Uhuru Stylz

This is the spot for all natural hair in St. Louis. In business for over ten years, which is a feat for salons, these ladies and gentlemen are in control. As a visitor in the Lou, I was thankful to find someone who could quickly (quickly!) get my locs back to normal. Three days later it still smells like the essential oil that Phyllis put in. Dig it!
I docked a star though because when I tried to call to make an appointment a few days before, no one answered or called me back after I left a message. The only way I got the appointment was because I searched the stylists out on Style Seat. Otherwise, how else would I have gotten in? Nevertheless, I’m back to flowing and whipping my hair back and forth, just in time for New Year’s Eve.

Great salon with specially with natural styles and color. Versatile stylists and good atmosphere.

I just called and asked politely about how much they charge for a mens hair cut and the woman who answered picked up and said, Yes. Not even a hello. Then after she told me they charge $ 25 for a hair cut I told her thank-​you and said said, «Mmm Hmmm» and hung up. Just because you are a african american business does not mean you have to act like you. Do not show ignorance. Show your professional side. Your company will never move up without customer service and after that rude and ghetto response I plan on taking my business else where and making sure social media knows how immature and reckless this business is.

I was extremely nervous about trying a hair salon here in St. Louis. I found Uhuru through Unilocal and Facebook. After reading the reviews from customers with natural hair I decided to try them out.
I scheduled my appointment with Idara. She was very cool and down to earth! She handled my natural hair with care and I could tell that she was very knowledgable about natural hair! That made me feel very comfortable. Her communication, as far as scheduling goes, was very good as well. I even changed my hairstyle the day before my appointment and it wasn’t a problem at all.
The overall view of the venue had a very comfortable vintage feel. It was clean and spacious. A tad bit pricey but overall a good salon. I would recommend this salon.

This is the ultimate salon. You have choose for stylists to choose from. The beauty of this place is the family atmosphere. They get to know you when you walk through the door each time you come. A very heartfelt & spiritual place. Oh, not forgetting awesome hairstyles. You’re great stylist ladies. Hats off to you.
Toneta is my stylist, she is the color guru. Much love to you.

Idara has been doing my 2 strand twists for about a year and a half. The stylists at UHURU are very nice, and more importantly, knowledgeable about natural black hair. There is usually fun chatter, and I always get a nice style.
They specialize in hair color. I have not used that service, but plan to in the future.
If you need a natural stylist, try Uhuru!

Before I get started on this review, a little background on my hair.
I’ve had ‘natural’ hair since January of 2009. What does that mean? It means that I don’t chemically straighten my hair with what’s called a ‘Relaxer’. What’s a relaxer? It’s a type of cream containing either sodium hydroxide or ammonium thioglycolate that works to chemically ‘relax’ the natural curl present in the hair of most African Americans.
So now you know why I have ridiculously curly/​kinky hair. It’s the way my hair ‘naturally’ looks when I don’t beat it into submission with harsh chemicals. Kapeesh?
Anyway, after two years of growing out my crazy curly hair, I decided I wanted a change. A big change. I miss my teeny fro like crazy. It’s easy, it’s low maintenance, and it keeps me cool during the ridiculous St. Louis summers.
Okay, and maybe I was having a bit of a Loretta Devine moment from «Waiting to Exhale». Whatever.
But I don’t trust just anyone to cut this mop. I haven’t stepped foot in a salon in two years, but I knew that when I got a haircut, I wanted it to be done by someone who understood and regularly worked with natural hair. And that eliminated about 99.5% of the hair salons in St. Louis.
Until I discovered Uhuru Stylz. I read all of the positive reviews and did my own research, and decided that this is where I wanted to go for my cut.
I called and made an appointment with one of the stylists. Told her my situation and made an appointment. Fine.
Today I went in for my scheduled appointment, and everything seemed fine. She was super friendly, and the salon itself was clean and spacious.
I sat down in the chair and explained how short I wanted my hair. She listened intently, and then spent the next 10 minutes or so trying to convince me not to cut my hair.
*Insert heavy dose of eye-​rolling here*
She rattled off a list of hair styles she could create that would allow me to keep the length of my hair. Um… what part of «I want short hair» did she not understand? Even if I DID end up regretting a short cut, IT’S JUST HAIR. It grows back.
After more back and forth than I was comfortable with (seriously, I should have just left then), she finally agreed to cut my hair. However, there were more red flags:
Red Flag #1: She wanted to wash my hair first. Say what? Rule number one of curly hair: it shrinks as it dries. Why would you cut soaking wet hair? Rookie. I shot that idea down.
Red Flag #2: She wanted to blowdry my hair straight before she cut it. Insert second eyeroll here. Again. You don’t straighten/​wet/​flatiron curly hair before you cut it.
Despite the red flags, she did a fine job with lots of coaching and guidance from me. The cut ended up being about an inch shorter than I wanted it, but it’s just hair — it grows back. And I still like it.
Honestly, I feel like a lot of this was my own fault — I assumed that a fellow natural haired sista would know and understand the ins and outs of African American natural hair and wouldn’t need so much help along the way. And I was wrong.
Truth be told, the white girl at Frontenac Salon and Spa did a better job with my curly cut back in 2009.
I learned my lesson. Don’t judge a book by it’s cover.
I won’t be back.

