RoundBrushHair! > Dominican Hair Care Blog

We’ve been getting some emails from ladies asking us to feature some Dominican stylists in more “remote” areas where finding a good Dominican salon is more difficult. So this month we’re featuring one of our newest affiliated Dominican salons – Sandra of Sandra’s Dominican Salon in Roanoke, VA!

RBH: Sandra, we’re so happy to have you as our Featured Dominican Stylist this month! I’m sure our members in South-Western Virginia and Eastern Tennessee are happy to know you’re in the area.

Sandra: Thanks for featuring me! I have known about RoundBrushHair.com for over a year now.

RBH: I have to be honest; I had no idea where Roanoke, VA was located before looking it up on mapquest.com. That’s a shame because I’m from Washington, DC and I’ve never heard of Roanoke. From the map, it looks like you’re close to Richmond right?

Sandra: Actually, I’m about 5 hours from Richmond – I’m closer to Tennessee than Richmond, Virginia. The state of Virginia is about 7 hours wide [driving], so it’s a big stretch.

RBH: Wow, you’re right, that’s quite a stretch. How long have you been in the states? How did you end up in an area like Roanoke?

Sandra: I was actually born in the states – New York. Both of my parents are Dominican and I worked in my aunt’s salon for 15 years in New York before moving to Roanoke. I ended up in Roanoke because my husband’s truck driving job moved us here. It took some time getting use to, but I really like it. It’s a quite, close knit community and a great place to raise children.

RBH: With it being such a close knit community you must be a jewel out there!

Sandra: I guess you could say that since I’m the only one out here. A lot of women go to JC Penny’s to get their hair done where they can pay up to $65 to get their hair done and I only charge $32 for a wash and set and that includes a deep conditioner. I keep the prices low so women can get their hair done every week or two weeks.

RBH: So I’m guessing you know all your clients by name and are regulars right?

Sandra: Yes, and I get a lot of clients from the colleges/universities in the area – Virginia Tech, James Madison and Washington Lee.

RBH: Do you deal with a lot of different textures of hair?

Sandra: Yes, both natural and relaxed. I promote natural hair – I just put that hair on a roller! I’m dark skin with thin, curly hair – like cotton. My mom’s hair is silky and thin but I got most of my hair traits from my dad whose hair is more cottony. I’m really into the health of my customer’s hair. I tell my customers all the time ‘lengthy damaged hair is no hair’ so I make sure the health of their hair comes first.

RBH: What are some of the things you do or teach to promote healthy hair for your clients?

Sandra: A couple of things:

1. I alternate conditioners every two weeks with my clients. I write down which products I use and make sure to alternate them. If you use the same conditioner all the time, it looses its effect.
2. For dry hair, I will apply oil to their hair before shampooing.
3. I use tea tree shampoo with mint to activate hair follicles once a month.
4. I only cut hair on a new moon – that’s when your hair starts its next growth phase.

RBH: A lot of what you mentioned, we tell our members all the time. Especially the pre-shampoo oils and alternating conditioners tip. But cutting hair on a new moon? What’s that about?

Sandra: It’s something I learned from my grandmother and have always done. I tell my customers I prefer to cut or trim their hair on a new moon. Now my customers will call me and say things like “Sandra, it’s the start of a new moon, I need my hair trimmed!”

RBH: That’s a new one for me. Lol I’ll take your word on it though. But alternating conditioners is a wonderful tip for women! What are some of your favorite conditioners?

Sandra: It depends on the need of the hair. For instance, with dry relaxed hair I like to use Silicon Mix and Baba de Caracol. For Naturals I like the Wheat Germ and La Plancha conditioners. If you’re looking to lock in shine, I suggest the Whale Sperm products.

RBH: You mentioned you have kids, are these products OK to use on their hair as well or do you prefer something else for children?

Sandra: No they don’t need anything different, those products work very well for children too.

RBH: What about women with color or damaged hair? What kind of conditioner do you suggest?

Sandra: I would suggest the Emergencia – but that’s a specialty conditioner that I only like to use once a month. 

