Exotic Textures Hair Salon & Extensions

If I could give no stars, I would! I back everything that the commenter, Jane E., said about Ayanna! I went to Ayanna for a natural updo and she overcharged me for a style that she had no business doing. It looked messy and very amateur.
Additionally, this lady almost burned me! She apologized but I would never trust her around anything that gets hot.
Ayanna, pleas look into getting some additional training. I’m not saying that you can’t do hair but you need to polish your skills. You could also spruce up your salon and practice better hygiene. Please take this as constructive feedback.

I hate the experience I had at Ayanna Gholson Exotic Textures! I purchased a Groupon for crochet braiding. My hair looks terrible and she charged me 66.96 over the cost of the Groupon. I feel that she swindled me. She should have put in the Groupon that there will an additional charge for shampooing, which is usually included in a hair salon experience. She should have also included in the Groupon the type of hair to purchase and that there will be an additional charge for handling the hair. A Very disappointing experience.

I wish I would have read these reviews before going, but I didn’t. I’ll make this short.
Ayanna Gholson, of Exotic Textures Hair Studios, is NOT a good hair stylist.
#1 — she’s late. very late with no warning. 1 hour late. I had to call her.
#2 — her salon is FILTHY. And when I say filthy, I’m saying it’s disgusting, nasty, place. I’m embarrassed that I even let her finish my hair. I should have left the moment I saw that place. It looked like a NY back alley in the 80s, unknown liquids on the floor, stuff thrown everywhere, just the most nasty and disgusting salon I’ve ever seen in my life.
#3– she lacks hygiene. She has a cute daughter, but her daughter would be rubbing her hands in her butt, down her diapers. Ayanna wouldn’t say anything, later she may touch her daughters hand then touch you.
She pulled a comb out of filthy blue water, and without rinsing it off, used it on me. Just nasty. I’m ashamed to
#4 — she burned me. She burned me… she burned me. She let the pressing iron press against my forehead.
#5 — she has no skills and bad supplies. She used baby scissors to cut my hair. Did I say baby scissors? I meant those plastic kid safety scissors.
#6 — this salon should be shut down. There’s no way she’s certified. Many health codes are being violated and I would encourage anyone with a similar experience to report this place.
I booked through
I told them about her and my refund and they did nothing. So do NOT trust
to point you in the right direction.

Oh my, it’s so many things I could say, but I will try and keep it brief.
I so wanted to like this place, because she seems nice, but hair must not be her true calling. The whole time she rushed to get out of there. The service on her website listed that the style would take 2.5 hours, but instead it took 4 hours even with her rushing and not showing any care to my head.
About my hair: I am embarrassed to walk around with this sew in I have. I had asked for a full sew in and I got a partial. With the minimum amount of hair that was left out, it could have been easy to just split the last track. But she couldn’t split the tracks, because when she installed the tracked, they were never cut to the size of my head. She just kept wrapping the hair around from side to side (left to right). This created bumps on both sides. I am not even sure where she pulled the extra hair from to leave any hair out because all my hair was braided down and most (99%) of the sew-​in was complete.
Also, she asked how I wanted the hair styled and I asked her to cut it into a hanging bob because I do not like my hair straight out the pack. Believe it or not (you will once I post my pics), this lady cut my hair straight around. Just a blunt cut! No layers, no blending, just cut straight around!
All in all, please save your time and money, please! I had my hair done on a Sunday, so I have to wear this hair for a week. But I will be taking down as soon as possible. I found her on Groupon and even with the special it was a waste of mone and more importantly time.
Oh, that reminds me. I had bought a Groupon for this service, and once I got there she asked me to cancel the Groupon, and pay her and that she would honor the Groupon price, so I did.
Long story short, nice lady but hair skills are lacking. And if she would pay attention to detail, she may can do better. The whole time she rushed trying to get back home.

Very nice and friendly lady. She was on time for the appointment. My cut was more of a BIG CHOP wh/​is OK for me, b/​c I wanted all of the damaged hair removed. Right now all I have is the beautiful natural pattern that god Blessed me with and I will never get anything besides shampoo, conditioner and moisturizer in my hair again.
This business is growing and the owner/​stylist is dedicated to the care of kinky/​curly hair. Pricing is on par w/​other salons that specialize in natural hair.
It is worth a try just be clear on what you want and ask to see the cut in stages to ensure you are getting what you want. I think if Mary B had spoken up then she would be a happier consumer in the long run.

Great fast professional service. Must say I’m pleased with my loc retwist and style. Service was very quick which is what I liked the most, in and out…

I gave her one start because she was nice and tried but the service was lackluster. I came to her salon for her to shape/​trim up my hair and she gave me a full blown hair cut. When I got to the salon my hair was 10 inches long on the tops and 6 to 5 inches along the side. I explained that I had just cut my locs of 10 years out an had this afro I didn’t know what to do with and because of my profession I needed my hair shaped into something manageable. In addition I told her I was in town for a conference and needed a style that was professional WELL that is not what I got and ended up looking worse leaving the shop then when I walked in.
When I got to the shop I showed her a photo of a hair cut but explained I didn’t want that length I just wanted the shape. Well 20 mins later she had cut 6 inches off my top and 3 inches along the sides. I was given a FULL OUT HAIR cut. As she was cutting it I told her she was cutting it too short she told me she was trimming it up like the picture. I explain I wanted the shape not the length. In the middle of the process I texted my best friend and let him know she has cut all my hair off and was trying to calm myself down hopeful that once she styled it I would like it. WELL THAT DID NOT HAPPEN. After seeing the style I actually started crying. I am almost 40yrs old and have NEVER cried in a hair salon until now. I had to go to the bathroom to get myself together. The coil style she gave me made me look like Buckweed due to the short cut. She tried to tell me it was just shock and going natural was a hard process. I was locked for 10 years and had twa for 3 years before that I know about being natural. I was given the Big Chop when that is not what I asked for! As I was under the dryer I was texting my best friend he told me not to pay for the service because I was so unhappy with it. Ultimately I paid because not paying her would not bring my hair back and because I truly think she thinks she did what I asked for. She even tried to take a picture of the style when I was clear I hated it. I mean I am sitting in your chair crying and you think this is cute? I recommend that if you seek her services you are very direct when it comes to your cut/​style. I think my niceness may have played a role in my terrible hair cut. #imstillcrying

After two days of having yarn locs installed by her they began to unravel and come undone and she burned the ends way to close to my real hair. I had to go to another salon to have my whole head redone after paying her $ 250 for them to be installed and spending 10+ hours getting them done while she had other clients in between me adding to the braid time. My appointment was at 10 am and she didn’t start braiding me until 2 pm and didn’t finish until 11:30pm. Better time management and respect for client time would be apppreciated. Also honesty in what you are capable of doing and what you have experience in. I would say client beware when it comes to getting your braids done here.