When a hair stylist attempted to slander her client on social media she was met with a collective “oh no baby what is you doing” from the natural hair community. The “internets” did what they do and rallied the troops in defense of her unsatisfied customer attacking everything from the woman’s character to her closure. Comments ranged from the slightly dissapointed to the full on infuriated. Women couldn’t believe that a stylist would turn on her client in such a public fashion.

A staple in every community, a visit to the hair salon is sacrosanct.  As a result the stylist/client relationship is a trusted one, built on a mutual investment of time and trust, but when it goes south the situation can be difficult to salvage. And once the drama is made public the same can be said for the stylist’s reputation.  We’ve prepared a list of hard and fast rules to ensure you lose a client in sixty seconds that any stylist can benefit from NOT following.

Be A Chatty Patty

Clients see their stylists as part service professionals and part therapists. While they may indulge in petty gossip about their friends, family, and even fellow patrons don’t join in. Keep it cute and they’ll always trust you enough to keep coming back. This cone of silence extends to dissatisfied customers as well. No matter what was done or said make it a policy to keep news of client drama limited to relevant staff and for God’s sake DO NOT share it on the internet.

Throw Some Shade

Hair salons are generally pretty informal environments. Because of this it may feel like your client is your friend and sting when they hurt your feelings by criticizing your work or offending you in some other way. Still that’s no excuse to get snippy or sling insults. Call up your man, mom, sister, or a girlfriend if you need to vent and remember that a clean reputation is the best revenge.  

Cuss Up a Storm

Save the potty mouth for off hours. No matter how well my edges are flourishing I’m not recommending you to my boyfriend’s mom if you're going to be handing out four letter words like they’re penny candy. She doesn’t want to hear that and frankly no one else does either. Having trouble following this one? Challenge yourself with a swear jar. You can give the proceeds to charity in the salon’s name.

Apply Peer Pressure

We know you think Trina would look great as red head. Trina knows you think she would look great as a redhead. All the shampoo girls and the Portuguese barbecue delivery guys know you think Trina would look great as a redhead. But Trina asked you for highlights, so give her highlights. Suggest, don’t oversell or soon Trina might be gone.

Be Tardy for the Party

Time is valuable for everyone not just those in the service industry. We all know accidents happen but if you know you’re not a morning person don’t book a 7:15 appointment and show up an hour later with coffee. Your client won’t be amused.

Embrace False Advertisement

The temptation to fake it until you make it has never been stronger than in 2017. Fear of missing out has everyone claiming to do everything. Here's a valuable secret --lying about something won't improve your skills. If you’re unable to accommodate the latest trend let your client know that you care too much to set her up for failure. Use the clean reputation you’ve maintained by not being messy to refer her to another stylist you’ve connected with and use your free time to brush up on some new techniques! Hair isn't a situation where it's cool to fake it until you make it. 

Photo Credits: Healthy Black Woman, Pop Sugar, Uptown Magazine, Hello Beautiful, Bravo 

You asked for it and we delivered! Kinky bulk hair is now available for purchase at Latch N Hooked! A certain vocal segment of our customers have been longing for us to loosen up the reins (and the curls) on our protective styling offerings to allow them the freedom to experiment. With bulk hair you can create the wigs, twists, and updos that you’ve been imagining altering them as you please. Want to know how you can use the freedom of bulk hair to create a style that suits you? Get inspired by these three looks below!

Brushed Out Ponytail

In her recent shoot for Mane Addicts “Black’ish” actress Yara Shahidi shines. The volume of the textured ponytail created for her by stylist to the stars Cesar Ramirez pairs beautifully with the simple look she’s sporting styled by Ade Samuel. Recreate it by slicking down your hair, wrapping the end of the ponytail with hair and adding textured hair to the ends. Don’t forget to add some shine by using some oil from Mielle Organics, which Shahidi identifies as one of her favorites!

Flat Twists

Flats twists are a great way to achieve maximum style with minimum maintenance. Just take a comb, some ecostyler gel, some Bobby pins and get to work. Adorn them with beads and charms for special occasions, or buy your second pack in a different shade so you can slip  some color into your style. Looking for a more modern twist on this trend? Pull them up into faux hawk like Tessa Thompson's character did in "Dear White People."

Classic Pompadour

As we reminded you on Valentine’s Day, special occasions no longer require stick straight hair. Use bulk kinky hair to embrace your hair texture with elegance like Teyonah Parris did while slaying on the red carpet in Marchesa and a pompadour at the 19th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards. Or kick it old school and pull the hair up into a firm bun like Auntie Pauletta did at this year’s Academy Awards ceremony.

We love seeing how creative you get with our products! Make sure you share the styles you use our kinky bulk hair to create with us on social media using the hashtag #latchednhooked.

