2 things:
1. I want to learn to do a blowout myself, when I went to the salon she didn’t use a roller set, but was still able to get my hair bone straight with just a blow dryer (no flat iron needed). What products do I need to use, from start to finish?
2. I love your comments about us being equal, thank you sis! I do feel a tad uncomfortable when I walk in the salon though, (It was my first time at a Dominican Salon), because I don’t have a perm and a nappy/curly mixture. I understand spanish, and I heard one of the girls go, What I’m supposed to do with that? Haha.
Happy New Year!

The products that YOU need may differ from the products I need. However, I cannot stress the importance of a really good moisturizing conditioner.
For me Avalon’s Humecto is number 1, however, I do mix and switch it up from time-to-time. The key is to deep condition. By that, I mean, leave the conditioner on for a considerable time. Don’t slap a conditioner on and rinse it out after 2-3 minutes. Leave it on for at least 20 minutes. Longer than 20 is great too, as long as you are not working with a protein conditioner, because over use of proteins can cause breakage.

I also strongly recommend a really good leave in. For me, the must have is CHI Silk Infusion. It’s hands down, my favorite leave in. Again, I am known to mix a little “something else” in…the something else being anything else that strikes my fancy.

I experiment and know what works for my hair and will try a product at least 3 times before I rule it out.

I do caution you on getting your hair blown out directly. The direct technique requires more heat on the hair and uses a LOT of tension to get the hair straight. So, just keep that in mind.

And yes…we are equal. Somos hermanas and let me just tell you Dominicanas are not the only ones who talk “smack” about clients’ hair. They ALL do it…lol

Hi,
I just came across your site and I am loving it. My hair is
completely natural, 85% gray, and thick as all get out. I am getting
frustrated because I want to wear something other than the afro. I’d
like to wear it straight sometimes but don’t want to ruin it in any
way. Do you have suggestions? Can you refer me to a salon in
Greensboro NC? Where are you located? I saw the dominican post and I
was considering it but I really don’t want to damage my hair. Please
help before I do something crazy

Hola querida,

Oh amiga, I cannot recommend any salons. I’m from NYC where there are domincan salons everywhere; where I live right now, there are no Domincan salons. So, as far as a salon recommendation goes, have to turn to the ladies in cyber-land. Girls, if you know someone in NC, let us know!

As for styling your natural hair, gray hair tends to be tougher and more stubborn than other hair. I’d be curious to see how your hair might handle rolos. You may be able to get rolos in your hair, with little or no blowing. That might work. If done infrequently, blowing out your roots shouldn’t be a problem. Moderation is key.

I personally, don’t use flatirons, curling irons, or anything else that will be hot and directly touch my hair. I put my rolos in and if I cannot get to blowing out my roots, I just do a dubi, go to sleep and leave it at that. My hair is thick too, so blowing it out a little prevents it from puffing up so much.

I don’t know that there are a lot of dominican salons in NC, but I believe there are one or two. However, let’s wait to see if the ladies can make specific recommendations.

Besos,

LaNegra

Hey, I’ve been reading (and loving) your blog, just haven’t found the answer I need. I’m mixed, (black and white) I usually flat iron, but tried a dominican blowout recently. I loved the feel and bounce afterward, but my hair was dull and fluffy looking. I went home and oil sheened, it took the bounce away and left it just like flat ironing. What do I put in my hair for that silky straight shine without losing the movement of my hair?

Hola negrita!

I’m just taking a guess, but think you may have over done it with the sheen; I’ve done that before and my hair ended up limp and lifeless. I don’t know how long your hair is, but it’s best to start out with a little and add more, rather use too much and not be able to remove the product.

Also, you tend to have more fluff, particularly if you only get the roots blown out, until after you do a dubi. After I take down my dubi, my hair has sway, but it’s not “too big.”

Next time you get your hair done, if it’s still too dull for you, add a small amount of a clear serum, or lightly spray your hair with a sheen. Remember, you can add more, but cannot remove excess w/out reshampooing.

Hope this helps and Happy New Year to all!!

Are Dominican salons okay to go too. I just wanted to know are blowouts good for black women. There is only one site I was happy with because the answer was right on target for the question I Google. My hair is in transition to natural from relaxed. I been transitiong for 9 months now. I just want a blowout done once in a while like if I go today I will get another blowout in 5 or 6 months later. You know any kind of heat can be bad for hair. I think I got a good plan. I am going to get blowouts done from the Dominican salon and make sure they use a heat protectant on my hair or use the I come in with if they do not have one. I would like my hair straight sometimes you know.

Black women? Mija, somos eguales!
I hope I don’t offend anyone; this is just my opinion…but we, Dominicanas, speak Spanish (ok…some of us, cause y’all know that my Spanish SUCKS!), but our hair comes in a variety of textures, and our skin comes in a rainbow of colors. Despite, not wanting to recognize it for what it is, we are black too, just not black American. So, when I hear people ask that question, I’m not always sure how to respond, because many disagree with me, but you cannot erase history. Historically speaking, the only group of people to have kinky hair were the Africans…so, if there’s some kinky hair in the family tree, then you know where it came from. There’s no amount of relaxer to erase that fact!

We need to move beyond that….k, breaking ankle, as I step off my soap box lol

If you are growing your hair out and want to wear it straight once in a while, I see nothing wrong with a blowout. I agree, heat-is-heat and can be damaging to the hair. That’s why I prefer to do rolos…it keeps the heat from coming in direct contact with my hair.

The plan for your hair sounds great, just make sure you CONDITION! Natural hair needs to be conditioned too

Salon estilo dominicano en Londres, UK. Mi hija se arreglo el cabello con Ana. Al lado de la peluqueria tienen un restaurante dominicano.

