Richmond, Virginia

My boyfriend and I had a fun weekend in Richmond. I wish we would have had more time to visit other sites and places there. First thing we did when we got there was eat - of course. We decided to eat at Short Pump Town Center for lunch. We usually like to eat at non-chain restaurants but, since we didn't have a Maggiano's close to home and we've never eaten there, we just decided to eat there. We ended up splitting the lobster ravioli and side of fettucine alfredo. We didn't want to both get meals since we had reservations for Ruth's Chris later that night. The waiters and waitresses kept on passing by with what looked like a quarter of a huge chocolate cake and big cups of ice cream. Took all my strength not to order it. I liked the bread and fettucine alfredo but, I've had better lobster ravioli. I would still go back to Maggiano's to try a different entree and the chocolate cake and ice cream.

On the way to Short Pump, we passed a Whole Foods. I knew we were going to definitely have to make a stop there before we left to go back home. My curly cut appointment at Imago Salon was at 3PM and according to our GPS the salon was 18 minutes away from our location. After we finished at Maggiano's, I figured I could spend 20 minutes at Whole Foods and still get to my appointment on time. I was surprised at how many people shopped at Whole Foods and how big the store actually was. The parking lot was pretty packed too.
I walk into Whole Foods and look for the organic/CG beauty product section. My eyes almost fell out..I was so excited. I'm used to having a small section on a shelf of CG products when I go to a store. At Whole Foods it was a couple aisles of organic makeup and various hair and skincare products. I was also very happy to see that they carried Kinky Curly Curling Custard. Before we had gone to Richmond I made a pact with myself. I wouldn't buy new products until after the products I already had were at least half way empty. After seeing all the products at Whole Foods, I moved the pact to after I left Richmond. I ended up getting Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose conditioner and Kinky Curly Curling Custard - both recommendations from the friendly people on naturallycurly.com when I asked about CG products that smelled good. First thing I did when I got to the car was tear open the top to the Kinky Curly Curling Custard and it smelled oh so good like marshmallows and vanilla.

We then hurried to my hair appointment. We had about 30 minutes to get there. I ended up being a little bit late because Imago Salon is located in this cute little town called Carytown with backed up traffic due to narrow streets and an abundance of stoplights. You won't find any chain stores there. It definitely did not have a big town feel like I was expecting. I wish we could have explored more there. When I first heard of Imago Salon, I pictured it to be located at an uppity (is that a word?) section of Richmond. After my experience at Imago Salon, Carytown was definitely the right place to open that salon. It fits nicely with Imago Salon's motto - "Where the fun people go."


Right when I walked in I was greeted by two small Yorkies. I knew this was going to be a different experience from my normal haircuts. My stylist was a tall girl named Stephanie with a short, straight pixie cut. She was really nice and patient with me. I hadn't found a hairstyle I liked so I just asked her to suggest what would be best. She ended up cutting off 2 inches from the bottom layer of my hair because "it was getting stringy" and then just started cutting like 1/2 inch pieces randomly around my head (all while my hair was dry). That bottom layer was bothering me so I'm glad she was able to fix that.

Stephanie then rinsed my hair with water (no shampoo) and conditoned with DevaCurl One Condition conditioner while using her fingers to comb through my hair. She then made me sit so that my hair was upside down and she scrunched in DevaCurl Arc Angell gel. She told me all I really needed was gel for my styling product. I didn't need a leave-in conditioner. She scrunched my hair with an old cotton t-shirt until my hair wasn't dripping wet. Went back to her stylist chair and showed me how to clip up the top of my hair so it wouldn't be so flat. After she was done clipping my hair, I stayed under a heat lamp for about 30 minutes. She parted my hair so I had a deep part. Usually I wear my part down the middle and just move it all around.

My hair was still a little wet even after sitting under the heat lamp so she diffused it for like 5 minutes with a DevaFuser. I felt like she was high-fiving my head everytime she diffused a new section.

After being able to experiment with my hair for a couple days now, I honestly can't tell if a curly cut is any different for my hair type as a straight cut. The curly cut included cutting my hair dry, not shampooing, only conditioning, pinning my hair, drying my hair with a heat lamp and hand shaped diffuser, reading the Curly Girl handbook by Lorraine Massey while my hair dried, and overhearing a customer say "So, do you cut straight hair too?" A straight cut for me includes getting my hair cut after it is shampooed and conditioned with sulfates and silicones then blow dried straight with a blowdryer and round brush. Sometimes they run a flat iron through my hair. The two processes are different but, seemed like the end result for me was the same. Maybe my hair didn't drastically change because I don't have a tight curl pattern and my hair is more wavy than anything else.

I was still happy I got a chance to experience my first "curly" haircut (thanks again Laura Lee) with a nice stylist in a homey salon with two cute puppies running around. If I wasn't always on naturallycurly.com, I would have forgot a lot of what Stephanie taught me. She reinforced a lot of what's already said on naturallycurly.com such as not using harsh sulfates or insoluble silicones, using a microfiber towel or old cotton t-shirt to scrunch out the water or plop with, etc.

I'll post up pictures tonight of my hair since I didn't get a chance to take a picture right after my haircut. I'll also continue the rest of my Richmond adventure then. This post is already too long. I'm sure you guys are holding your eyelids up with your fingers by now. Until later...

Images courtesy of:
http://cavecibum.blogspot.com/search?q=maggianos
http://www.capitalregionusa.co.uk/virginia/hires/vshoppingrichmond.jpg
http://a1604.g.akamaitech.net/7/1604/33/ad28673e612680/images.citysearch.com/advertorial_profile/eb/9e/V-RICVA-55107387_ID209528_guide_inclusion.jpg
http://store.devachansalon.com/Detail.bok?no=25