I like Liz Muller's video tutorials. She does a lot of styling for longer hair, but she's still very informative! When I'm brave enough to do my own relaxers, I'll definitely refer to her site and this one.
10 comments:
Anonymous
said...
Liz Mueller is awesome. I learned how to properly wrap my hair and make the parts for my roller sets from her expert village videos. I am located in florida about and hours drive away from her salon. I have been seriously considering making the drive since I only go to the salon about once every 3 months.
I hope you did not bother making the drive. I called to ask her whether she uses the Affirm Lye Relaxer. She indicated that she uses only lye relaxers, but that she mixes it. After looking at her video I determined that she uses the Affirm relaxer for sensitive scalp-- which is NO LYE (AVLON.com confirms this). When I told her this, she stubbornly insisted that the relaxer you mix is lye-- which any one who has even had enough relaxers done to their hair knows is not true. A lye relaxer never needs mixing. Don't be fooled by all the videos. She is not very knowledgeable at what she does if she can't discern the difference between a no lye and a lye relaxer.
I was a client of Liz for a while absolutely could not recommend her as a stylist. It's true that she does not have even the most basic knowledge of the difference between a no-lye and lye relaxer.
I told her not to use a no-lye relaxer in my hair. She did so anyway and when I asked her about it she stubbornly insised against all sensible evidence that it was a lye relaxer. I literally pulled up affirm's website and read to her directly from it that the active ingredient in the relaxer she uses is guanidine hydroxide which is considered no-lye. I told her that only relaxers with sodium hydroxide in them (the scientific name for lye) are considered lye relaxers, something that anyone who's been a stylist for over 25 yrs should obviously know.
Caught in her lie she begins to stubbornly insist like a fool that all relaxers really are the same and that the active ingredient is derived from lye so it makes no difference anyway. Yet when I suggested I bring the lye version of affirm to her and have her apply it she stubbornly insisted that it would be too strong. If it's all the same why the problem? What a liar.
It all boils down to one thing. Either she's a liar who has so little respect for the clients that she would trick them into using a product against their wishes or she doesn't have the even the most basic knowledge of the science and chemistry of a relaxer. I think it's both. Either way Liz Muller of Liz's Hair Design is a very poor choice for a stylist. Stubborn, classless and unwilling to learn. I simply cannot recommend her. She's also extremely pricey for someone who doesn't give her clients the minimal in respect. $120 for a relaxer from someone who's going to try to degrade your hair while you're in the chair and who doesn't even understand the most basic difference between a lye and no-lye relaxer. Ladies go elsewhere!
She would not even answer questions about my hair. Everytime I'd ask her something about a change in relaxer, going natural etc., anything her response, although I'd already been going to her for monthes, would be "well I cant do anything for you baby. People wanna see results but I cant do anything for you unless you come every week and let me set it, press out the roots when it's growing out etc. In other words. She would offer no advice on my hair unless I could pay $40 to see her for a wash and set every single week. Now I intimated to her that Im just out of school and didnt have money for this yet everytime Id get in her chair shed continue to indirectly push this idea of how i need to come every week. Very obnoxious and classless.
This lady looks good on paper but is an absolute clown in person. Very poor attitude. Only after the money. Has a lot to learn about running a professional business.
To the anonymous writer, sadly you didn't have enough courage to use your name or else I would address you that well, but this will have to do. As a former employer and client of Liz, I have to say that most of the things that you speak of in your lengthly comment are false. As her worker I have seen many of her clients and she always treats them with respect and class. Yes, she has the tendency to joke around at times but she only does this with clients of hers that are considered friends and from the sound of this you would not be considered one of them. Now, before you go speaking about things you know little about I would do some research and see that many of Lizbeth Muller's clients are very pleased with her work, and I can vouch for this again as well since I am also friends with many of them. Now here is one last question to leave you with. If she is as terrible as you say, why did I have to work from 7am until 10pm because SO MANY people want to have her as her hair stylist? Oh yes... based on these facts, she must be terrible. If anyone questions this, I invite them to walk into her salon on a Saturday and attempt to even find space in her salon to let alone stand never mind get their hair done. Have a great new year, and I hope that with that you will find a new attitude.