Cuando llame deje timbrar el telefono si no responden vuelva a llamar. Espero que le sirva esta informacion a todo aquel que desee arreglarse el cabello al estilo dominicano.

Gracias a Noni para decirnos de Ana’s Peluqueria!

Hey Chicas,

Do any of you know a good Dominican salon in LI?
If so, can you please…let a girl know

Hola Chica! Long time since I have post..but I definitely have been keeping up with the blog and reading…..I am actually going through some changes in my hair..and this post leads into my questions…After decades of getting relaxers (all my life actually) I have decided to go natural..transitioning now..it has been 7 1/2 months since my last realxer. I was introduced to DomBlowouts about 8 yrs ago and have been getting them every since..love my blowouts..but i hardly blowout straight..I used to always tell my stylist..”just blow the roots mommy” I have always loved my hair big and curly and amongst other reasons..I have decided not to get anymore relaxers..the main reason being I now have a 3 yr old daughter with the most beautiful head of curls and i tell her that all the time…but can you believe at that age of 3..she already has a complex about her hair…wanting it to be silky straight like her barbies, friends at school and people on TV..I cant be a contradiction to my own child..especially since I dont plan on ever relaxing her hair and probally wont even blow dry it straight for another few years….ok, anyway..back to my question..of course i have done TONS and TONS of research on this natural thing…but what i havent found is mainting a DomBlowout during the transition and the effects?… I have been struggling with every type of transition style out there from twist sets, flexi rods, braid outs etc…but find that my hair is the smoothest and last the longest by doing the DomBlowout..I have the pibbs dryer and the red turbo 1500watt blower that you have or used to have…so Im wondering if I still continue to do the blowouts…will it effect my natural curl pattern over time?..I clip my relaxed ends every month..so slowly but surely getting rid of that..but I was just wondering if I am actually damaging my new growth or altering the curl pattern at all…I will switch up from time to time and do flexi rod sets..and of course no blower on that…but the DomBlowout is my fav style.
Thank you so much! and I hope you had a great Thanksgiving!

Hey hermana!
It’s good to hear from you

Let me tell you this, and you KNOW I’m going to be honest….
A dominican blowout is fine, on a regular basis, if your natural hair is not very kinky, or super coarse. Now ya know, I’m not suggesting that there is anything wrong with kinky hair, but remember, the tighter your curl patter, the dryer the hair (typically).

So, let’s break this question down a little….

Natural hair is ideally the healthiest, but when you introduce direct heat on a regular basis (flat iron, blower, curler, etc) then you run the risk of damaging your hair, because it requires more heat and more muscle to flatten that hair out. Yeah, it looks great! But, do you really want to put that much stress on your natural hair on the regular?

Now, I don’t have any personal experience with my curl pattern changing, but I’m not gonna lie…every time I go natural for a while, I cave after about a year, because my blowouts don’t last. I don’t blow my hair that often, these days, but at least when I do, want it to last. However, my cousin SWEARS that she didn’t need to relax her hair after years of doing a blowout. I often suspected that she damaged her hair by ODing in the heat, but only she, her stylist and God knows, because that chica doesn’t play! If her hair even pretends to frizz, she’s on the cell, calling her stylist, “Oye, puedes hacer mi pelo, AHORA?!”

As usual, I suggest you keep your tresses seriously conditioned, regardless to whether or blow them out, or leave them natural…in the meantime, maybe someone else can sound off…help us out

LaNegra

Hey guapas!!

I want to wish you all a Happy, Hairy Thanksgiving!!

Blessing to you and your families.

LaNegra

Hi! First off, I just wanna say, I LOVE your blog here. It’s really niffy, and I love reading the stuff you put up; very informative stuff.

Please help La Negra!!!

Hey Guapa!

Sorry that it took so long to reply; been out of town for a minute.
So, you are Hispanic? What that means is that you may have different types of hair, but you already know that, right? We come in a variety of complexions with a bevvy of hair types. This can make it trick to handle our hair. We, like African Americans, who also have mixed heritage, have to be careful handling our tresses. We need a lot of moisture to keep our hair in optimal shape.

So, if you are using rolos in your hair at home, you are probably still getting a lot of volume (big hair).
Have you tried blowing out your roots only, after taking out your rolos?
Yes, I think that the type of blower does matter. I tried a couple of blowers found at Sally’s and didn’t get decent results. As soon as I tried the blower that I currently own, I was in business! My roots were flat, silky and smooooooth.

If you are looking for a less damaging way to get those roots and edges straight, look for a heavy-duty, professional blower. Ya know I don’t like flat-irons. So, check out the blower that Altagracia is using and see if you can find one. Then it’s just a matter of practicing. I used to give out the link to the company that makes my blower, but the site is down, perhaps out of business

Remember, don’t put any oil or sheen on your hair until after you’ve blown out your roots, then apply your sheen.

Hope this helps,

LaNegra

Hola LaNrgra,’
I have really thin hair and had it all my life. I was wondering where I could find some of the products you suggest. My hair is thin and curly. I want it thicker!! I hate seeing my scalp. I have had blood work done and nothing not Thyroid not hormones the test came back all normal!!!! So now I’m at my wits end. I’m hesitant to try oils seeing my hair gets greasy looking and feeling quickly. Please help!!
Cuida te!

Hey Guapa!!

Ya, te consejo buscar productos que te da volume. It’s not about making your hair thicker; you have to deal with what God gave you. It’s about finding the right products to use that give the illusion of volume and thickness.

Oils, will not give you volume, per se. I have ordered a number of items from bluebeez.com. The shipping has been a little slow at times, but I can usually find every, single thing I need from them. See if you can find Nexxus Vitatress (cannot recall which product, but that line is specifically for thinning hair) and there’s a Halka baba product for pelo caido.

Let me know what you use and how it works.

Mil besos,

LaNegra