Hair Salon Review (Late December post)

For an updated review (October 2016) click here in order to be properly informed of the current status/service of the salon. Thank you.
To Read my August, 2014) review on this salon click here.

The post below is the 1st post/review i did on the Lumo Naturals Salon from my visit there in December 2013 and  January 2014. They have since improved immensely and were transitioning as at the time this post was written as contained in their rejoinder. You can visit their blog as well.

A popular Nigerian natural hair blog i frequent and the Dealdey site linked me to Lumos Naturals blog & salon. After going through the blogs i was super eager to try them out! I found a discounted deal on Dealdey and jumped at it. I bought 2 of the deal which covers 4 people in total. I was about to be thoroughly disappointed, i was totally unimpressed with the salon after an early morning trip all the way to Gwarinpa. There weren't enough chairs for customers and i had to sit on stacked broken plastic chairs, there was only one hair dryer which had no front cover to prevent the air from escaping and they had to improvise using a towel. There was only one steamer available so d queue was long for use of both appliances. There was no signboard outside so I had to walk into where the cardboard post with pencil was placed n ask if i was at the right place, as did other customers that came in after me.

There were just 2 face sized towels available for customers to make use of. The customer service was quite poor and only one of the stylists seemed to know how to handle natural hair properly (Precious) and I waited for her to work on my hair. There was no source of entertainment for the many waiting customers (neither TV or Radio). They do not sell weaves or attachments. Honestly I wouldn't willingly visit this salon again except to buy Natural Nigerian hair products.

2 customers complained about their time that was being wasted, 1 of d kids who got twists noticed her hair was loosing after being creeped and when it was brought to the attention of the stylist she sed dey dnt usually creep twists but she did 'cos dat was wat the customer wanted. The customer replied dat the stylist shld v informed n advised dem accordingly instead of just goin ahead wen she knew the hair would loosen, she left, visibly upset, with her kid n sed she'd cm in January to redeem her  own coupon. Luckily I had a novel n music on my phone to entertain me during all of this, at 12:24pm 1 customer left n I noticed one watching d TV series 'revenge' on her fone while anoda 'picked' her attachment herself to avoid any delays wen it was her turn. Only 1 adult had started twists, we were nw 5 adults left standing while the heavily pregnant mother of 3 of the kids came in with d last one complaining 'bout how slow d stylist was (very true) and after ranting for 'bout 10mins left saying she'l b back soon and would scatter d shop if her kids were not done by den (serious hormones!).

They did not keep to the normal first come-first served scheduled appointments 'cos no tags or number were given to customers to indicate who arrived first and they were quite slow. Although the shop is small I think the shop can be better managed to efficiently cater to more than one client at a time. It was rather easy for me to locate d plaza which is a plus since i'm not familiar with the Gwarinpa environs. I got to the salon by 8:10am 'cos when i called to book an appointment, i was told to come earlier than 9:00am which was the indicated opening time on the deal i bought. I had to wait till around 9:00am when one of the 2 stylists present came to put the coconut cream treatment in my hair n I had to wait for the person in d steamer to be done then I steamed my hair. Around dis time d owner left leaving only the 2 stylists there to attend to 4 kids and 5 adults making 8 individuals in total. I finished steaming ended round 9:45am around wen d 3rd stylist came around. I had to sit around till 11:30am to get my hair washed n get in the dryer. At 11:48am only 1 adult (she fixed) and 1 kid had finished their braids while anoda kid was rounding up her twist. The 3rd kid n 1 adult took the places of the people that had finished and started their braids n twists. 8 adults were now waiting including myself as my hair was now dry.3 people were ahead of me 'cos dey came earlier than i did (7am).

2 pairs of people had to sharing 2 chairs while the remaining  managed the stack of 2 broken plastic chairs while anoda sat on the chair at the washing area.I noticed no one was keeping an eye on the products on display and anyone could have easily nicked one.

The customer dat left earlier cm bk with drinks n snacks n asked for her position on the queue. this was when the stylists bothered to try to recognize the order in which we came we cm. She left n sed she'l be bk wen she feels her turn would be closer. Anoda customer left round 1pm (the lucky ones). At 2pm,another adult n kid started their twists as one finished n complained dt she shld v bin informed dt her hair cannot be packed in d style she wanted instead of being told it can be done and dey end up doin crap. 2:20 pm I'm still waitin, d customer dt asked her turn is bk n visibly frustrated n complainin dt she's still gonna v to wait a while b4 her turn. 2:30pm dey conceded washed her hair,put d treatment n put her in d steamer. 3:00pm pregnant mum came back, luckily her daughter's hair was done so we never got to find out if she intended to carry out her threat. I dozed off after that. 5:00pm the lil girl n 1adult hav finished deir twists n d last kid has taking her place. The lady previously under d steamer has had her hair washed and is now under the dryer. The 2 other stylists take a break to eat n resume work bk not long after while d last stylist took her own break. 2 shower caps were being alternated and reused in their unwashed state for all the customers that had to steam (quite a no. of people).5:43pm they started washing the hair of one of the ladies waiting and then put her in d steamer while they washed her friend's hair. 5:58pm they started the twists on the lady dt got out of d dryer after she complained her attachment wasn't mixed well.All this while I just sat waitin with the head wrap being used as a towel on my shoulders, observing all the drama.

I finally started my hair @6:26pm after the stylist finished twists n used her hand to pack d dirt/hair on d floor to sort of clean out d salon (brrrr). Water n rosewater was used to detangle my hair. 6:52pm d last kid finished her hair n dey washed d hair of d girl outta d steamer since 6:00pm as well as dat of her sis who was don steaming by dat time, deir oda friend cm bk around den washed her hair n gt in d steamer while d 1st of d oda 2 got in d dryer.few mins later she cm out to make her twists while her sis gt in d dryer.The stylists begged her to not do the long braids she wanted to 'cos dey were tired and dey felt her hair was too short bt dey finally agreed to do wat she wanted. 7:13pm NEPA (PHCN) strikes but luckily dey brot it back around 7:20pm n tk it again by 7:33.Finished my hair around 9:00pm and i wasn't a pleased customer.

2nd trip(January, 2014),gt dere by 12pm n left 10pm. dey v a sign, dts d only change.

I'm furious at this salon because it has a lot of potential, i don't know any other 'Natural Hair' salons and there is a high natural hair community in the FCT from the last NITC meeting i attended.

What can change?

The salon arrangement

The scheduling process for customers

The seating provision for customers

The no. of staff

The no. of appliances,shoulder towels, shower caps, etc. for customers to use

The customer service

The provision of entertainment for waiting customers (can be looped Natural Hair Youtube videos-hairstyles, advice, products, etc.)

The storage of hair products for sale (against theft)
I believe these changes will take the salon a long way!

Toodles!XooX