Finding the best loc retwisting gels for dreadlocks changed my entire loc journey. After three years of trial and error, two retwist mishaps at the salon, and one too many bottles of sticky buildup, I finally cracked the code. Our team at Mercer Street Salon spent six weeks testing 10 of the most popular loc … Read more
Dry, itchy scalp is the number one complaint I hear from people with locs. After a loc sets, your strands can no longer slide sebum down the shaft the way loose hair does, so the scalp goes thirsty fast. The right scalp oil fixes that without clogging your locs, weighing them down, or trapping the … Read more
Box braids are one of the most popular protective styles for natural hair, but anyone who has worn them past week two knows the struggle. Your scalp starts itching, the braids feel brittle, and that fresh-from-the-salon shine fades faster than you expected. The fix almost always comes down to one product category: a quality moisturizing … Read more
Gray hair has a beautiful, ethereal quality that deserves the right care. I learned this the hard way after my silver strands started looking dull and yellow within weeks of my last salon visit. After testing 12 different formulas over six weeks, I found that purple toning masks for gray hair deliver far better results … Read more
I have stood behind the chair for 18 years, and I can tell you the moment a client whispers about thinning hair, the room gets quiet. It happened with Diane last spring. She sat down, pushed her hair behind her ears, and said, “I used to have so much of it.” She was 54, deep … Read more
Finding the best curl defining gels for wavy hair changed everything for my own routine. After years of fighting limp waves and halo frizz, I started testing gels the way our salon team approaches color formulations: with structured trials, side-by-side comparisons, and honest notes. This guide is the result of that work, covering 12 gels … Read more
If you have relaxed hair, you already know the struggle. One day your strands look smooth and healthy. The next, you are pulling broken pieces off your shoulders and wondering what went wrong. Relaxing chemicals fundamentally restructure your hair by breaking protein bonds to straighten the shaft. This process leaves every strand more vulnerable to … Read more
After years of bleaching, coloring, and heat styling, my hair had reached a breaking point—literally. My ends were splitting faster than I could trim them, and no amount of conditioner seemed to help. That’s when I discovered bond-building treatments, and they completely transformed my damaged strands. These aren’t your average deep conditioners. Bond-building treatments work … Read more
Chemical damage is one of the most stubborn hair problems to reverse. Whether you have bleached your strands platinum blonde, relaxed your coils, or layered too many color sessions, the result is the same: brittle, porous, snap-prone hair that no amount of conditioner seems to fix. Finding the best hair masks for chemically damaged hair … Read more
If you have fine oily hair, you already know the daily battle. You wash your hair in the morning, and by mid-afternoon your roots look like you skipped a wash day. We have lived through it too, and our team spent six weeks testing eight formulas side by side to find the best shampoos for … Read more