 dryers at the White Oak location. [ ] As others have said the process for getting appointment, especially as a new client, is very cumbersome. I almost gave up a couple of times. I respect that obtaining more information from clients help them to provide better service, but there has to be an easier way. [ ] When it was time to style my hair the stylist did not ask anything about the type of style I wanted. If I wanted a part, if I wanted my hair into my face, nothing. She took me back to the shampoo bowl to begin the curl definition. So I had to lay there for at least 30 minutes. It was very very uncomfortable. [ ] My previous experience in getting my curls defined was to sit in the stylist chair, be asked the questions about my style preference, for my curls to be defined in my hairstyle amd placed under the dryer for the style to dry and set [ ] I was placed under the dryer with basically my hair pulled back on my head with a lot of gel. I was concerned that she hadn’t actually styled it, but I was trusting the process and her expertise. [ ] Given the length and density of my hair, it usually dries in 30 minutes. An hour later, I was still under the dryer and concerned about being late for my evening activities. At about an hour and 15 minutes I requested to be taken out of the dryer, she indicated that there were still some wet sections at the roots that she would have to dry with a blow dryer [ ] The reason why it took my hair so long to dry is because of the way it was placed on my head. There wasn’t enough space for airflow so the section that was still wet was where it was all pulled back on top of each each other. [ ] Once she finished drying it, she tried to lift it up and move the hair around a bit. I did have wonderful curl definition, but absolutely no style.

It’s clear that all of the pictures that I uploaded during the new client process were not viewed. If they were viewed, the stylist would have an idea of the kind of style that I was looking for. Sadly, I had to wear it that way for the evening, but afterwards ended up having to redo it myself.

I think this salon is very, very good at locs and two strand twists, but this is not the place for a wash and go.

I left this feedback for the salon and as of a week later have received...

I do not recommend this company to anyone. This business is a very clear example of bad quality and terrible business practices. As a black woman, I love and believe in supporting black businesses. However, as a business owner myself I gotta tell you this place is Not IT. The customer service is severely lacking. I booked an appt last minute bc I had to cancel a previous appt with another stylist (although, I had tried this place once before and was not impressed, I was in a pinch and needed a one time shop). I booked an appt appointment online after answering this really long and odd questionnaire. The next morning , I was called by a person named Andrea, that stated that although I booked the appt, I need to text them to enable the text features to create the appt (???). I was confused because I figured that was the point of the online Vargaro booking system, but I was wrong. I inquired about whether I could do it another way bc I don't type like companies texting me, but I was advise that if I wanted an appt I had to. I relented and told them they could text me despite my misgivings (many companies send a lot of spam msgs). To which the she replied that she could not text me and I needed to text them (say what??). I text them and didn't hear anything back and ended up having to text them again bc the number I used was incorrect. In the end I received a text and had to pay a deposit, which I completed immediately, only to be told 3 hrs later that my appt was canceled. The excuse given was ridiculous and if the could not accommodate me, they should've never have taken my money or told me this before I made the deposit. Following the cancelation notice I received via text, because they could not be bothered to call and let me know, I attempted to reach out several times (5x). And of course no one answered the phone. And I for the life of me can not understand businesses not answering the phone. And i have yet to receive my deposit back.

I'm glad I dodged this bullet because how they conducted business, shows me they would never be worthy of even 0.01 of my money.

*update 10/13/23:

I am updating my original recommendation based on the posted reply from the business. I fully stand behind my initial review made of this business. As previously stated, I am a business owner myself, and I would never refuse service to a customer who simply has questions about my business practices. As stated by the business, this was not a good fit for me and probably not for anyone either. I believe all customers should be leery of any business that requires you to text them only despite making customers create accounts on their website specifically for appt confirmations, reminders, etc. And they should be every more leery if you as a customer (as is your right ), question or inquire about this practice, and their response is to take money from you and then cancel the appt (asked in a way that is not rude, irate, or hostile). This is not a good business practice, nor is it...