RoundBrushHair! > Dominican Hair Care Blog

Wait, wait, wait. Did someone say there’s a Dominican salon in Minnesota?

That’s right ladies and gents…there’s a Dominican salon in Minneapolis, MN and Diana Flesher of RoundBrushHair.com spoke with salon owner/stylist Isa Scavo for the scoop on her salon, tips on hair care, and being located 7 minutes away from the largest mall in the country – Mall of America!

RBH! Fast Facts

• Name: Isa Scavo
• From: Santo Domingo, DR
• Years in hair care: 22 years
• Salon: Latin Essence Salon
• Salon Location: 4806 Chicago Ave. S, Minneapolis, MN, 55418
• Salon Number: (612) 824-0011
• Important Salon Information: Appointments only

Hola Isa! Thank you for being our Featured Stylist at RoundBrushHair.com this month. Tell us a little about yourself and how you ended up in Minnesota.

Thank you for featuring me! Well, I was born in the capital of the Dominican Republic (Santo Domingo) and I have been a hair stylist for 22 years. I graduated when I was 16 years old and since then I started working with hair. I met my husband in the Dominican Republic and we lived there for 3 years before moving to MN. I’ve been here for 11 years! I got my license about 8 years ago and started working with a friend but then I decided to open my own salon.

Speaking of your own salon, tell us more about it.

Well… about my salon… I spent 9 months remodeling it and it’s a sufficient size for me. Right now I have two hair stations, two manicure tables and two pedicure chairs. [Oh!] And a nice and comfy waiting area! I work by myself, by appointment only. My customers are about 50 /50 between Americans and Hispanics; I’ve also had clients from Jamaica and just a couple of days ago I had a client from China! 

Now THAT’S variety!! When it comes to hair, do have a specialty or prefer one type of styling over another?

I do everything. I color, cut, style, etc! But my passion is proper hair care, it’s very important!!! I cut my own hair and I keep it in great condition, people love how healthy it is. Also, I love doing colors and people love it, they come very often to get highlights!!!

It’s always good to see hair stylists care about hair and not just the style. We get a lot of calls at RBH! concerning proper hair care. Dry scalp always seems to be a constant question for us, do you have any tips for dealing with a dry scalp?

Well, it depends on why the scalp is dry; it can be the water, the shampoo, or even the conditioners. It’s important to understand that we [salons] can’t repair the scalp with one visit or wash - it requires a continuous procedure! It’s also very good to use oils; for me, I like coconut and rosemary oils. After using the oils it’s important to use shampoo and condition your hair.

It’s so funny you mention the pre-shampoo oils, our blog hostess Chaka Lopez recently did a piece on the importance of using oils on your hair before shampoo. Do you use Dominican hair products at your salon? Which ones are your favorites?

I use both Dominican and Italian products. I love conditioners and I think the “hair loss treatment” is very good! The Apretadora, Gusano de Seda, Crema Negra , and 10 en 1, are excellent too! I tend to mix them for better results. I think Leave-in products are good but it’s important to understand that for a better result we need to give them the proper use; these should only be applied to the hair not to the scalp.

That’s some great advice and I’m sure our members can appreciate your words of wisdom. Now Isa, I can’t resist to ask you this (I’m a shopaholic) … I have heard a lot about the Mall of America, how close is your salon to this mall?

Oh Si! It is very close. It’s about 7 minutes from here!

Really? You are lucky! So is it truly the size of 78 Football fields? And tell me the truth, have you walked the entire mall?

It is huge! Before it was the biggest mall in the whole world but there is a new mall in Japan which is bigger so it’s the 2^nd largest mall in world now. It is very nice; it has tons of stores, restaurants, a movie theater, a beautiful kid’s zone that was re-inaugurated about two weeks ago, a covered parking lot, and much more! I think prices are not expensive, I would say they are reasonable. And to be honest I haven’t walked the entire mall, I only go to the stores I need and that’s it! It is enormous and I get tired of walking lol !!! =] !

Sooo, to the ladies in or near Minneoplis who thought getting to a Dominican salon would be impossible, today is your lucky day! Call Isa for your appointment in her cozy salon. For a map and directions, visit our Dominican Salon Locator.

And for any shopaholics up for the challenge of visiting the 78-football-field-Mall of America…make sure you book your appointment with Isa in advance for that well needed pedicure!

We’re going to change the pace of the blog this week. I want to hear about you. Tell me where you’re from or maybe your nationality? What type of hair do you have, natural or relaxed? What are some of your favorite Dominican hair care products? I’m already starting to feel like part of the cyber-family and I really look forward to your responses each week.

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There’s a myth that ethnic folks don’t tip. I for one, always do - whether it’s the delivery driver, waiter or the shampoo girl. Maybe it’s because I’ve been in their shoes more times than a few. Once when working as a salon receptionist I asked a very well to do customer if she’d like to add a tip to her Visa card and she look at me like I was crazy. She said, “I didn’t get a cut, just a wash and blow dry”. I informed her that you should tip no matter what the service. Mind you, this woman had super thick hair well pass the middle of her back. The poor stylist had to go on break after she was done. One time I tried a new stylist and she jacked my weave up to no return. I still gave her a lil’ something. I guess what I’m asking is…do you tip and how much?

The standard is about 15 or 20%. Do you think that’s fair? And is there ever a cause for no tip? For me the service has to be pretty bad not to give something. I think leaving a very small amount makes more of a statement to the quality of service than not tipping at all. I also find it unfair when people force you to add a tip to your bill in the amount they choose (gratuity). I guess it comes in handy when someone brings in a party of 10 to a restaurant and leaves $3.00 on the table. Other than that, I can’t dig it. So what are your rules for tipping in a salon? Do we have any stylist reading? What’s your take?