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Aleida Morel
Dominicanidades
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THE DOMINICAN HAIR SALON EXPERIENCECopyright © 2008-2010 Aleida Morel, all rights reserved
What is a Dominican beauty salon?
What is different about Dominican hair care?
What happens in the Dominican beauty salon?
How Dominicans do hair: Benefits of Dominican hair care.
Hair straightening techniques from the Dominican Republic: how
Dominican salons relax and style hair. Spanish language and terminology for
Dominican salons. The importance of beauty salons in Dominican
culture. Recommended Dominican salons.
Dominican hair products
Spanish hair salon glossary
Frequently asked questions
Hair & makeup gallery
Most Dominican women have textured hair (el pelo texturado), which needs a lot of attention! And therefore almost every Dominicana goes to the beauty parlor once or twice every week. The beauty parlor is called el salón de belleza or la peluquería. In the Dominican Republic, and wherever Dominicans live, the beauty parlor is a big part of our culture. According to Dominican Times Magazine there are 3,250 Dominican beauty salons in the New York metropolitan area! That's a good thing because for our kind of hair, the Dominican hairdressers (estilistas or peluqueras dominicanas) are simply the best. For 500 years, they have been developing techniques of hair care based on washing and brushing and on the natural tropical products of our country like avocado, coconut, olive, and cinnamon oils; maracuyá [chinola, passion fruit], rosemary, garlic, wheat germ, and aloe, for keeping our hair beautiful even in the hottest and most humid conditions! (Read more about Dominican hair-care products.) More and more North American women, especially African-American women, have heard about Dominican salons and they want to go there too, because it is really the same kind of hair – a mixture of European, Indigenous American, and African, just like we are! Dominican salons don't like to use hot irons or combs or strong chemicals for straightening, they have their own special techniques that are more gentle for your hair. For example, because I go to Dominican salons, I never need to have my hair straightened with chemicals or hot combs! If you search in Google for "dominican hair salon" or "dominican beauty parlor" you will find a lot of American women who are so happy now that their hair is finally healthy, growing, strong, and full of shine, thanks to a Dominican salon! WHAT IS GOOD HAIR AND BAD HAIR?In the Dominican Republic, people often refer to pelo malo (“bad hair”) and pelo bueno (“good hair”). Sometimes Americans are upset when they hear these terms, because it seems like people who are more Black or African have “bad hair” and those who are more White or Indian (indigenous) have “good hair”, and therefore it is bad to be African. But a person's race is not so important in the Dominican Republic as it is in the United States; it's just a feature, just part of your look. Almost every Dominican is a mixture, and almost every Dominican has textured hair. To us, “good hair” is hair that is manageable, because we like to change our look, and our hair style is a big part of our look. With “bad hair”, there are simply less styling options and freedom of choice. And that is why Dominican women spend so much time in the salon. Think of it like this: When a Dominicana says tengo el pelo malo it's like when an American woman says “I'm having a Bad Hair day!”
WHO CAN GO TO A DOMINICAN SALON?Everybody can go. Almost every Dominican salon will want your business and will be glad to serve you, no matter who you are or what your hair is like, or whether you speak Spanish or you don't. But since Dominican salons specialize in textured hair, and especially textured hair that is overprocessed or damaged, they are especially popular among African American women, as you can see if you search Google search on this topic!I get a lot of questions from Black women about whether they should go to a Dominican salon, or use Dominican hair products. The answer is Yes and Yes! Most people in the Dominican Republic – about 85% of us – are Black or part Black, mixed mainly with European Spanish and Indigenous Taíno people. Most of us have the same kinds of hair as African Americans (such as 3b, 4a, 4b, etc, in the Andre Walker system), so Dominican hair care techniques and products are just as good for African American women as they are for Dominicanas. WHAT IS IT LIKE IN THE DOMINICAN HAIR SALON?
