Kimarie Teter/Hairlocs

Oh, I get it--the hair is from VENDORS in Spain, Russia, and Italy. VENDORS who sell Asian and/or Indian hair, which comes through customs. What a joke! You see, when I hear "Russian hair"--and I'm being charged $9 a strand--I just assume that the hair originated in Russia, from an actual Russian woman. But thanks, Gia, for clearing that up. It's all coming together for me now. By the way, if I cut a horsetail off a Russian horse and tried to install it in someone's head, could I also advertise it as "Russian hair." That wouldn't be misleading at all, would it?

Gia is right, you can't do hairlocs unless your licensed, but you can get a full starter kit of almost exactly the same products (extentubes from hairpiece.com and microrings from drlocks.net) for $99. (It's the difference between Q-tips and cotton swabs--one is a brand that's sold to salons, the other is sold for home use.) A full head of hair from either vendor should only cost a couple hundred (that's Indian or Asian hair by the way--not the very rare, highly coveted, amazing quality "European" strands that hairlocs sells). Tell me, Gia, does it improve the quality of Asian hair to make a stop in Europe on its way to the U.S. Just curious....

Clarifying shampoo will not fix the rusting problem--it will only continue until the locs are replaced. Many women have suffered damage fron hairlocs, and it has nothing to do with coloring or any other chemical processes.

Fortunately, the microrings/extendtubes method (the exact same as hairlocs) requires very little skill or experience (and that's exactly why hairlocs "experts" are certified in one afternoon): here's the online demo: http://drlocks.net/microring_demo.htm

You don't need a cosmotology degree to figure that one out!

Sorry! I was so excited about getting the tools for extensions that I overlooked the part about them selling hair as well. Do you know if it is good quality hair? I guess I could contact them and have them send me samples. Thanks again!

ditto unbelieveable and amm. that's enough to keep me laughing for a long, long time.

I am addressing the very slanderous gossip running as a vengeful smear campaign on all the chat chambers, I find this ironic and very well timed on Tara Mattarazzo's part making sure people with hair issues never find their way to my site to choose like adults for themselves whether myself and my hair enhancement techniques are a fit for them. all of these ladies know the truth and are hiding many of my repeated generous offers and interactions with them, thanks to all of my loyal friends and clients who are piling letters of satisfaction in defense of these very unusual claims against our business, for you all to know my attorney will be addressing all of these slanderous remarks and the moderators, supposedly keeping chat chambers in integrity. for those who are scorned, every single aspect of our interactions have and will continue to be fully documented, this I have found is one's only recourse against people and situations that are not on the up and up or are unwilling to play fair.

as for hairlocs and those rumors, no such claims of unethical practices have been presented to myself or my husband. we worked very hard and were a part of the arroyo family for years, we love them and appreciate all they have done for our clients and hairdressers who really want better hair for everyone. we spend allot of money with hairlocs every month I would hope they respect us equally. as for why I am not listed on the website, you'll need to contact Maria.

on the final note: as always we have an open book policy, we do what we say, we treat everyone equally, we empower, we hide nothing from anyone, that being said, anyone truly interested in the facts of these claims I invite you to contact me directly.

Kimarie

Ok Ladies, let's all give this subject a rest. It's beginning to remind me of Jr. High.

Just do your research and you will get all the facts.

Happy Hair to ALL!!

I'm a little curious, since Kimarie feels the need to invade all of the hair loss websites to defend her work.

Kimarie: You previously wrote on this site the following- "We also have over 50 satisfied clients in LA and another 40 in New York who will be happy to speak to anyone serious about getting extensions."

I'm just curious to know how many unsatisfied costumers you have? I can count myself, Tara, & a few other women from the various hair forums, but how many are unaccounted for? How many unhappy costumers do you have that don't use the internet as a forum to discuss this, but instead suffer silently or just pass on the word orally instead of in writing? Can you provide us with those figures as easily and you have with the amount of satisfied costumers? Then maybe we can truly weigh in the legitmacy of all the "slanderous gossip" as you like to call it. Oh...and please don't bother to invite me to discuss this with you privately. You've brought your defense into a public forum, so keep it public.

Thanks, hairloc user, for your thoughtful and detailed reply. It is true that various methods work differently for different people, and it's always beneficial to hear various sides of the story--postive and negative--so people can make informed decisions based on the full range of information. As a former keratin-bond user, too, I can certainly understand that hairlocs would be appealling to you on some level. In my experience, the removal with bonds (GLs, Cinderella) was excrutiating and damaging; I wouldn't recommend them to anyone (but some women love those methods, too).

My experience with hairlocs, unfortunately, which I outlined earlier in this thread, was also quite negative, and you've raised a few points that I'd like to address (this is not at all to challenge or discount your experience, but again, simply to offer another point of view).

I, too, had realistic expectations when I went to Kimarie/hairlocs. I was actually quite pleased with the results at installation and for a few days later; after that, the trouble started, and it continued through the weeks that followed. In my case, I was losing locs on a daily basis; the locs themselves tarnished, leaving a green debris in my hair; the texture, after washing and drying, was not at all what I had agreed to, based on the photos I was shown; and the placement was way too obvious and haphazard (which the stylist, after reviewing her own work, admitted was the result of her "rushing"). I wasn't asked to shake my head or simulate normal head movements, but again, my appointment was rather rushed (and that's a whole separate story).