RBH: Thanks for the tips! I’m sure our members will be taking notes and following some of your suggestions. And for the women who are in driving distance from you, what are your hours of operation?

Sandra: I prefer if people call me first because I’m very active in my children’s life when I’m not at the salon, but normally my hours are Wed – Saturday: 1:30pm – 8pm and by appointment only on Sunday.

Sandra’s Dominican Salon

5711 Airport Rd.

Roanoke, VA

(540) 400-7468

As my 3-week trip to Cairo, Egypt approaches I’ve been mentally going over which hair products and tools I should pack. While most women in my scenario would be concerned about having the right pair of shoes and enough outfits - I can’t sleep at night wondering if it makes sense to pack my soft bonnet dryer, rollers and blow-dryer! Do I take more than one conditioner…and how about the matching shampoo and rinse????

I’m literally wrecking my brain trying to figure this out. 3 weeks is a long time in the hair world - especially during the summer.  For me, we’re talking:

3 shampoos (shampooing once a week)

6 condition washes (condition washing twice a week)

21 doobies (wrapping my hair every night)

and 84 pin curl rolls (I put two big pin curls in my hair twice during the day to keep body)

I can’t imagine going on this trip and completely neglecting my hair regimen. So I think answering these set of questions will help me (and you…if you plan on going on extended trips) to pack the right hair products and tools.

Question #1: What is the weather like where you’re going?

Answer #1: Egypt is going to be HOT…I’m talking 95 degrees Fahrenheit! This means I should focus on products that will help with dryness. Here are my top picks for dryness: Silicon Mix,  12 en 1, Leche de Cabra and of course a good pre-shampoo oil for the scalp like the Aceite Bomba. I think I’ll take one for dryness and a one for emergency situations like: emergencia or baba de caracol hair mask.

Question #2: Do you plan on swimming in chlorine water?

Answer #2: ABSOLUTELY. If your trip includes swimming you definitely will want to keep a good leave-in, rinse conditioner and clarifying shampoo with you.  Wetting your hair with clean water and a little bit of leave-in or rinse conditioner before swimming will help to minimize the drying effect the chlorine will have on your hair. Your hair is like a sponge, it soaks up what it can hold until it can absorb no more (so you want your hair to absorb clean water and conditioner before entering chlorine water). You also want to make sure you’re clarifying at least once a week if you plan to swim daily. Make sure not to clarify more than once a week because clarifying shampoos are drying as well. My recommendation for clarifying shampoo is the Apretol Cinnamon and Rosemary.

Rinse conditioners are great for using before you swim! You really can’t go wrong with choosing a rinse, so I won’t recommend one over the other. As far as leave-ins, for swimming purposes I recommend using creamier leave-ins like the nacidit, lady fior olive oil and the emergencia cream leave-ins.

Question #3 (which honestly should be my question #1): Will I have access to a Dominican salon? lol

Answer #3: Ummm, I’m guessing Egypt will NOT have Dominican hair salons. lol But if you’re traveling and need to know if a Dominican salon is in the area, try our Dominican Salon Locator.

Question #4: Will I have room to store these items without them being stolen (don’t mess with my Dominican hair products)?

Answer #4: I’m staying with friends and while I’m sure I’ll have no problem with 5-finger discounts, I might not have room for my bonnet dryer. Will it be ghetto to bring my rollers and dry my hair out in the sun? I mean, it IS going to be HOTT!

Question #5: Will I need special AC adapter/converters?

Answer #5: Yes, I definitely need to pack my AC converter BUT I’m not sure if I want to bring my Dominican-powered 3200 watt blow dryer with me! lol I don’t want to be the cause of a power outage while I’m there!

With a head full of rollos (I’m saying, why go to a Dominican salon and not get my hair done? lol), I had the chance to sit down and talk with the ‘king of hair’ Glynn Jackson, creator of the Golden Scissor Awards about Dominican hair salons, Dominican hair products and his Latin Golden Scissors Awards taking place this summer in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic!

