A Little Beauty Help for an African Queen?

January 14, 2008 8:14 AM

Manchester, NH: Where can I find beauty salons that cater to African hair (braids, weaves, extensions, texture)?

I'm helping someone who is moving to Manchester, New Hampshire. She's black and looking for salons that can do black hair. So far my google-fu and superpages are coming up short. Is there anyone who can help?

She doesn't know her way around, so names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, would be really helpful. If you know their hours, even better.

posted by mynameismandab to clothing, beauty, & fashion (7 comments total)

These places are in Massachusetts, but Google says they're near Manchester.
posted by Oriole Adams at 9:50 AM on January 14, 2008

You could call the Michael's School of Hair and ask (in nearby Bedford).
posted by ClaudiaCenter at 9:54 AM on January 14, 2008

(I'm from that part of the world -- has your friend been there? She knows it's less than 1 percent black, right? Just so she's prepared.)

Whoa -- lookee what I found on the UNH website (the area codes aren't listed for New Hampshire but it's 603):

Beauticians who specialize in Black Hair Care
Uppercut
Denise
TEL # [phone]
J.C. Penney Hair Salon (Newington Mall)
Cathy Thorbes
TEL# [phone]

Marlene at Sugarz Salon, Kittery- Maine
TEL # [phone]

Leroy's Styles, LLC "A Touch of Diversity"
A multicultural hair shop, facial waxing and much more
Men's cuts, Fades, Line-ups Afro Cleanup
Women's cuts, style, color, Highlights
Children's cuts
TEL# [phone] Dover/Somersworth
posted by ClaudiaCenter at 10:05 AM on January 14, 2008

Here's the page from UNH -- it has other resources listed, too.
posted by ClaudiaCenter at 10:06 AM on January 14, 2008

Re: previous comment. Malden & Lynn are in the Boston area, and are really a pain to get to if you don't have a car. Your friend might as well go into Boston itself, where there are tons of African hair places.

Re: Manchester. I grew up there, though I haven't lived there for a while now. I'm white so I don't have any particular suggestions, but I have no doubt that African hair salons exist, albeit not listed on the internets. There's a relatively big Sudanese population in Manchester these days. If she really need to find a salon before she gets there, maybe one of these organizations can help.
posted by ilyanassa at 10:12 AM on January 14, 2008

Web site for Leroy's Styles. Unfortunately Somersworth is an hour's drive from Manchester. But maybe they know who's around in Manchester.
posted by ClaudiaCenter at 10:30 AM on January 14, 2008

Another white Manchestrian here. I asked a family member, who asked a co-worker, who supplied the following information:


CoCo Beauty Salon (across from the Radisson/Center of NH)
647 Elm St
Manchester, NH 03104
Phone: [phone]

Ashanti (next to Bakersville School)
39 S Elm St
Manchester,NH 03103
Phone: [phone]

Rainbow Beauty Enterprises (Across from Central High School)*
489 Maple St
Manchester, NH 03104
Phone: [phone]

*Rainbow is a beauty supply shop, but there's a board of advertisers inside the store that lists local hairdressers.

She also says that sometimes it can be worth going to MA/Boston for a day to get your hair done, and that there are probably some places in Nashua, too.
posted by Greg Nog at 8:21 AM on January 15, 2008