The explosion of social media has changed many of our lives drastically. Yes, it might mean an extra 5-10 minutes before devouring into brunch because all the iPhone-photogs at your table are doing all sorts of acrobatics to get the perfect aerial shot of their plate to post on Instagram, but it also means great things for your hair. The other big explosion in social media, the natural hair movement not only meant a movement towards accepting one’s hair the way it grows out of the scalp but it also meant a movement toward the hair salons that kept us captive for hours on end because the theme was you could do your hair at home on your own. Thing is though, if you were struggling to do your own hair when you had a relaxer, chances are you might have a different learning curve when it comes to styling your kinks and curls. And since it’s been so long since you might have stepped foot into a salon, you might not even know what the good ones are near you. But then that’s where the internet and social media come back to help you out.
I found my hairstylist Gabrielle Corney through social media (follow her on IG here). In fact it was during my appointment last week when I realized I’ve known her for five years and I credit her for changing my hair life and style for the good. So five years ago singer Olivia’s publicist reached out to me about a story on her client. We all know Olivia for her FABULOUS hair and hair color so I had to have the 411 on how her hairstylist keeps her hair so fly all the time. That stylist was Gabi! I kept in touch with her by following her on Twitter and would damn near die every time she posted her work. At the time I was transitioning but getting to the point where the two textures were waging war on each other so I wanted to try a weave and saw so many Gabi was doing for natural clients so I knew I had to get into her chair. I had weaves before Gabi did mine but only kept them in maybe the longest for two weeks because I hated them. Five years later I’m probably in like my 20th Gabi weave…lol.
Gabi can not only teach you about hair health but she cuts hair like a dream, does AMAZING color, and styles so well you’ll never want to go to sleep on your hair…lol. Before Gabi I’d always have to restyle my hair after a salon visit. Or just have them wrap it up so I could just do it myself when I got home. With Gabi I can just sit in the chair and not even tell her what I want yet when I’m done I have exactly what I want. She’s like magic—not to mention her personality is SO genuine. She’s my friend not just my hairstylist.
While I’d love for everyone to get their hair done by Gabi (my selfish side won’t allow it because um, I need my appointments), it’s just not possible because not everyone lives in NYC. But by virtue of what I do for a living (I run this blog and also write beauty and fashion stories for other publications on top of many other things), I come across great hairstylists all the time. And they’re all on social media sharing their work.
After my post on how I keep my natural hair from reverting, I got some feedback both in the comments and through emails, etc. that a lot of folks seemed to have forgotten about hairstylists. There’s so many great ones and so many of them specialize in all types of hair. I myself have my hairstylist back-ups (Fashion Hendricks at NYC Weave Studio and I have a few stylists I love at drybar). So to help you guys find a great stylist in your area, I put together some tips on how to find one using the internet.
1. Instagram
This is probably where most hairstylists “hang out” and it’s a great medium to find good ones because you can see pics and sometimes videos of their work. While I hate that there isn’t a great search function on IG like there is with Pinterest or a regular Google search, you can still use hashtags to find what you’re looking for. Look through ones that include your city plus some combination of hair or hairstylist. So for instance if I were looking for a stylist in NYC, I might search #nychair #nychairstylist #queenshair #queenshairstylist #brooklynhair #brooklynhairstylist #nycnaturalhairstylist and see what comes up. Many stylists also have “hair” in their IG handle so doing a people search for hair might bring up good results, too. And when you start to pull up stylists, look to see what hashtags they use and look through those, too.
The thing is though—not everyone uses hashtags so finding them might be even harder. Another good way is to find popular hairstylists and look to see who they follow. Most often hairstylists follow other hairstylists so you might find a ton that way, too.
2. Twitter
Just like Instagram you can search hashtags on Twitter to see what comes up, but you can search conversations much easier on Twitter. A search for “nyc hairstylist” will bring up some useful tweets that could give you leads towards finding some stylists.
3. Google Search
This should probably be first on the list because obviously so much will come up easily on Google search. You can find blog posts, reviews, stylists’ websites, etc. and then from there get back to stalking their social accounts. Look up salons in your area and see if they’re on social media and check out their work.
4. Online Hairstylist Databases
Thankfully sometimes companies do the work for us and create online databases for stylists in your area. Style Seat is one that comes to mind first. Naturally Curly has one for curly salons—I’ve never used it so I can’t vouch for it but it seems pretty extensive just by the amount of cities available.
5. Facebook
A lot of stylists also hang out on Facebook posting their gorgeous work on their pages. Stacey Ciceron, a stylist I met some years ago when she did my hair when I was on set doing some work for a brand uses Facebook to show images and videos of the work at her salon. Facebook is also great because on pages there’s a rating system as well as a review section.
Once you pinned down your choices, see if it’s possible to pop into the salon to check out the environment before you schedule your appointment. Find out their hours, which methods of payment they accept (I used to go to a salon that didn’t take credit cards on Fridays), and most importantly, how long an appointment will take and if they overbook. Then once you go to your appointment and are in love with your new stylist, make sure you pay it forward and post a review online.
Have tips on finding a hairstylist online you’d like to add? Leave them in the comments!
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Wow, your hair is gorgeous! Gabi must be a great stylist. I think just as important as how you find a hairdresser is finding a good fit, which it looks like you have. You should be able to openly communicate what you’re looking for, as well as what your concerns and expectations are. With something as important as your hair, you want to make sure you’re on the same page!
Awesome article, Danielle! Thanks for sharing this with us—it was very well-written! I’ve been searching for a hair stylist because I recently moved. I think it’s neat that you found yours—Gabrielle Corney—through Instagram! Maybe I’ll have luck doing that as well; I’m reading for some new coloring!
I had no idea that a good hair stylist could be found using the internet. It does make sense though, since today you can find so much work product done by a hair stylist on Instagram and Facebook. My wife has been looking for a new hair stylist and has had some difficulty, since she only has to get her hair done every now and then it is difficult for her to get a feel about their work, I’ll have to ask her if she has tried looking online!