New Year, new hair. Or so I hoped…read more..
After a thoroughly lackluster but nauseatingly expensive ($225) 'curly cut' by She Who Will Not Be Named the end of last September, come January 2022 I was dismayed at how frowsy I looked but I was also feeling very distrustful of letting any more curl "experts" get near my head. My choices were to cut it myself (been there, done that), fly back to San Francisco to let Rafiki at Pastel Salon do the deed (not really practical for any number of reasons) or find someone closer to home (Center City). That is how I found myself and my curls at the Andre Richard Salon.
I was early for my appointment with Ava Darling but she greeted me warmly, took my coat, got me draped and seated and chatted briefly about what I was looking for. She was finishing up with another client and gave me a timeline when she would get started with me. Since I always travel with something to read and the salon's atmosphere was calm and relaxed, it was no sacrifice to sit and zone for awhile with the latest New Yorker magazine. There was music playing but it was so unobtrusive (which is always great), it simply added to the 'ah, now let's just slow down and take a breath' ambiance.
Ava is a lovely, courteous, softspoken Scorpio who works very hard at stellar customer satisfaction. She is an excellent listener and best of all (to me), very visual. When I told her what I was looking for in a cut, she immediately got out her phone to show me pictures of what she felt I wanted. She explained that it was important to her that both she and her 'guest' were on the same page and pictures were the best way to assure that. Absolutely! My confidence in the outcome of this cut instantly went to 100%. As she did the dry cut, she explained everything she was doing, answered my questions and asked good questions regarding my likes, dislikes, and lifestyle-as in-how much time and effort did I want to put into a style. It was reassuring to me that I was being treated with so much intentional, individual care and not just getting a cut/style that she wanted to do.
After the dry cut, where I exclaimed that I looked 1,000 times better already as well as 10 years younger, I was shampooed, given 2 separate treatments, one to brighten up my color, the other a deep conditioning. Both were part of the cost of the cut but they made me feel like I had booked a spa day as I relaxed under the dryer. Again, with every product she used, Ava explained what she was putting on my hair, why she was doing it and what the outcome would be. At no time did she push me to buy any product she was using or invest in a particular product line. Ava is not 'just' a DevaCurl stylist. She provides full service, so if you are looking for color, any kind of cut for any kind of hair or anything else that can be done to your tresses, she's the woman for you. She constantly checked in with me throughout the 2 hours I was there and I felt very much seen, heard and cared about.
When blowout/diffuser time came, Ava again took her time to make sure all the lines of the cut were in accord with each other and that I was satisfied with her work. I was astounded at what she had been able to get my hair to do in what seemed to be an effortless way. I asked about the DevaCut 3 month rule for the next appointment, and she said to see how my hair was growing out, what and where I wanted to go next with it (my first thought was curly mohawk) and asured me that it was fine to wait until Spring before I came in again.
In the 7 years that I have been back in Philly, this entire hair affair, from making the appointment and pre-paying online to having Ava help me into my coat as I was preparing to depart, was, without a doubt, the easiest, nicest and most satisfying haircut/salon experience I've enjoyed. I can say with a big grin that I will be most definitely back again!