Not bad. I paid $ 35 + tip to have the front of my hair braided and it looks good. Apparently they have a sale every other Tuesday so I plan to check that out. My stylists name was Toneta, she did a pretty good job.

My review of a natural hair care salon…
Okay, so everyone that knows me knows how much I am into the health and styling of my hair. I cut my relaxed hair off (down to an inch) almost two years ago and never looked back. It’s been a journey, trying to find a salon and stylist that can cater to my needs. Well, Uhuru is IT for me. I’ve been all over Saint Louis and have worked with many stylists so I have my own rating system:
Overall Salon
Services Offered
10 Pts (They do it all — COMB TWIST, 2 STRAND TWIST, 2 STRAND TWIST EXTENSIONS, KINKY TWIST, COILS, BANTU KNOTS, MICROS, CORN ROWS, CORN ROW EXTENSIONS, DESIGNER CORNROWS, PINCH BRAIDS, PIXIES, LOC UP DOS, LOC BUNS, LOC CORN ROWS, CURLED LOCS, BRAIDED LOCS, LOC MAINTENANCE, LOC ORGANIZATION, LOC COLOR, LOC EXTENSIONS, LOC REPAIR, EURO-​LOCS, SEW-​INS, QUICK WEAVES, CUSTOM HAIR COLOR, ROD SET, STRAW SET, FLAT IRON, PRESS AND CURL, AFRO STYLING, BARBER CUTS, CUSTOM BARBER CUTS, SCISSOR CUTS
Location of Salon
8 Pts (Wish it were in a central location)
Hours of Operation
9 Pts (Didn’t see any posted but she stayed until my hair was done)
Walk-​in Policy
10 Pts (I walked in with a picture of a style and they did it that same day)
Payment Options
5 Pts (Cash was the only form of payment at the time)
Atmosphere
9 Pts (Laid back, not over crowded or gossipy)
Layout
8 Pts (Spacious and not crowded but there’s room for a little more flare)
Cleanliness
10 Pts (Looked organized to me and not cluttered with junk)
Music Selection Played
9 Pts (Rap at first but was changed to a more soothing selection)
Friendliness
10 Pts (I didn’t feel like an outsider, the owner wasn’t snooty and the rest of the staff spoke)
Salon Description Accuracy
10 Pts (This is a natural hair care salon that caters to ethnic hair types and they actually know how to do natural hair. I’ve been to a few salons that say the can do natural hair but only know how to straighten…(blow dry and flat iron) natural hair)
Stylist
Initial Contact
10 Pts (She was very welcoming)
Personal Grooming
10 Pts (Her hair/​clothing were well kept)
Hair Consultation
10 Pts (She took her time to go on the Internet to look for more pics of the style I wanted to make sure she understood it. She studied it for a few minutes which means she was serious about making sure she could recreate it). She did say it would only take a few hours but that turned out to be more than estimated… but I have extremely thick hair and the style was very intricate)
Knowledge
10 Pts (Very knowledgeable about the nature and science of hair)
Ability to LISTEN and not Freelance
10+ Pts (She did EXACTLY what I wanted, not her own vision)
Ability to Recreate from a Picture
10+ Pts (I wanted a Goapele style and she mastered it)
Conversation
10 Pts (Laid back, educational and personal but not too personal)
Professionalism
10 Pts (A young man came in that was cursing and she asked him to respect her client (me) and she eventually asked him to leave)
Products Used
10 Pts (All natural products used and explained)
Total Rating: 9.333
My favorite part is the fact that she was able to create a funky style for me. I got SO many compliments and questions about where I had gone to have my hair done. I really loved the fact that she didn’t rake through my hair like a mad woman!
Will I be back? YES, I just have to find the time and another funky hair do! Lets hope I have the same experience next time.
******Update — I added pics of the style. The original style (Goapele’s) has a much bigger swoop in the front. We realized at the end that she must have had hair added b/​c it would take quite a bit of length to double back and make that big loop and knot. I’ve seen pics of her hair in two-​strands and it doesn’t look any longer than mine, may be shorter as mine is 9 – 10 inches now. So if you want the big, bold statement swoop you may need a little extra in the front to be safe.******
Also, please forgive the spotted up mirror. I sprayed something and instead of a nice mist, it came splashing out messing up the mirror!