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

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 drove past the newest Dominican salon in PG county Maryland located at 11000 Baltimore Ave. in Beltsville the night of January 10th, 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 #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 is about 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.

 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.Enjoy $25 wash and sets every Tuesday & Wednesday! This does not include deep conditioning or apply to natural hair. And every Thursday pay only $75 for a relaxer and cellophane which is normally priced at $95.

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.

                                                                          Print Coupon

Eli Castillo of RoundBrushHair.com spoke with this month’s featured stylist Harlet Fernandez of Harlet’s Hair Style Unisex Beauty Salon in Detroit, MI about hair trends in Detroit, using heat on your hair and her favorite Dominican hair products.

 Fast Facts:

Name: Harlet Fernandez

Home Town: Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Years in hair care: 12 years

Years as salon owner: 5 years

Salon: Harlet’s Hair Style Unisex Beauty Salon

Salon Location: 5610 Springwells St, Detroit MI 48210

Salon Number: (313) 297-4275

Important salon information: In addition to the popular Dominican hair styling, you can also have your nails, make-up and waxing done. Harlet also does hair extensions (by appointment only).

Congratulations on being our October’s Featured Dominican stylist! One of the reasons we selected to feature you is because your salon is one (1) of very few Dominican salons in the mid-west. Would you say Dominican salons are popular in Detroit?  

Thank you for selecting me, I receive a lot of customers from your website. Yes, I would say we’re pretty popular. But like you mentioned, there aren’t a lot of Dominican salons here, so it makes it hard for women to find us.

How would you describe women with caring for their hair in Detroit?

I think women in Detroit take their hair seriously, especially African Americans. They are always looking for a good salon and good products for their hair. If they see something is working, whether it be a particular stylist or product they’re going to stick with it.

Do you see a lot of natural hair in Detroit or do you work more with relaxed hair?

Actually I have more natural hair clients than relaxed. I have very few relaxed customers.

That’s interesting! So maybe you can help me, at RoundBrushHair.com we get a lot of natural hair customers who have either been to a Dominican salon or want to go to a Dominican salon but aren’t sure how they can keep up the straight style. What do you tell your natural clients?

Well, I tell them not to put a lot of heat in their hair. What some are used to doing is going home after the salon and using the flat iron the very next day – that’s too much heat for the hair. I advise them to make a dobbie after they leave the salon (or before bed) and not to use the iron.

I also recommend using the Brazilian Keratin treatment. I studied the technique and how to apply the treatment in New York. It’s not a relaxer (not permanent) it’s a treatment that removes curls. It should be applied every 3 or 4 months.

What about me for instance, I have naturally curly hair. I don’t get relaxers anymore, but I get my hair straight at the Dominican salons in Santo Domingo. If I apply the Brazilian Keratin treatment won’t I lose my curls?

No, you will still have your curls. The only difference is that your curls will be more manageable.

What about products for the regular care of your hair? Which are your favorites for weekly or daily use?

The Silicon Mix Conditioner and Lacio Lacio Leave-In. I use both of these in my salon, and I also have the Lacio Lacio for sell.

Exclusively from RoundBrushHair - Harlet is offering free cuts with a relaxer or a free trim with a color or highlight service.

Print Coupon Here

Harlet’s Hair Style Unisex Beauty Salon

5610 Springwells St, Detroit MI 48210

(313) 297-4275

Special thank you to RoundBrushHair.com Member Joslyn for providing the images.

September’s featured Dominican salon:

On August 29, 2008 doors opened to the first Dominican salon and Dominican hair product retailer in Landover, Maryland - Sintia’s Dominican Salon. The grand opening spared no expense as customer service, style and comfort were the main focus.

Upon arrival customers were welcomed as celebrities with curbside pink carpet and matching ‘grand opening’ pink and brown balloons. And if the outside didn’t impress you, the lavish layout inside certainly could not go unnoticed. Pink cushioned benches accented with brown plush pillows lined the waiting area and a towering 7 foot tall wooden finished armoire stocked with a wide selection RoundBrushHair Dominican Products gave customers the opportunity of relaxing or browsing.

Pink being the salon’s signature color couldn’t go unnoticed even if you tried – from the enormous pink butterfly logo which captures your attention as you walk through the doors to the pink blow dryers the stylists use to perfect that sought after Dominican blowout – pink was everywhere.

The salon is the brain child of Claudina Mesa who named the salon after her late sister Sintia who dreamed of having a Dominican hair salon some day. Sintia’s picture graces the wall of the salon with a striking resemblance to her older sister Claudina as if looking down on the salon participating in every aspect of operations.

Claudina opened the salon with American business partners Keisha Gilchrist and India Rogers to ensure the salon would meet the needs of African American women who frequent Dominican Salons the most. Customers are given service tickets to fill out before seeing any stylist which is translated into Spanish for the stylist to read. “The customer cards help both the stylist and client. The language barrier is the biggest problem with Dominican salons and it’s just one of the many ways we’ve set ourselves apart from other Dominican salons in the area” states Claudina as she offers champagne to a customer under the hair dyer.

