Stylist Spotlight: Simeko Watkins-Hartley (Part Deux)

Welcome back!

And now, continuing my chat with Simeko, owner of Meko New York Natural Hair Care Spa & Boutique in Orange, NJ, we get into the spa ‘experience’ and her own… challenging interesting journey to natural. Missed Part I? Click here! ^_^

TBN: What’s it like to sit in Simeko’s styling chair, what kind of experience do clients receive?

SWH: Well, first and foremost, it’s information and inspiration. If I haven’t given you one of those two things then I didn’t do my job… seriously.  People come because they want their hair to be taken care of, more importantly, because they can go anywhere to get it styled. But they come to me because they know that I’m going to take care of their hair as I’ve taken care of my own and I’m going to give them that information that they need, which most stylists won’t, so that they can truly care for their hair at home. Because really, Toia, that’s where true hair-care starts. It’s not what I do in my chair, it’s what you do at home. So if I don’t educate you, if I don’t give you the proper tools or the products that you need, then what would I be doing as a stylist? For me, it’s important! I feel like every stylist should do it and unfortunately, they don’t. But I guess that’s great for me because that’s my niche, that’s what separates me from everybody else.

That’s what keeps my clients coming back. They know then whenever they come in my chair, I’m first assessing their scalp and assessing their hair. Then I’m asking them the questions- what were they doing in between the time before they came back and then if we need to tweak their regimen, if we need to take something away or add something, then I’m gonna give them that information that they need and give suggestions and guides. So I’m not here to tell them what they should do, I’m here to guide them on how to properly take care of their hair.

TBN: So true. Some stylists might feel like, “well, if I give them all the information they’re not gonna come back to me or they won’t need me…”

SWH: Right, and most of my clients do take care of their own hair at home! But sometimes they need a professional trim or sometimes they have a special occasion or they just feel like being pampered once in a while. So they know that they’re gonna go to someone who will truly take care of their hair. And that’s okay because even if they don’t my service because they are able to take care of their own hair, they may know other people who will need my service. They’re gonna send their friends or family members to the person they would go to themselves if they were to use a service. Truthfully, the biggest part of my business has been word of mouth because everyone that has come here has been pleased and then they tell EVERYONE they know and then they come.

I just stopped and spoke to someone on the street- you know, if I see something, I just can’t help it! I live hair now *laughs* everything I see and everything I do is hair! So, even when I see someone out on the street I usually ask them questions or give them advice. They’re like,  ”Wow! Do you have a salon” or “What do you do?” And I’m not doing it to sell my business, it’s just what I do! It’s definitely been fun, I’m really enjoying the experience.

TBN: Have you been natural all of your life? If not, when & why did you decide to do so?

SWH: Okay… now we don’t have a lot of time *laughs* No, I have not been natural all my life. I have probably been relaxed most of my life. My mom started relaxing my hair when I was five, and I think this is a lot of people’s story, from a very early age. My scalp became very sensitive to relaxers because not only did I get my hair relaxed at an early age but I got it relaxed often because my hair was very, very resistant. I think I got relaxers like every three weeks, which we know is a no-no. When I was ten- and this is when I think, it was like, I was traumatized by my experience- my aunt put a relaxer in my hair… I went to my grandmother’s house two weeks later, she put a different relaxer in my hair… *insert my confused face here*… hold up! A month later, I moved in with my maternal grandmother, she took me to a beauty school and they put a JHERI CURL in my hair { me: O_O } Wait, wait, wait… that’s not even the bad part *dun dun dunnnnnn* The Jheri Curl didn’t take so I had to come back the next day and they did the whole process all over again. My scalp was green… and it was bubbling. Literally, I could not shampoo my hair for a whole month! My aunt would have to crush penicillin and put it on my scalp. It was SO bad.  From then on, the smell of a chemical would make my scalp tingle. I kid you not!

After that, when I’d get a relaxer, they had to do it in sections and do it at the shampoo bowl. So they’d have to put it in one section so it would never really take because as soon as they put it on my scalp it would burn which meant I had all these sores on my scalp. So you know when I got my doobie, it kinda STUCK to my scalp and you ‘d have to peel it off.

The turning point for me was, I started working in a natural hair care salon so I was really relieved like, okay, I can be beautiful and not have to put a chemical in my hair. Then I learned of all these beautiful styles and the versatility that you have with natural hair, so that was great. But then I entered corporate America and I wasn’t told that I had to relax my hair but when you’re in corporate, you just feel like you have to conform because people are giving you the side-eye or they have these comments. So, I relaxed my hair again and it started falling out and breaking off. I’m into hair so I would go get my hair done every single week and I would buy expensive products so I didn’t know why my hair was falling out and it was just on the left side.

I found a young lady who said she specializes in healthy hair, which was great. I was gonna cut it all off, start all over but I wasn’t going to stop relaxing it. When I went to her salon, she relaxed my hair so I had the sores on my scalp but she would convince me not to cut it because the rest of my hair was probably in the middle of my back. She said, “Let’s put a weave in it and cover over the short part until it grows back”. As a professional stylist, I knew that when you get a fresh relaxer, you’re not supposed to really put anything into your hair for at least two to three weeks because your hair is very weak and susceptible to breakage. So for someone who said they specialize in healthy hair care, that raised my eyebrow a little but, she’s the professional at this moment so I’m gonna sit in her chair and I’m gonna zip it! So I let her talk me into getting a weave, which cost me more money, by the way! I thought she was going to sew it on. She glued the weave onto the open wounds on my scalp! I sat there in that chair and I was… you could imagine! She knew, at that point that I was very uncomfortable and I did what most people would do when they’re not satisfied- get up, walk out and never say anything, just know you’re not going back there again.

At that moment, Toia, I knew that I was gonna specialize in natural hair care. I was going to be the stylist who was going to tell the clients what they really needed to know. Because if this person said they specialize in healthy hair care and this is what they did to my hair and I knew better but sat there and let her do that, how much worse is it for those who don’t really know better. We’re putting our hair in their hands and letting them do this to us because we figure they’re the professional and they know better, they’re gonna take care of our hair. But really, that’s not always the case. I felt like I had to be that person who won’t do anything that was going to jeopardize the integrity of a client’s hair. The products, the techniques, everything that I do has to do with really caring for my client’s hair. That’s where it all started, with my whole hair experience! I probably wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for my experience.

…and what an experience it was! Woosh! Keep it here as I wrap up my chat with Simeko tomorrow with natural hair tips and misconceptions addressed. Hmmm… Interesting! Got a question for Simeko? Leave a comment below!

Til tomorrow…

Toodles!

~Toia