Yay! RoundBrushHair.com now sells Round Brushes! I guess it’s only right since we are all about Dominican hair care right and the Dominican technique is all about the Round Brush.  Well, we now offer over 20 different shapes, styles and sizes to choose from! This can seem somewhat intimidating to those who are new to using them (we know because we’ve gotten the phone calls). So,  I’ve compiled a few of the most frequently asked questions we’ve received:

What is the difference between boar bristle and boar bristle brush with nylon quills?

These bristles are made from natural boar’s hair, which helps to smooth the hair without causing unnecessary damage or splitting the ends. These brushes should be used on hair that is at least 80% dry to avoid tangling and breakage as hair is at its most vulnerable state when wet. With every rotation the bristles strengthen and polish by spreading the hair’s own natural oils. This leaves a very healthy shine.  These brushes are also used for stretching the hair which is great for thick, curly or wavy types. They are able to create a firm grip to achieve the tension needed for smoothing, straightening, or curling the ends leaving a sleek finish.

            Boar bristle brushes with nylon quills, also referred to as porcupine brushes, have slightly longer nylon quills in between the boar bristles which are used to help detangle the hair simultaneously while the boar bristles are smoothing.

 Note: (Blonde Boar Bristles are softer and used for fine to medium textured hair and black boar bristles are used for medium to coarse hair. Certain Brushes may have a combination of the two.)

 What size should I use?

As a general rule, your hair should be able to wrap around the barrel of the brush at least 1 ½ times for the best results. Just as with rollers or curling irons the smaller the diameter of the brush, the tighter your curl will be and vice versa.

 How do I clean them?

Brushes can be easily cleaned with warm water and a mild shampoo. You can use either a comb or another bristle brush to remove buildup and loose hairs. This should be done on a regular basis because the dirt and debris from previous uses can be redeposited onto clean hair. Also, brushes with wooden or cork handles should never be immersed in water only rinsed and air dried.

Why are some brushes ceramic or metal?

These are both types of thermal brushes. The purpose of using a thermal brush is to quicken the drying process and to style hair. The barrels of these brushes are vented and retain heat. They act very much like a curling iron when used with a hand held dryer. You may find that some of the bristles on these brushes are tipped with tiny plastic balls. These are for separating the air which aids in more even drying and less frizziness. Just as a ceramic curling iron or flat iron these; brushes can overheat and burn your hair or skin. Always use the lowest heat setting as possible to achieve the results you desire.

When should I use the ones with the holes in them?          

These are called vent brushes. They are heat resistant and have small openings along the barrel that allow air to flow through while drying. These openings help to dry hair faster and usually have bristles that are placed farther apart than those found on other types of round brushes. These are excellent for creating volume as well as curling.

Why use an ionic brush?

            Ionic styling tools are known for conditioning and rehydrating by using negative ions to help absorb water molecules into the core of the hair strands.

I hope this small tutorial has answered some of the questions that you may have had about which brush suits you best. Let me know if I missed a burning question you have about the brushes. Also, we’d love for you to share with us any experiences, comments, or tips that might be helpful to those who are new to the art of the round brush hair.

Check out our round brushes

OK, am I the only one excited about the NCAA tournament or what? I don’t even follow college basketball, not when I was a student at the University of Maryland (GO TERPS!) and definitely not now.

But I’m excited for 1 reason only: I get to play in a basketball pool!

Every year around this time men enter multiple NCAA pools and women are kinda left out because I don’t think we care that much. We would much rather do our hair, browse new hair products or go to the hair salon right? Well, not any more! This is our 2nd Annual NCAA tournament and we’ve got some great prizes you can win while watching the tournament games:

Free Dominican hair products and Free wash & sets from participating Dominican salons!!  Basketball & hair - what a wonderful combination!

So who are you banking on winning? Where did you go to school? How are you choosing the winning team (color of uniforms)? :–)

Good luck!! Submit your brackets now through March 19th

Fast Facts:

Salon Name: Image Beauty Salon & Dominican Image Hair Salon

Salon Location: 1824 Columbia Rd, NW Washington, DC 20009; 5801-A Eastern Ave., Hyattsville, MD 20782

Salon Phone: (202) 234-4194; (301) 559-1088

RBH: Hello Mariana! Congratulations on being our Featured Dominican Stylist for the month of March!