To a person unaware of the salon opening less than 24 hours ago, the salon looked as though it had been serving customers for years. Every hair dyer was occupied (thanks to the grand opening special of free Silicon Mix deep conditioning), the smoke from the stylist’s blowers forced the front doors to be propped open and towels couldn’t be washed fast enough. “The grand opening weekend was initially just for family and friends, but at some point that got tossed out the window” laughs co-owner India Rogers who hustles to find more dryers to accommodate waiting clients.

But those waiting didn’t seem bothered, “it’s a new salon, so you can’t expect everything to go perfectly; but I can tell they’re going to need a lot more stylists in here” says Jacqueline Maynard who lives 5 minutes away from the new salon. Other customers sipped on champagne with strawberries and helped themselves to the “sweet shop” table full of cupcakes, brownies, lollipops and other goodies until a shampoo bowl became open. 

And if they weren’t sipping on champagne or munching on sweets, they were browsing hair products for sale. When asked about the partnership with RoundBrushHair to sell Dominican hair products co-owner Keisha Gilchrist said “these are the products most Dominican salons use, but until now you could only buy them online. We love the fact that women can now purchase these products directly from our salon and not have to worry about the wait time that comes with shipping. Also, women should be able to smell, look and hold a potential purchase and finally they have a place to do it!” The partnership was ideal for RoundBrushHair as well, founder Jennifer Drew recalls how “more and more we were getting calls from people living in Maryland who wanted to pick up products from our warehouse. And unfortunately the warehouse isn’t set up for customers, so I’m happy we found a home for the products at Sintia’s Dominican salon. We’re working on similar arrangements for our customers in other states.”

Minutes off the beltway in Landover, Maryland, Sintia’s Dominican Salon offers healthy hair, Dominican products and style all under one pink roof.

Take advantage of this exclusive $5 coupon good until October 1^st 2008 with your visit to Sintia’s Dominican Salon!

Click Here For Printable Coupons

Landover Crossing Shopping Center

8581 Landover Rd

Landover, MD 20721

Salon Phone: 301-685-5787

Gloves? Check

Face mask? Check

Fan? Check

These are the items Elizabeth Adorno makes sure she has handy before applying the popular yet controversial Brazilian Keratin straightening treatment in her Dominican salon at 1811 W. 4^th Street, Wilmington, Delaware.

The Brazilian Keratin treatment has been praised for its ability to straighten curly hair for up to 4 months while being criticized in the same breath for the dangerous active ingredient formaldehyde. Eli Castillo of RoundBrushHair.com talked with Elizabeth Adorno about this very service that is offered in her Dominican Hair salon.

RoundBrushHair.com: Congratulations on being our July’s Featured Stylist! Tell us a little bit about how you go started in hair care?

Elizabeth Adorno: Thank you! I studied at Wilfred Academy Of Hair And Beauty Culture in Philadelphia. I have been doing hair for 24 years. I have experience in cuts, colors, updos and now Brazilian Keratin.

RoundBrushHair.com: Yes, the Brazilian Keratin. I’m really interested to know more. I have heard very little about this treatment, both good and bad. Tell us a little more about what it is and how it compares to a regular relaxer.

Elizabeth Adorno: Sure, well I took the training at the International Hair Show in NY earlier this year. You can’t compare a relaxer to the Brazilian Keratin because it’s is a natural deep treatment that is made from the cacao plant. Relaxers are chemical straighteners. If you’re relaxed and get the Brazilian Keratin, you will still need the relaxer first.

RoundBrushHair.com: Relaxers have more chemicals, but the Brazilian Keratin has formaldehyde right? Isn’t that dangerous?

Elizabeth Adorno: Yes, but it only has 2% formaldehyde and it’s used to keep the product fresh. When I apply the Brazilian keratin I use a mask on both my face and the client’s face. I also use a fan to keep air circulating to prevent inhalation of the formaldehyde. The problem is if you inhale the smell.

RoundBrushHair.com:Can you describe the process of the application?

Elizabeth Adorno:

Wash the hair with a special shampoo.
Dry the hair Apply the treatment (it’s like putting a permanent color in the hair)
Then use the flat iron (the iron will bring the shine to the hair) and the hair receives the treatment.

RoundBrushHair.com: How often does the treatment need to be re-applied?

Elizabeth Adorno: Every 3 or 4 months, but it really depends on how you take care of your hair.

RoundBrushHair.com: There are a lot of do’s and don’ts that go along with the treatment right? Can you tell us some of them?

Elizabeth Adorno: Yes, for the first 4 days, the person should not apply anything to their hair not even head bands or gomitas (pony tail holders). After the treatment I supply all my clients with instructions and information that they should know about the keratin. It’s important to know that after the keratin treatment people should only use shampoo with keratin and no ammonium chloride.

The Brazilian Keratin should only be applied by a Brazilian Keratin certified beautician. If you’re interested in this service, look over the step-by-step video we found and then give Elizabeth Adorno a call!

1811 W. 4th Street
Wilmington, DE 19805
(302) 656-7601