Quidad hair salons and stying techniques

I have often struggled with finding the right hairstylist to work with my hair.  My hair texture is thick, wavy, course, and I have lots of it.  Actually, I have enough hair for a whole tribe of people!  It's ridiculous, and most stylists stare at my hair in horror.  They either want to whack it all off, or thin it out to the point of stringy madness.  I have had the worst haircuts imaginable, and have often been been terrified to get my hair cut for fear of my mane being butchered.

After a lot of research, I decided to try out a salon dedicated to problem, curly hair.  I have heard about Quidad for quite some time now, and have always been curious about their "carving and slicing" technique of hair cutting, so I booked my appointment with Morgan at their Santa Monica Salon and crossed my fingers.  

Let me first say, that the experience was above and beyond what I expected.  Not only did Morgan walk me through the haircut, and explain to me her technique, but she carefully molded the cut to my hair type, texture, and needs. The Quidad haircut is explained as follows:

• Essentially, Carving & Slicing removes the bulk associated with the dreaded "pyramid" look, while preserving and enhancing your natural curl pattern.
• This combination produces well-defined ringlets that fit gently into each other like puzzle pieces creating healthier, more manageable curls.

After the cut, she explained the technique for enhancing the natural curl pattern in your hair.  Here are some of Quidad's advice for their "rake and shake" hair styling method:

• Begin with wet hair and gently squeeze out the excess water using a towel to blot out additional moisture.  *note-Morgan said that my beloved towel turban is a no no!  I still have a hard time not throwing my hair up in a towel after my shower, but I am trying.*
• Using a comb, comb through a leave-in conditioner or conditioning spray to seal in moisture
• Divide hair into six sections
• Rub a nickel size dollop of styling gel between your palms and rub your hands together to emulsify the gel.  Use one dollop of gel for each section of hair
• Seperate the fingers of one hand like a "rake" and rake the hair you have sectioned off from the scalp to ends.  
• When you reach the end of the hair, gently "shake" hair back and forth to create curl in the hair.
• Let go of the section and allow hair to fall.
• Diffuse hair or let it dry naturally.

*You can view the how to video right here.

After my haircut, my hair was lighter and my natural waves were beach babe worthy.  And the best part….Morgan told me that the haircut was meant to grow out, and that cuts are only needed every 4 months.  Love that!  Although the rake and shake technique takes abit of time to get used to, I love the results every time I do it. I also love that the website has videos and instructional guides to help me out when I get flustered.  Now, my pyramid hair is no more, and I can rock my waves with pride.