I have been to Beans for hair supplies and it was great! Great staff; helpful with whatever hair supplies and products I need, no complaints.
Today, I went to the salon after a friend recommended the salon service to me for a blow dry. I have previously been a long time customer of the, now closed, Bubbles Salon which was nearby. But, I left the area and came back looking for a salon with similar customer service quality and Center City convenience. When I booked my appointment, I called and let the receptionist know that my hair was very thick, coarse and curly (typically, I know that is something the stylists like to know to assist with scheduling there day).
Well, when I arrived, Daniel (my stylist) looked at me and told me "I've never done African-American hair before, so we will see how this goes." Now, don't get me wrong: he was polite and relatively friendly... it was just... awkward. Even while washing it, he continued to discuss how he's never really done African-American hair and just seemed very hesitant to do anything. Following the wash, he asked me "what do you usually do now?"; I assume he was asking what I do prior to a blow dry, but I felt awkward again because I don't know what I do, because I let the stylist do it. Now, the end of the story is that it pretty much got done... but Daniel was very rough (which may be my fault because I felt uncomfortable mentioning my discomfort to him) and he continued to not know what to put in my hair and I had to make suggestions. I never go to a stylist to tell them what to do to make my hair better... I want them to educate ME on what I can do to improve my hair grooming techniques! They are the experts and I value their opinion. At the end, he then mentioned twice "it took 2 hours!"... and maybe he was just trying to express empathy for how long it took, but it felt more like a complaint. And it was relatively straight, but not very... styled.
I say all this to say that I was completely shocked by the apprehension and nervousness of the stylist because all of my experiences at Beans have been with employees who knew what to recommend for my "African-American hair". In addition, the friend who recommended the salon HAS African-American hair, as well! So, I feel really bad giving this salon an "okay" rating... but hopefully this will encourage them to educate their staff on a variety of hair textures and products. I really do like the service of Beans SUPPLY, but I will absolutely not return (or refer friends) to the salon.