Mariana: Thank you for featuring me!

RBH: Tell us about how you first got started doing hair.

Mariana: Well, I started doing hair back at home (Dominican Republic); I graduated from cosmetology school in 1984 then moved to the United States in 1985.

RBH: Did you immediately open up your own salon when you moved to the United States?

Mariana: Oh no. I worked at a salon called Mireya’s Beauty Salon for 12 years (1985-1992). Then I had a partnership with another woman named Francis to co-own a salon on 18th Street in Washington, DC for six years (1998-2003). It was after that partnership that I opened my first salon - Image Beauty Salon.

RBH: How do you juggle having two salons? Do you work at both?

Mariana: Yes, I work at both. I have days when I’m at Image Beauty and then other days when I’m at Dominican Image.  I work with friends that I’ve known since I moved to this country.

RBH: This isn’t a fair question, but do you like being at one salon over the other?

Mariana: No, I love them both. We are all professionals with many years of experience, and love doing hair.

RBH: Do you specialize in any hair type?

Mariana: We specialize in every hair type! Visit us today!

If you’re active on facebook you’ve probably been tagged at least once with the “25 Random Things” note. Reading through different lists, some were entertaining and comical while others were serious and somber. So I decided to start the “15 Random Things….About Hair”. Read my list below and share yours!! 

1. I never thought my hair would grow past my shoulders.

2. I thought the back of my hair would always be shorter than the rest of my hair.

3. I was in denial about how unattractive split ends looked until I started taking pictures of my hair.

4. Now that I have long hair I secretly want to cut it; but I don’t think I ever will because the journey to long hair took a lot time and patience.

5. Before using Dominican hair products I bought every product off the shelf of my local Beauty Supply Store.

6. I admit to trying hair growth pills (embarrassing!)

7. My grandmother laughed at me everyday for a month straight as I popped the horse-size Hair Formula 37 hair growth pills.

8. No they didn’t work. ($120 down the drain)

9. I go to a different Dominican salon every other week and tell people it’s “work related” when actually I’m just addicted to trying new salons.

10. I can never tell when white women wear weaves.

11. Am I the only one who was surprised to find out Kim from “Real Housewives of Atlanta” had a weave?

12. Speaking of “Real Housewives of Atlanta” I thought Ne-Ne’s weave was awful.

13. I once cried (well, not cried…but a tear rolled down my eye) sitting in a Dominican Salon because the heat from the blower was sooo hottt!

14. I would really like to learn how to do fishtail braids (my friend does them really well, and I think they’re so cute).

15. I’m so glad long hair on guys is going out of style.

If you’ve read my list, you’ve been tagged and now you have to create your own. :–) Oh, and if you’re wondering how my hair looks now…here’s a picture I took December of 2008:

If you drove past the newest Dominican Hair Salon in PG County Maryland located at 11000 Baltimore Ave. in Beltsville the night of January 10^th, you would have thought it was a serious party going on! Only instead of a top-shelf bar and VIP tables, people were dancing around hair dryers and styling chairs celebrating the grand opening of Arelis Dominican Style Salon # 2.

Women in the state of Maryland are really getting spoiled when it comes to the number of Dominican salons they have to choose from. Once upon a time, you could only find Dominican salons in downtown Silver Spring. Now they have locations in Landover, District Heights, Hyattsville, Edgewood and the newest of all….Beltsville.

Arelis Natera may be new to Beltsville, but she’s no stranger at all to Dominican hair styling or RoundBrushHair.com. Arelis was one of our very first featured Dominican stylists last year, as one of the pioneers to Dominican styling in the state of Maryland. Now she’s expanding her reach with Arelis Dominican Salon II - placing her signature ‘big hair’ look in a busy part of town with no Dominican salons. Arelis opened the second salon to accommodate her clients who drive at least 30 minutes to her salon in Silver Spring. “I have a lot of customers who live in Columbia and Laurel Maryland who have asked me to open a salon closer to them.” Beltsville seemed to be perfect location to cater to women in the Northern parts of Maryland.