When you go to a Dominican Salon like Yani Vanet in New York, plan to spend a good
part of the day. It's first come first serve (orden de llegada), no
appointments (citas). On the busy days – Thursday, Friday, and
Saturday, or any day before a holiday – you can wait 2, 3, even 4
hours for your turn. But don't let that stop you, it's fun! A Dominican
salon is a very special place for women to gather and “let their hair
down”.
You will make a lot of friends there! Dominican music –
Merengue,
Bachata,
Reggaetón – is playing,
everybody is talking and laughing... and eating! If you have a long wait,
you can go to the restaurant and bring back a delicious Dominican meal to
enjoy (and share) while you wait; it's
the best food there is, and it tastes
best in the beauty parlor!
In the salon they use the Dominican or Italian or Spanish hair products – shampoos, rinses, treatments, and conditioners – that are the very best for our kind of hair, and also for brittle or damaged hair. Healthy hair is the first priority of the Dominican stylist! She won't put anything in your hair, or do anything to it, that is not going to make it more healthy.
Hint: If your stylist uses some product that does wonders for your hair, be sure to ask her what it is so you can keep using it in case you move away, or your salon does! THE BASIC DOMINICAN WASH AND DRY – LEVADO Y SECADO
This is the "Dominican Blowout" that you have
heard so much about! We don't call it that, for us it's just the regular
lavado y secado (wash-and-dry or roller set).
When your turn comes up (cuando te toque a ti), first you have a shampoo (lavado), from a shampooer or from the stylist herself if she is not too busy. The shampoo might begin with a hot oil treatment. Then when the shampoo is rinsed out, you have 10 minutes in the dryer (el secador) without rollers to warm up your head, and then you have a wonderful scalp massage (un masaje) to stimulate the roots (estimular las raíces), that might be done with some product like a rinse (un rinse). At this point your hair is still wet. After the massage, a leave-in conditioner (un acondicionador para dejar sobre el cabello) is applied and (if you need it) a special hair treatment (tratamiento, suero, ampollas) – usually the stylist's own mixture of water, leave-in, and treatment in a spray bottle. And then they put in the curlers (los rolos). Big ones (los grandes) if you have long hair, smaller ones (los chiquitos) if you have short hair (el pelo corto) or you want your hair more curly (rizado) or wavy (ondulado). We like to use BIG rolos and the dryers are extra big so our heads will fit! And then you sit under the big dryer (secador) for an hour! While your hair is drying, you can sleep, or read, or eat, or talk on the cell phone, or chat with the other women, or have a manicure or pedicure, or all of those at the same time! THEN, when you come out of the dryer, they take out the rollers and divide your hair into sections, which they brush (cepillar, and sometimes they pull – jalar – hard), and blow-dry (secar a mano) for half an hour, using a big round brush (cepillo redondo) or other kind of brush, depending on the length of your hair and style you want, and whether you want it to fall inward (hacia adentro) or outward (hacia afuera, “con flip”). And that's it! THE "DOOBIE" AND OTHER SERVICES
For women who want their hair to hang perfectly straight without waves,
without using harsh chemicals or hot irons or combs, the Dominican stylists
have perfected a technique called the doobie or “wrap” or “dry wrap”
(envoltura), which is an additional step after the wash-and-dry, in
which your hair is brushed and wrapped tightly around hour head, held in
place with hairpins or clips and a head scarf, preferably silk. It's like
using your head for a curler! The longer you leave your hair wrapped, the
better it works, so normally we keep the wrap overnight – it's more
comfortable than sleeping in curlers, and less stressful for your hair and
scalp. You can re-wrap your hair every night before sleep to make that
salon look last!