Photo Credits: Yahoo, People, Blackfilm 

We’re two thirds into the first quarter of 2017 and that fitness plan on your vision board has gone from a generic goal to a regular routine. The only problem? How you’re going to hold that plank pose AND protect your hair! Many women sacrifice cultivating healthy habits for keeping their curls on fleek, but years of prepping protective styles have taught us that you won't have to choose between the two if you follow these steps. 

Invest in a Quality Shield

If you’ve ever had your silk scarf slide off while you were living the #squatlife then you know protective accessories like Slap Caps are a great investment. The sweat induced frizz that comes with intense cardio sessions is no match for these satin lined caps. Thanks to their ability to stretch they can accommodate even the largest curls. Plus they come in a variety of cute colors to match all that those luxe athleisure looks you’ve been rewarding yourself with. Monica of Mo Knows Hair is rocking hers below. 

Keep It Fresh

Having the right products on hand can make freshening up post-workout fros a breeze. Sweating it out in hot yoga? This Mimosa Hair Honey Clarifying Scalp Treatment from Carol’s Daughter can easily slip between even the most binding protective style to soothe and cleanse the scalp. Headed straight to the grocery store from Soulcycle? Lucid Bliss’ hair refresher eliminates any and all odors from both human and synthetic hair so you can leave behind the scent of the weird girl who’s always leaning too close to your station. Snooze button got you in danger of missing your 6am yoga class? Cut down on your prep time with a great low cost dry shampoos like Garnier Fructis’ Volume Extend Instant Bodifier which is only $6!  

Choose Wisely

Protective styling is about what works for YOU. Nobody knows your schedule and needs better than you do and the best fitness and beauty routines are the ones that you’re going to stick to. Experiment with crotchet braids, twists, faux-locks, and other styles until you find the one that suits you and your routine the best. Like protective style goddess badgirlriri says you gotta live your life. 

4 Times Rihanna was Protective Style Goals

When she’s not bringing home random puppies and helping her niece make executive decisions Rihanna is a massive pop star who rocks whatever she wants. She incorporates protective options without sacrificing style by including curly hair and bantu knots. Want to know how you can get the look? We’ve rounded up four times she was protective style goals below. 

When She Turned the Red Carpet into a Bodega Run 

While media outlets clueless about black culture tried to dub it a “bejeweled faux bob” brown girls immediately recognized Rihanna’s look at the 2013 American Music Awards for what it was- a doobie.  We know this protective wrap style is nothing new and Essence’s Julee Wilson set the record straight for the Huffington Post when she broke this bold beauty choice down and forever ingrained the “doobie” into the lexicon of mainstream culture. 

When She Was a Goth Barbie in Givenchy 

The Barbadian pop princess arrived at the 2014 iHeartRadio Music Awards in a black lace number from the ‘it” designer of the moment and jet black bantu knots. She finished the look by draping herself in long cross bearing necklaces. 

When She Was Unbothered Courtside 

We all know Miss Fenty is unapologetic about her vices and she showed no signs of shame as she sipped a beer courtside at an NBA game. Her ombre curly weave was the perfect complement for her carefree attitude. Get the look by snagging our 20" Large Curl from McKenzie Collection in colors Brown Suga and Sunburst and seperate the curls using a gel oil hair; we love the one from Bumble and Bumble.

When She Was a Lady in Red 

Many have tried on the faux lock trend for size but no one has been able to pull it off quite like Rihanna (other than Dr. Kari who came up with the infamous goddess faux loc method). A master of the effortless slay she counterbalanced a simple red silk slip dress with oversized faux locs as she stepped out in the New York streets. She kept the accessories to a minimum because-- a great hair style speaks for itself. 

We can’t wait to see how Rihanna brings the heat to the 59th Annual Grammy Awards where “Anti” is nominated in eight separate categories!

Since starting Latched and Hooked beauty, we've been on a crusade to spread the word about our intentions on creating a brand that's geared to designing chemically free, synthetic hair extensions for black women (and note we do not make any apologies for creating hair extensionas for a particular group of women). 

Our CEO Tiffini Gatlin, reached out to lifestyle blogger and mom of 2, Mimi of Unlikely Martha after noticing her occassional mentions of wanting to create a different hairstyle for herself, but was undecided and defiantely wasn't considering protective styling. 

Tiffini set out to not only change her mind about protective styling using the crochet method, but wanted to educate Mimi on how this low manipulation hair style would free up so much of her time in the mornings as well as reimagine her entire sleep routine. 

Six weeks later, Mimi is not only still rocking her Zoe Bohemian crochet twists, but she's sharing her personal experience with our product and several ways she's been rocking her twists. 

To read Unlikey Martha's full review check our her review here.