The salon opened to the public officially on January 2, 2009, but celebrated her opening 8 days later. Arelis invited RoundBrushHair.com Team Members to attend the grand opening fiesta and agreed to offer her clients the Silicon Mix line of products available at RoundBrushHair.com, in addition to the line she uses exclusively at her salon called Time Line. “We use Time Line exclusively in my salon. Shampoo, conditioner, cellophane – everything. But I know a lot of women are used to Silicon Mix products, so I’m happy to offer them here.” Arelis is the distributor for Time Line products, and offers these items for sale separately or in gift bag sets.

 Although this is Salon # II, the name and styling ability isabout the only thing similar to Salon # I. Salon # II is more modern in look with bright yellow and orange walls, flat screen TVs, cozy couches in the waiting area, and free parking (yay! no more meters!!). Arelis even recruited new Dominican stylists to bring over to her new salon so salon # 1 wouldn’t suffer from being short-staffed. 

 Manger, Stylist - Leyky                Leyky & her newborn Tamia

               Arelis, Tamia & Leyky

So the next time you’re traveling up Rt. 1, make sure you check out Arelis Dominican Salon II, it’s in the shopping center directly across the street from Costco near Power Mill Rd. And for a limited time, take advantage of $25 Wash & Sets on Wednesdays in celebration of Mother’s Day the entire month of May! 

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Chaka On:

Product Name: Chocolacio Tratamiento Nutritivo (Choco-Straight Nutritious Treatment)
Price: $11.99
Personal Rating: 1.5 out of 5

How to use: Apply Chocolacio after shampooing your hair, leave in for 3 to 5 minutes, rinse with abundant water, style as usual.Note: Everyone’s hair is different. You may enjoy this product.

Okay let’s start with the good news. This product smells better than anything I’ve tried. It’s actually a wonderful concept. Mixing a sweet dessert-like scent with a hair care product seems like a win-win situation, and it would be if the product worked as good as it smelled. Chocolacio is a thick brown conditioner that looks exactly like chocolate pudding. The second I opened the jar I got excited about this new product. Most hair, bath, or body products that are food-scented smell similar to the real thing but this one is right on point. I really wish the smell remained after rinsing.

I applied the Chocolacio during my weekly routine after shampooing. I parted my hair in four sections and began applying the cream. Hmm….something was wrong. It felt like the conditioner was just sitting on top of my hair and not penetrating at all. So I decided to leave the conditioner on a little while longer and sit under the hood dryer. It smelled like someone was baking a chocolate cake. How lovely! Anyway, I sat for about 10 minutes hoping that some magic would take place, unfortunately my hair was just blah! Now I’m not usually one to fall short on words but blah was the best descriptive word to fit this scenario. I so wanted this product to work. My hair was dull and dry without the slightest bit of slip. I think I was in denial about the product leaving my hair in this sad state because I walked around for a couple of days after with a big ole’ swollen fro. I should have re-washed but I didn’t.

So being the trooper I am I still wouldn’t give up. I tried it on my daughter’s relaxed hair. The results were even worse. It was a sad day. I never knew it was possible for wet hair to feel dry. Lol.  And silly me, I did her hair right before her winter musical at school. Her hair was stiff and dull. She almost missed the opening number because I had to redo her hair at the last minute.

When I tried the conditioner on  my husband’s wavy Caucasian hair it was smooth but somewhat dry and dull. I was surprised because normally what doesn’t work well for the rest of my family works well for him.

Honesty is the best policy and fortunately I can give the majority of the products rave reviews. This one just missed the mark.

What I’m thinking of trying in the future is mixing a little coconut oil into the conditioner to see if it helps. It has worked for other conditioners I’ve used in the past. Hey what do I have to lose. If anything my hair will end up smelling like a Mounds Bar. LOL!

Tip: Please keep this product out of the reach of children. It looks and smells exactly like chocolate pudding but is in no way edible.