Of course the Dominican salons have a lot of other services too: trimming the ends (cortar las puntas, I do that every 2 or 3 months), relaxing or straightening (alisado), hair cutting (corte de pelo) and styling (peinado), coloring (tinte), streaks (mechas, rayitos), highlights (reflejos), extensions (extensiones)... they like to work with you to create what you want, as long as it is not something that will damage your hair. When the stylist and the customer work together to create something new, they both get excited! HOW MUCH DOES IT COST? – ¿CUÁNTO CUESTA?For me, the basic Wash and Set is usually $18-20. If I have a hair treatment (tratamiento capilar), it's another $5.00. If they need to apply special oils (ampollas, these are very good for my hair!), another $5.00. To trim the ends, also $5.00. To do the eyebrows (cejas) is $6.00. Cutting and styling and coloring, of course, those cost more.To save money, many customers buy the hair products they prefer directly from the salon or from my website and bring them each time they have their hair done, and that way the salon visit costs less. Prices vary from salon to salon, and can change from time to time, and also depend on your type of hair and how long it is. But for now, at least, the Dominican salon is a Great Bargain! COMMUNICATINGIn the Dominican salons in the USA, they speak Spanish of course, but they know the English hair terminology. If you know some Spanish, it will be helpful, and for Spanish hair terms you can consult my ENGLISH-SPANISH HAIR SALON GLOSSARY. But anyway, if you show them a picture of what you want in their sample book (muestrario) or a magazine (revista), they will know how to take care of you, and they will do a very good job because they want you to come back again and again, and you will, and soon it will feel like family. Communication comes naturally because for us women, hair is the universal language! RECOMMENDED DOMINICAN SALONS |
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So far I am only recommending the salons where I have my own hair or nails
done, which is in New York City and Connecticut, because I know personally
that they do a very good job and if you visit them, you will not be
disappointed (tell them
Aleida sent you!) They are:
The majority of Dominican salons are excellent but for me Yani Vanet Beauty Salon in the Bronx (New York City), and Martha's in Manhattan, are among the very best. In Connecticut I recommend Yenni's Grand Salon in Waterbury. I have been going to Miguelina ever since I came to this country. She is near the 167th and Grand Concourse subway stop. It's like a second home to me, where I can relax and laugh and be myself among friends. The stylists are friendly and nice and they are VERY good to my hair! In fact, they care about my hair as much as I do, and that is a lot! Every week we work together to create new and different and exciting looks for me, and every time I go Miguelina, or Martha, or Yenni's, I know that I am going to feel Very Good when they finish with my hair. And every time I leave those salons, I feel happy. And beautiful! Take a look! HOW TO FIND A DOMINICAN SALON IN YOUR AREADominican women have a special relationship with their beauty salons, so Dominican salons are usually found in places where a lot of Dominicans live. In the United States, the biggest Dominican populations are in New York, New Jersey, Florida, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut. Here are some maps that show you exactly where to find all the Dominicans, from the 2004 Migration Policy Institute report, The Dominican Population in the United States: Growth and Distribution:
Hint: If you are planning to move and you want to be near a Dominican salon in your new location, you should check these maps first! Good choices would be New York City (Bronx or Manhattan); Boston or Lawrence MA; Providence RI; Miami FL; Northeastern New Jersey (Bergen, Passaic, Paterson, Union City, Newark); Sleepy Hollow or Haverstraw NY; Philadelphia PA. To search for a Dominican salon near you, enter the location into this special Google search box. You can put the city or town and state (you can use the 2-letter abbreviation, for example “bronx ny” or “new haven ct” or “marietta ga”), or a zipcode, or anything else to identify the location.
Then to get a different set of results, do another search in Superpages.com (telephone book business listings); this search finds all the salons in or near the location that you give that have "dominican" in their name. Put the city and state (for example "union nj") and/or a Zip code (CLICK HERE for help):
If you have any recommendations of your own, send them to me and when I have enough of them, I will list them here. And for your cosmetic and skin care needs, CLICK HERE to contact me directly. |
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Aleida Morel
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Dominicanidades New York City, New Jersey; Waterbury, Connecticut Tel: +1 (646) 228-2266 | E-mail: aleida@aleida.net In association with Amazon.com |  Questions? Comments? CONTACT ME! |
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Dominican haircare and beauty parlor introduction website. How to find a
Dominican hair salon. What to ask for at a Dominican salon. Dominican
hair secrets. How the Dominicans straighten hair. How to take care of
hair Dominican style. Spanish phrases for a Dominican salon.
Explain why women like going to beauty salons.
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