BUFFALO, N.Y. — Buffalo is a city with hundreds of hair stylists. Steven Daniels and Jocelyn Winston have been styling for decades.
"I never intended on being a hair stylist. My father and brother are barbers and so my goal was to go into the barbering industry," Daniels said.
However while in high school he attended B.V.T.C. and the rest is history. He's been a stylist for 30 years.
Many have questioned if doing hair for African-Americans is different.
"Black hair is different, but it's not. I look at hair as fabric. It requires different levels of heat and other treatments in order to maintain it," Daniels said. "Sometimes with our hair, it may require just a little more product or a little more heat, but at the end of the day I can use every product on the market that has a good foundation of ingredients on any texture of hair."
Many African-Americans braid their hair. Hersha McKinney admits, "braids are nice because they last for two to three weeks. It's a protective style and enables us to go on through our week and not have to worry about it every single morning."
Hersha is a stylist at Simply Hair Designs, who loves to braid and come up with unique styles. She has even worked on movies shot in Buffalo including Wolf Boy, The Purge, and Marshall.
Daniels also work with cancer patients.
"I actually work with providing a cranial prosthesis for cancer patients to help them feel restored in the midst of their journey getting well."
Going into a salon is more than just getting your hair washed and styled. It's where people come together and often no topic is off limits.
"I try to be understanding and patient, but at the end of the day I want to make my job as easy as possible and I want to make your hair as healthy as possible," Winston said. "Hair is a science. It is a technique and it is a love and you have to have all of those things to build a clientele."
"The salon is the focal point of the community because it allows you to collaborate and be in harmony with so many people from different walks of life. I have every client from professional homemakers to CEO's of corporations in the City of Buffalo," said Daniels.
Simply Hair Designs is located at 1832 Main Street, Buffalo, NY.
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