Fast Facts:

Salon Name: Yvelisse Hair Salon

Owners: Husband and Wife Andres and Maria (Yvelisse) Delgado

Salon Location: 1405 Archdale Dr., Charlotte, NC 28210

Salon Phone: (704) 552-0024

Salon Specials: Free $5 Deep Conditioner Monday - Thursday

Born in the city of Santiago in the Dominican Republic, Maria Delgado [at the time] only 13-years old knew she wanted to work in the beauty industry.  By the age of 15 she was doing hair.  

RBH:  So… you started doing hair at an early age, tell us a little more about your career in beauty?

Wow… it has been so long. First, I started in the Dominican Republic when I was about 15; and then I moved to the US. I spent 26 years living in New York doing hair. I worked with other people in different salons, but eventually opened my own.  The salon I own in New York is called “The Best Beauty Salon” in the Queens area. I’ve had that salon for 15 years now and it’s very popular.

RBH: Dominican salons are all over New York, 15 years is a long time! How long has your salon in Charlotte North Carolina been open?

Well we just opened it, on October 22^nd!!  Even though is not a very long time, we are picking up so fast!! I’m very thankful everything is on track and doing well.

RBH: That’s very good! And of course we’re happy for you! Your salon in New York is called Best Beauty, is there any significance to the name Yvelisse for this salon?

[Laughter] Ohhh nobody calls me Maria, only a few people …. I’m mostly known as Yvelisse which is my middle name, so that’s how we found the name for the salon: Yvelisse!!

RBH: Haha!!! That explains it! We were a little confused here at RBH! Oh, and I have to say, your salon is jaw dropping gorgeous. All of us at RBH were drooling at the layout and color scheme. Did you hire professional designers for your salon?

I’m really into decorating. When the time came to set-up the salon I wanted a fresh and modern look, so I started searching for the colors that were “hot” during 2008. I read orange was one of the colors so that’s how we decorated it. The color has been very useful, a lot of people are attracted to the salon because of the color and that’s good!!!

RBH:  Looking at the pictures of your salon, I can’t imagine you only do hair. What other services do you offer?

Yes, hair of course, but we also do manicures, pedicures, waxing, and offer barber services.

RBH: Wonderful! Now, personally, while I was looking over the pictures of the salon, I thought to myself ‘this salon must have spa prices.’ Judging by the pictures, I can’t imagine you would offer the typical affordable Dominican prices, or do you?

Haha!!  I get that all the time! Some people come inside and have to ask me about the prices before they get comfortable. When I tell them the price they are always surprised!! We have the best prices!! We are totally affordable, no doubt!!

RBH: Awesome!!  So what kind of products do you use in you salon?

Well we have tons of products, for example Dominican Products, Italian Products and much more, we like to carry all different kind of products in order to work with all types of hair.

RBH:  Do you have a favorite Dominican product?

I like all of them, but I like the silicon mix and oils.

RBH:  Would you recommend any products in particular for this time of the year (winter months)?

Well I think treatments with protein are good to use during the winter. Also, moisturizing conditioners and oils. It really boils down to the type of hair and what it needs specifically, but now that’s getting cold, hydration is the key for a healthy hair.

RBH: I would agree. So, when people come to your salon, do you have a specialty or prefer any one style or type of hair over another?

I do everything: styles, colors, highlights. And I work with any type of hair including African American. Anything that has to do with beauty is my passion; I live and die for it!

RBH: Well, you’ve certainly convinced me during this conversation that hair is your passion. What the best part of your job?

The thing that I love the most is when I’m done and the client sees the change!!! It’s gratifying to see their expressions and hear when they say “OMG”, “I Can’t Believe it” or “I haven’t seen my hair like this before” that’s my favorite part!! I feel so excited when I see my customers happy!

Well ladies and gents, there you have it: elegance + comfort + affordability + over 20 years of hair knowledge = Yvelisee’s Hair Salon. If you live in or near Charlotte, you should visit Yvelisse at her salon. Now until January 13, 2009, RoundBrushHair.com member can use the coupon below for a free trim with a regular price relaxer or color service. Yvelisse also offers a weekly special of a free $5 deep conditioner Monday – Thursday.

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