Although Kimarie attempted to fix the placement at our follow-up, the visibility remained an issue (it is difficult to camoflauge locs if they're staining your surrounding hair in green), and the slippage and staining only accellerated. Many of these took my real hair with them when they slipped (there are photos on the other hairlocs thread that look similar to the way mine looked); the rest just sort of slid out of my hair, without taking my real hair in the process.

I, too, followed all care instructions, including Nioxin, hair vitamins, Bumble and Bumble prep, satin pillowcases, wearing a loose braid to sleep, very careful brushing only on dry hair, and the like. I did not wash the hair every day either. Nevertheless, the problems remained.

As far as Kimarie being an artist and perfectionist, this was not my experience, but to each her own. And it is absolutely true that everyone deserves to make a living and charge the prices he or she wants to charge. However, if you charge $2500 for extensions that are staining, damaging, and slipping out of a client's hair after a few weeks and you are unable to fix the situation and your response is, "I can't understand why you're having all these problems," surely your client is entitled to a refund. In my case, I obviously could not wear my hair given the way the hairlocs looked--so that was $2500 down the drain--and getting someone else to fix the job would cost me, too.

It is true that I signed a no-refunds contact, but it is a matter of decency and responsibility, in my opinion, to provide some sort of refund--if not 100%, then at least 50%--to the client when you have failed to meet the most basic expectations that you yourself have set, particularly when you claim to "guarantee client satisfaction." And if you didn't disclose important details about your product/service to the consumer (which is certainly true in my case), it is only resonable for that consumer to expect some sort of compensation in return.

I would agree with you that no extensions system or method is 100% perfect. I love my extensions now, but if it's windy out, there's really no way I can hide them. I think the greater issue is that, as a vendor, you must take a certain level of responsibility. Had I been given a full or even partial refund, I certainly wouldn't have such negative feelings toward the vendor; sometimes, things simply don't work out. But when I was told I was entitled to nothing, I thought that was unfair; in my opinion, this is just not the way an ethical businessperson acts.

Futhermore, I think it is very telling that when numerous women have had similar complaints and have documented them on these boards (and when a few stylists have also chimed in with their opinions/claims), Kimarie then responds by threatening those clients (and the board hosts) with legal action, even naming the name of one dissatisfied consumer on the Internet. Surely, the stylist does not feel that after walking away with $2500 of a client's money when the product only damaged, stained, and tarnished her hair, she is also entitled to a glowing review? The logic escapes me here.

The fact is, consumers post reviews--both positive and negative--of products and services all the time. It is their right to do so. And as far as any "numerous generous offers," none were made in my case. I was clear that the stylist was not in a position to offer a realistic solution, so a refund would've been the way to go. When you think about it, if you have more than 50 satisfied clients in L.A. and another 40 in New York and dissatisfied clients are so unusual, then providing a refund wouldn't be a big deal--just something you'd factor into the cost of doing business. Let's see, if you provided a 50% refund on $2500, you'd still be left with $1250 for three hours' work, which in my mind, is still a pretty good deal for any extensionist/stylist.

Again, hairloc user, I thank you again for your perspective. I'm happy to hear you're pleased with your extensions and wish you continued luck with them in the future. All the best.

there are some extremely bitter people on this site. I can understand some of this hostility but the pettyiness is unbearable! sorry for all those looking for any honest open answers here-those of us willing to give will no longer want to deal with the harassment of the other people contributing to this site. Good Luck.

Honest answers? You wouldn't know honesty and integrity if it bit you in a broken, green-coated strand of shredded Hairlocs hair.

Here's honesty:

http://talk.hairboutique.com/forum/viewthread.asp?forum=AMB_AP934431446&id=1275

You're making things worse for your cause, Giamarie.

The difference between us is that we're REAL users of Hairlocs and it ruined our hair and cost of thousands of dollars. YOU sell Hairlocs. Now who do you think has the most sincere motivation here? Hmm?

Hairlocs breaks hair and your pocketbook. That's a fact. Deal with it.

I am sorry to hear of so many bad hair extension expieriences! My name is Tami Homan, I work in Santa Barbara, CA, and Santa Maria. I have been doing almost every method of hair extensions, for nearly five years now. ( weaving, braiding, fusion, and magnetic hair extensions. ) I would advise anyone interested in getting hair extensions, to shop around, ask to see a portfolio, or get client reference numbers. There is no method of hair extensions that does not damage your natural hair.Remember, glue is the worst, and "protein bond, " is basically a better name for glue. The prices are getting so outrageous mostly because the cost of the hair is. I am a licened cosmetologist, and even wholesale hair is expenseve. Also, everyone is trying to do hair extensions because you can charge a rediculous charge, and get away with it. You have to know what your doing, and have expierience, and have reasonable costs, AND BE HONEST! I heard that the state board of CA, is trying to pass a law that you have to have your cosmetology liscence, to be able to do extensions, so get your licsences! If anyone wishes to contact me, call The Talk OF The Town Beauty Salon. Ask for Tami, me and my family have been in the business for almost fifteen years now.