Tainna in Ottawa

Emerald Beauty Hair Salon

Emerald Beauty Salon
587 Bank Street, Ottawa
613-232-9168

Reviewed by: Tainna

Atmosphere:

This salon has a casual atmosphere going on. I arrived there and wasn't too impress by the decor, however I never really go to salons for the decor, so I was not bothered.

As usual, I was able to read up on decade old magazines, while I eavesdropped on what other ladies are talking about.

Service:

This section will be divided in two parts; One for Merveille and the other for the owner.

Merveille:
She is from Trinidad and Tobago and has a lot experience with hair. The last time I saw her, she was wearing braids which suited her nicely. (She is also the one who braided them)

I got weaves placed on my hair, and she did a great job. (Got it done three times with her!) She is a quick braider and knows how to properly sew the hair on your braids without making it bulge.

My only criticism is that she can be too fast, and sometimes it can be painful. Also, monitor her at the end. Once, she told me she was finished and I did not like how my "bangs" were placed. She gladly redid them, so do not be afraid to ask for changes. (it's you head in the end!)

Owner:

After having my weaves on for about 9 months, I got sick of them and wanted to relax my own hair. Also, I was getting more and more interested in taking care of my hair without hairdressers interfering with it.

Unfortunately, Merveille does not relax your hair. The owner has that privilege. So, I agreed. Merveille undid my weaves, except in the front. My hair was quite long and she was very proud.

Sadly, since the owner never knew how long my hair was she assumed that she could just go ahead and chop off a chunk of the weave in front, instead of not being lazy and undoing it properly. This resulted in me having 3 inches of my hair in front being shorter than everything else.

I was furious!

She sort of apologized but said that she couldn't have known that my hair was so long. Yeah, uh-huh.

Worst is that she proceeded to relax my hair even though she just cut it. I didn't know then, but that's a MAJOR bad idea. This resulted in having my front ends being super frizzy.

I was livid!

Then, she rinse, did an instant deep condition, roller set and applied DAX to my hair. Leaving my hair super greasy and weighed down. Yuck!

Even without chopping my hair, the DAX was enough to make me realise that this was not the place for me to relax my hair. Plus, she forgot an area and was not able to "style" my hair in any way. Yep, I looked like a greased sheep with I was done...

Cost:

The cost are pretty decent!

Weave was about 75$ and the relaxer was about the same price. (This was a year ago, so things could have changed.)

Conclusion:

I would definitely go back for the weaves, but never to relax my hair.

Feedback:

Have you been here? How was it? Do you agree or disagree?

Leave your comments and share your thoughts!

Scissors Hands - Hair Salon Review - 2/5

On November 12th, I decided to get my hair relaxed. I was 10 weeks post relaxer! (Yay! I thought I would not be able to stretch so much!) and well it was getting really nappy and really nasty!

It was not the first time I went to Scissors Hand, therefore I was not too nervous.

I booked a appointment for about 5:00 pm, and never again! The last time I went, it was in the morning, at night, things get quite strange.

The relaxer they use is Design. However, you can bring your own if you like. I forgot to ask if the price will be affected, so make sure you call and find out.

On my hair, I used the normal Design relaxer, and she overlapped on hair that was already relaxed. This kind of ticked me off, but when you go to a stylist it is expected. This is why it is so good to stretch as long as possible to have more growth, therefore reducing the relaxer to be overlapped by your stylist.

After letting it stand for what seemed to be 10 minutes, we rinsed off. Now, after she applies the shampoo, make sure to ask to get a Deep Conditioning treatment. She would have just rinse it off, but I insisted and told her I wanted it to be wrapped and to be place under the dryer.

She did so, but left the dryer on cool... Yep, I got up and put it on Medium. I got a look for this. A oh-she-thinks-she-knows-more-than-me look. And you know what, sometimes I do! A lot of these stylist don't even have credentials!

Anyway, at this point I was relaxing and hoping I will look somewhat decent after my hair was styled, then three people, who were the stylist friends came in and smoked up a joint! I couldn't believe it! The girl was swearing and had piercing all over and they reeked of the smell! Now, I am not a snob or a prude, and you can do whatever you want in you own time, but hey you are running a business here! Then two girls got into a screaming fight, and I was left alone, since the all ran outside!!

My stylist came back alone and asked, can we continue, in a quite rude voice. I nodded, and we rinse off my hair.

I asked after wards to get a roller set for my hair, but she said that she will not straighten it if I did. I said it was fine, and she said she will have to charge me more. So, I shrugged and said, alright blow-dry it. BIG MISTAKE! Ladies and gents, if you go to Scissors Hand, get it roller set no matter what!

She was yanking my wet hair and pulling so hard! I was so traumatized! Why the hell would anyone pay for this treatment?? And worst is that she used a VERY hot iron on my strands, and kept going up and down on it! It came to a point that I told her to stop it and to just past it once.

When my hair was straight and burnt, she added hair sheen and this very heavy moisturizer, which made my hair look greasy. She tried to style it, but I told her not to bother, since I am tying it up.

It would have cost me 90$ but I told her that when I called it was 70$ and that's all I got. Yup! But seriously, call before, cause I think this is a way to maybe scam for a bit of money.

Overall, I would give a 2/5. My hair was properly relaxed, but the styling, atmosphere and service was crap.

I would suggest going in the morning, and bringing your own moisturizer if you go.