What You Can Learn from a Dominican Hair Salon

Photo credit: del mich

The New York Times recently took a trip to the Dominican Republic to talk about hair.And in case you're short on time, here are the highlights (admittedly their article is more interesting than this blog post, but it's also much longer):

Carolina Contreras owns the Miss Rizo Salon on Calle Isabel la Catòlica in Santo Domingo, which specializes in cutting and styling naturally curly hair (colloquially called pajòn). It is a “departure from the Old World reverence to the Spanish explorers who colonized the island,” which, when we're talking about hair, means they're shaking off the stereotype of the famous straight, black Dominican hair. Miss Rizo is the place where Dominican women, both on the island and from across America come to have their natural curls treated the way they were meant to..

The salon and its artists are interesting across the board, but this phenomenon highlights three particular details you should be interested in as a hair artist and especially as a salon owner.

1. Natural Really is Coming Back

The first thing Contreras would tell you, is that naturally curly hair is back y bonita. A salon that understands how to handle the natural curl and texture of hair is a source of empowerment for many of her clients. (Of course, Santo Domingo isn't the only place you can find a salon that knows curly hair). Which means, it’s either time to start studying up on your curl care and start writing it on your menu, because this natural look is only getting bigger.

2. People will Literally Cross the Ocean for a Stylist they can Trust

There's something interesting in the fact that Americans are flying over the ocean to find someone who will treat their hair properly, but it shows just how dedicated people are to their natural style.

For some, it's also about culture: Native Dominicans return to their birthplace and get their hair done the way it was meant to be and re-immerse themselves in the culture they came from. But some are going just for the haircut. One interviewed patron said specifically “I had to come here because I wanted my hair done by people who knew what they were doing.”

It just goes to show that, no matter where you are, clients will swim oceans to get to you if they know they can trust you.

3. A Good Beauty Blog Means Good Visibility

If you run a salon in America, this should be ringing all the alarm bells. Especially if you're also an expert in natural curls. Why are these people flying outside the country for a haircut when they could just drive over to you?

One of the best answers is internet visibility. Contreras didn't start with a salon. She started with a blog, and became popular enough to open her salon with an Indiegogo campaign. She was also clever enough to write the beauty blog in Spanish, which turned out to be a genre in high demand. People in other countries know this artist can do miracles on their hair because she consistently proves her knowledge online in articulate detail. If you look at her site, you don't have to know Spanish to see she covers a broad range of topics, particularly on her curly-hair specialty.

Contrera is doing something great for the rich and surprisingly widespread culture of Dominicans everywhere by helping and encouraging the natural but lesser-known coiling nature of Dominican hair. But if we're talking as freelance artist and business owners, one very important thing to take from this story should be a serious re-evaluation of how you handle your business online.