Since I've been doing my own hair, my standards for hair salons are even higher than ever.
I love and take good care of my hair, and anyone who does it has to have the same pride and love in doing it. Going natural has been more than a hairstyle change, it's been an empowering self-love journey. I've discovered more ways to express myself, get to know myself, and be more comfortable with who I am. This is why each product I use and each salon I visit is so important to me.
If you think about it, our stylists play an instrumental part in helping us maintain our look. We want someone we can trust, understand, and slay. So, when I am looking for a salon or stylist these days, here are a few key qualities I look for to find the right one:
Love For Hair
This may be obvious, but I like for stylists to love what they do. When your stylist loves doing hair, they approach each head with excitement, as if it's a new journey for them too. He/She creates a better experience and is willing to learn and do as much as they can to make you happy, instead of just thinking of you as another paycheck.
Knowledgeable
I feel more confident when I'm in the chair with someone who knows their stuff. I like to get tips and recommendations on how to better take care of my hair. I also love to exchange thoughts and get an expert opinion on current hair trends. As we all know — especially if you're natural — there's always a new oil or a new product to use, and it wouldn't hurt to get a professional opinion. The perfect salon should be your one stop shop for hairstyles, hair knowledge, and hair products.
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Furthermore, it's not enough to just know how to do hair, but the stylist has to know how to do my hair. Any salon I consider has to have experience styling and treating all natural hair types, especially 4C hair. It's important to me that understand the needs and techniques of each hair type.
Budget-Friendly
I look for a salon that is reasonable in price and time. What I've been noticing about natural hair salons is that they are charging monthly membership prices. I personally don't like this for a few reasons: one, I don't want my salon experience to feel like another bill that I have to pay. Salon time is a pampering experience for me and I don't want it to feel like anything else. Two, I don't want to be charged monthly if salon visits are not as frequent. I do my own hair, so I tend to only go to salons for a trim or special treatments. I also expect to have a timely service, I don't want to be in the salon all day, nor do I want to wait hours to get seen.
Accessibility To Products
It's an extra bonus if salons offer the products that they use on their customers. It's also very important to me to learn how to upkeep my style and have access to those resources. I think with the evolution of beauty salons it is becoming industry standards to be the one-stop-shop with natural hair salons.
And since I'm from Atlanta, a city known for hair, I couldn't leave you without a few salons in Atlanta that you should try if you're ever in the area:
What are some non-negotiables that natural hair salons have to check off for you to consider them "the one"? Let us know in the comments down below.
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RELATED
While speaking to xoNecole, Eva shares that she’s a lot like the beloved 1994 character in many ways. “Lyric is so me. She's the odd flower. A flower nonetheless, but definitely not a peony,” she tells us.
“She's not the average flower you see presented, and so she reminds me of myself. I'm a sunflower, beautiful, but different. And what I loved about her character then, and even more so now, is that she was very sure of herself.
"Sure of what she wanted in life and okay to sacrifice her moments right now, to get what she knew she deserved later. And that is me. I'm not an instant gratification kind of a person. I am a long game. I'm not a sprinter, I'm a marathon.
America first fell in love with Eva when she graced our screens on cycle 3 of America’s Next Top Model in 2004, which she emerged as the winner. Since then, she's ventured into different avenues, from acting on various TV series like House of Payne to starring on Real Housewives of Atlanta.
Je-Caryous Johnson Entertainment
Eva praises her castmates and the play’s producer, Je’Caryous for her positive experience. “You know what? Je’Caryous fuels my audacity car daily, ‘cause I consider myself an extremely audacious woman, and I believe in what I know, even if no one else knows it, because God gave it to me. So I know what I know. That is who Je’Caryous is.”
But the mom of three isn’t the only one in the family who enjoys acting. Eva reveals her daughter Marley has also caught the acting bug.
“It is the most adorable thing you can ever see. She’s got a part in her school play. She's in her chorus, and she loves it,” she says. “I don't know if she loves it, because it's like, mommy does it, so maybe I should do it, but there is something about her.”
Overall, Eva hopes that her contribution to the role and the play as a whole serves as motivation for others to reach for the stars.
“I want them to walk out with hope. I want them to re-vision their dreams. Whatever they were. Whatever they are. To re-see them and then have that thing inside of them say, ‘You know what? I'm going to do that. Whatever dream you put on the back burner, go pick it up.
"Whatever dream you've accomplished, make a new dream, but continue to reach for the stars. Continue to reach for what is beyond what people say we can do, especially as [a] Black collective but especially as Black women. When it comes to us and who we are and what we accept and what we're worth, it's not about having seen it before. It's about knowing that I deserve it.”
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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What Is a Praise Kink?
The concept of praise kinks isn't new, but thanks to TikTok, a lot of people are now realizing they might identify as praise kinksters. Currently, the hashtag #praisek1nk is trending with 568.9 million views, with tons of creators posting about their love for compliments and words of affirmation during sex. I, too, love a good compliment during sex. I once had a lover sing my praises about how good I was at a certain bedroom activity. His affirmations gave me WAP, but does that categorize me as having a praise kink?
How To Know if You Have a Praise Kink
Just because you love receiving praise doesn’t mean you have a praise kink. Someone with a praise kink experiences an intense level of sexual excitement from being praised or verbally affirmed by their partner during sex. You might have a praise kink if hearing your partner tell you how pretty you are makes you cum or if the thing that makes sex go from good to great is hearing your partner's thoughts about how good you are at giving head. And if, during solo play, the thing that gets you all hot and bothered is recalling the times your partner called you a good girl, it’s probably a praise kink.
Generally, a kink is a sexual activity that is needed for someone to enjoy sex. When it comes specifically to praise kinks, if you need reassurance from your partner that you're sexy, or good in bed in order to orgasm, you have a praise kink.
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Examples of Praise Kink Phrases To Try With Your Partner
If you’re new to the term and looking to explore, you probably have questions about what phrases to use. It may take a lot of communication and some trial and error to figure out what phrases work best for you and your partner. Ultimately, the best phrases to use vary from person to person and are based on what sex acts you and your partner enjoy, or what parts of their body they like complimented.
To get you started, here are some generic praise kink examples to try out with your partner:
Praise Kink Examples:
- You're such a good girl/boy.
- You're so good at [insert skill].
- You look so hot when you [insert activity].
- Your [insert body part] is irresistible.
- You taste so good. I can't get enough of you.
- You just have the perfect [body part].
- Just like that… you’re doing so good.
- Who taught you how to be so good at [something?]
While many examples of praise kink involve specific verbal affirmations, praise can also come in the form of brief words or phrases like “yes,” “keep going,” or simply a moan. No matter what type you prefer, praise kink is all about finding what feels good and exciting, and turns you and your partner on the most.
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Originally published on November 4, 2022