Hi all, I hope all is well and everyone is in good health. Today, I’m sharing my experience with Elite Lounge hair salon. I’ve been waiting for this appointment forever! and I’m happy to finally share my thoughts with you.

Elite Lounge is a very popular hair salon specializing in Afro and European hair. They have a few branches but I went to the branch closest to me in Lewisham. This branch also came recommended by my friend Emma( hey girl hey). I booked a wash & blow dry with a treatment(ULTIMATE SMOOTHNESS) and a trim with Phyllis

On the day I arrived on time and I was seated straight away. My stylist introduced herself as Keely and asked me a few questions about my hair. After telling her my story lol ( you can read it here), she recommended I switch to the Hydration Explosion treatment instead. I was happy to go with it.

Next I went to the shampoo bowl and Emily washed my hair. Can we just talk about how much nicer it is for someone else to wash your hair! btw, does anyone else find it ticklish when someone else washes your hair? It cant just be me! Sigh. The scalp massage was nice. She started with a clarifying shampoo then followed with a hydration shampoo (part of the Hydration Explosion range),then the treatment balm was applied which smelt great by the way. My hair was lightly detangled after the balm was applied then sectioned before I went to the dryer. After 15-20 mins I think I was back for the final rinse then Keely took over.

She explained what she would be doing. My hair was sectioned in 4, then these products were applied, the leave in first then detangled before the light hairdress. She blow dried first with a comb attachment before going in with a paddle brush to fully stretch the hair. I noticed she didn’t use a heat protectant so I asked her about this and whether the products she used had heat protection benefits. She said most heat protectants have drying alcohols and because natural hair can be naturally dry she prefers not to use them but the products used have some heat protection. She also recommended one, the Keracare thermal wonder. I felt a bit uneasy about this because I am so used to using a heat protectant before any heat. I can say though that the blow dryer wasn’t too hot( like what I’m used to) and there was no smoke when she was blow drying my hair.

Next trimming, the state of my ends smh. I was ready to cut off a lot more because she informed & showed me some thinning in the hair and I had travelling split ends but she advised me to cut in stages and I will be fine. Look at the difference in my hair! Also I knew I had some grays around my hairline but what is that one random gray doing back there?!!!!! My hair has grown a lot since my TWA! despite my neglect

After the service, the Affirmcare Progrowth oil was applied and I asked for 2 simple corn rows. My hair and scalp felt great. My hair felt soft too.

Overall thoughts
This appointment pretty much confirmed all the thoughts I had about my hair and I am taking this as a positive despite the damage it has sustained. Last week I shared the 5 mistakes I made with my hair that contributed to this damage. What I found surprising though was the amount of damage I have sustained around my hairline. I know I have inherited thin/fragile temples but because my hair was always in a shrunken state it looked thicker. I knew I had some damage but not this much. I saw how truly spare they were becoming at the app. To be honest, it was difficult for me in that moment to see the damage but she advised me on how I can nurse them back to health. I’m taking this as a positive too because I had decided to not have any braids or wigs this year and seeing this just reenforced that decision.

In terms of the service and my stylist, Keely answered all my questions and I went with a lot lol. The main ones were, density, porosity, strand thickness and if I can still get a texture release in April with continued treatments & trims? I also appreciated the advise and product recommendations she gave me. She was warm and professional and I didn’t feel judged especially when I explained how I had neglected my hair- this is very important to me!
I was afraid my hair wouldn’t fully revert after the blow dry but I have since re wetted my hair and it shrunk up in the usual time and it was SO MUCH EASIER TO COMB WITHOUT THOSE SPLIT ENDS! My hair wasn’t blow dried silky straight so I didn’t think I would have heat damage, its just no heat protection is something I’m not used to.

Overall
I really liked my experience. I do wish my hair was detangled more at the wash bowl because I have 4c hair and it tends to tangle very easily especially when washing. My stylist was changed on the day I didnt get a call informing me of this but my friend who also had an app later that day did recieve a call.

They also had a promotion running in Jan & Feb where you get a free pre wash treatment when you book a post wash treatment. My friend and I both booked before the promotion was run. We both emailed to ask if we could add this promotion to our booking. Hers was accepted but mine wasn’t. I was told its because I didn’t add the promo code to my booking but I suspect the real reason was because my booking didn’t have a finish as this was part of the terms of the promotion. My friend booked a finish. I would have just appreciated if I was told this instead of telling me it wasn’t added because the promo code wasn’t added at the time of booking because my friend didn’t do that either.

The only question left is this- will I return to Elite Lounge Lewisham? My answer is yes. It’s close enough to me with parking( I never expected the parking costs though LOL) but my stylist was great and I had NO WAITING TIME.

Ive decided to get another treatment and trim at the end of March ahead of my texture release and I will be sharing where I go to. I have 4 salons I would like to visit before deciding which one I want to call home.

I also found out I have type 4b roots and 4c from mid shaft to ends! I know its very possible to have more than one hair type in the hair but I never knew I had 4b roots! Thinking about it though every time, I have played around in my hair, I have always felt my roots were more ‘defined’ than my ends but I just took that as healthier hair lol. I also had my hair porosity confirmed, I always suspected my hair was low porosity but I found out that it’s low to medium porosity but more on the lower side. I also suspected my hair was low density but I actually have medium to high density! Lol. Finally I also wanted to know my strand thickness and I was right about it been fine. So I have 4b/4c fine hair with medium to high density and low to medium porosity! I have tailored my hair products & hair regimes with this information. I gave away a few hair products to friends last year and I’ve given away more since finding out the above info because they just wouldn’t work for me.

The trim has made a huge difference and I’m looking forward to implementing my new hair regime and my next salon visit!

Catch you later! You can check out Elite Lounge and their available services. The website is easy to use and you are able to book and pay a deposit for the app!