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Razz’s Hair Palace was one of the first professional hair salons to distribute our Fragrance of the Earth hair care product line. We went to visit the two owners, mother and daughter team, Razz and Zakia on their one year anniversary of their new salon location and took the opportunity to find out what differences Fragrance of the Earth products have made for them and their clients.
The salon is located on the ground floor of a modern building housing various store front businesses and is centered in a major shopping complex in Rockville, Maryland. As we entered their establishment, it immediately became evident that this is a unique place of business. Among their two fully outfitted work stations there are two very comfortable old English styled chairs near the center of the room for waiting customers to relax on. The walls are artistically covered with enough mirrors to get the job done and most of the remaining space is papered with 8x10 glosses of all the famous celebrities they’ve serviced over the years. Here’s what they had to say. |
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Razz's Hair Palace and
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| Loving Care (LC): How long have you both been styling hair? Zakia: I’ve been at it for about six years now and my mom, Razz, has been doing it for over 20 years. LC: Wow, Razz, so you’ve seen a lot of different styles come and go? Razz: Yes. I’ve seen a lot of different styles, a lot of different products, a lot of different people (laughs). LC: What type of styles do you do? Zakia: All of the latest contemporary natural hair styles. A lot of twists, cornrows even dreadlocks. Razz: I’m more international. I do just about any type of style. LC: So Zakia I guess I could classify you as a "natural hair stylist", but Razz, what do you consider yourself? Razz: Well, I’m actually a freelance cosmetologist. I do a lot of product research and study their chemical make up. I really do more than just press hair. A beautician can press hair and that’s fine. But what I do is look at issues surrounding hair from the inside out. I approach this from all aspects, even spiritually. As a cosmetologist, I’m an overall stylist. I cut. I style. I use various products, but I also help my clients with any special needs for their hair… from the inside out. LC: What do you like about our Rejuvenator Skin and Hair Oil? Zakia: I like the sheen it gives the hair. It really soaks into the hair without having to use other chemicals that dry out the hair making it hard, and it’s great for moisturizing the scalp. Plus everyone loves the smell of its essential oils. Razz: I love the Rejuvenator for all its various healing qualities. You use such great herbs in it and each herb has its special qualities that work wonders for my clients. For example the lavender is very balancing and it calms you down. Sometimes people come and they’re all hyped up and I let them smell the oil and they immediately love it and feel calmer. LC: So you’re sneaking in a little aroma therapy also? Razz: Exactly (laughs). Then there’s the rosemary which is good for growing the hair. It gets into the sebaceous oil glands. These glands work at pumping oil into the hair follicles and give the hair its luster. The rosemary is good for that. Then there’s the sage. Sage has the quality of helping your aura. So my customers are saying "I feel so different" once you begin to put the Rejuvenator on. That’s because of the sage. I like it for all these reasons. Plus I notice that once they use it, they become hungry for it. They really like it. LC: So you really feel good about making Rejuvenator available to your clients? Razz: Oh yes. They love it and I don’t have to try to sell it. It sells itself and I don’t have product just sitting on my shelves. I like that. Plus it’s not too expensive. You’re already paying to get your hair done, so it’s important that these products aren’t expensive. Everybody is happy. Zakia: I agree. My clients use it on their skin and their hair. Since they love the smell, they can use it in place of some of the body sprays, and since it softens the skin also, they save a lot of money eliminating other skin care products. LC: What was the driving force behind your request for the Professional Strength version? Zakia: Mainly, I was doing more and more twist and dreadlock styles and wanted something natural to facilitate these styles. The Professional Strength formula provides more support and body for the hair and is great for beginning the twists of the locks. I mainly use the Rejuvenator Regular as a daily hair dressing, where the Professional one is great for styling or molding the twists. My clients always take home a jar. LC: Boy you’re answering my questions before I ask them. I was just going to ask if most of your clients take home a jar? Razz: Yes (emphatically). My clients want the larger 16 oz jar [our regular size jar is 6oz] and are asking for an even larger jar! You might have to start going into the pound size now (laughs), because they love it. Especially my clients from abroad who have studied and fully understand about the benefits of the herbs used. They look at the ingredients and immediately know this is a high quality product. Some of the butters and oils are very hard to find. And most of the time with other products you’ll find that petroleum is the first ingredient. Your products don’t even use petroleum. Petroleum isn’t healthy for the hair because it clogs the sebaceous oil glands. Then you’ll begin to have problems with dandruff and dry scalp. LC: This is why your hair looks so healthy? Razz: Yes. I use Rejuvenator myself and my hair grows great now. When I first started using Rejuvenator on my own hair, everyone though I got a weave because my hair began to grow so fast. Plus I love the smell too. Now I get my aroma therapy everyday (laughs). LC: You both use our Replenisher product. What’s been your experience with it? Zakia: I normally use that one for clients with real dry damaged hair. I set them up with a hot oil treatment under a dryer. It really restores the sheen to their hair quickly and I recommend that they use it every few weeks. Razz: I also use it to replenish damaged hair. It makes the hair feel softer and easier to manage. I have my clients apply it per the instructions on the bottle, before they come to me, and by the time they get here and we begin the styling, everything’s great. The conditioning is already done by the time they come to the shop. Saves a lot of time. LC: Hmm. That’s interesting that you both use it differently. That reminds me of another customer of ours. He rubs a little into his hair daily as a dressing. Although we didn’t intend it to be used in this way, he swears by his method. LC: You were one of our first salon based distributors in the area. Do you feel having these products gives you any advantages? Zakia: Definitely. In addition to our normal styling services, we now can augment the total "package" to our clients. They now have something completely natural they can take home and keep up the care of their hair. My natural clients only come once or twice a month, thus it’s important for them to have something they can use on their own to keep their hair looking great between visits. It’s a great product for them and it also adds to our retail sales profits, so everybody wins. Razz: Yes, she’s right. Our clients are very pleased with them and so are we. When your clients are happy, they return for more. It really adds value to our total package. Also Loving Care is a black owned business and that makes me feel good to help support other black owned businesses that have great products and services to offer. Some companies just make products to make money, but you really understand what we need for our hair and have a line of products that really works. LC: Would you recommend these products to other professional salons? Zakia: Without a doubt. I believe in them. I use nothing else on my clients. I’ve tried other products, but I keep coming back to this. I know I can use it regardless of the texture of the hair, or whatever condition the hair is in. LC: And what about you Razz. Any words for other professionals considering these products? Razz: I’d say they need to get on the boat quick, before you can’t get on. There won’t be enough product for you (laughs). All joking aside, businesses are usually afraid of carrying new products, but I’d tell them to simply try it and let their clients be the judge. And if you’re still apprehensive, just send them on over to me. I’d gladly sell them a few jars (laughs). LC: Thank you ladies and congratulations again. |
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