Alex, I have serious questions as to why you are taking this so personally....unless of course you Liz herself posing as an objective reviewer. This could very well be the case because frankly Liz's "salon" barely holds four people and I've never known her to have any helpers....
However, I really can't see why you would take issue with said review. This was my obiective experience with Liz which is equally valid as yours. I stated not opinion but fact- namely that she purposely used a no-lye relaxer in my hair when I told her not to. There is no mitigating the fact that it was outside of her place and bounds as a stylist to do this.
A good stylist respects the wishes of the client instead of trying to circumvent them. If for some reason they find that they can not do this, most have the common courtesy to explain this to the client thus allowing them to go elsewhere.
Liz Muller did not understand the importance of showing respect for the client's wishes- an elementary point of good relations in any sector. How would you feel if you went to a restaurant and ordered chicken? Would you be happy if the server served you minced shrimp because they privately decided that was better for you? What if you bought what you thought was a diamond ring only to find out it was cut glass? Am I wrong to think you would be upset and very disappointed in the seller's lack of honesty. Well that is how I feel about Liz and how I have every right to feel. She was not forthright about the product she was using in the beginning and when I asked her about it directly she failed to answer honestly. I think clients have every right to expect their stylists to be honest and respectful of their wishes. I would hope, if only for your own sake, that you also realize that to be your basic privilege and right in such affairs.
Lastly, I do hope you realize that the fact that Liz has clients does not presuppose that she is a good stylist. That is a great leap of logic you are making and does not necessarily follow. That type of argument is known as "non sequiter". Look it up and please, learn to think before you speak. I'm sure you will find that it saves you much trouble in the future.
Oh and one more thing "Alex" or should I say LIZ??!! Your deep dishonesty is becoming woefully manifest yet again. I left a comment detailing my experience at your salon on youtube. Link here. http://hairlyobsessed.blogspot.com/2008/02/liz-muller.html And on Jan 2 at a 7:48 PM a reply was left from your official youtube account negating my comment. Now a mere 30 minutes later on the same day a mysterious individual by the name of "Alex" leaves an extremely similar reply negating my comment here. Now tell me please what are the odds of such an uncanny coincidence???!! 1 in 100,0000 or so?? Furthermore, I have NEVER known of any "Alex" working in Liz's salon. Indeed I barely see where there may space for such an individual considering the "salon" of which we speak is barely bigger than a bathroom. It seats 2 dryers, 1 sink and 1 chair. That's it. Now tell me please if you have 1 stylist (Liz) and at least two clients (you claim business is always bumping) where exactly would there be room for this 4th individual to stand in such cramped accomodations??? Liz, I'm calling you out by name because I know for a certainty that's who this is! How dare you object to me posting anonymously when here you are posing under a pseudonym pretending to leave an "objective" yet very clearly biased review in YOUR OWN behalf??!!! Liz I am laughing so hard at you and your stubborn hypocrisy right now! You seriously don't think there's any moral conflict in posing as someone else to leave a glowing review for YOURSELF??!! Ladies beware. As you can see from this episiode what we have here is a bossy, classless person merely posing as a professional. Anyone so desperate to prove themselves right that they have to lie and pose as someone else is someone to watch out for not someone to trust with your hair and your money. This does nothing but superabundantly confirm what I said from the very beginning Ladies. Lizbeth Muller is NOT honest!
Dear Anonymous You sound like you couldnt make it in the hair business. Did your salon closed due to lack of clients? Is your hair not long and healthy, like Liz's hair? The proof is in the pudding!! All her clients hair looks good, I'm a client and she made my hair look beautiful! You sound bitter! Alex, we know the truth! Try liz you may not love her, but you will love your hair!!
It's really sad to see such negativity. Not everyone is going to like the same hairdresser - regardless if she has only one client or she has clients lined up around the corner. When I lived in New York, I went to the same hairdresser for 18 years because she did great work and the condition of my hair was superb. She did tell me that all relaxers have lye - normally the professional brands such as Affirm, Mizani, etc has conditioning lye. Being that I have gone to beauty school, it is a known fact that lye is the basic component that straightens the hair and there is lye in EVERY relaxer. Now whether you want to believe it or not, it's really on you, but degrading someone on the internet because of the "lye and no lye" issue?? Come on! Grow up! The lady is a staple in the community and she does what she does well because she has a love for it. We need to uplift our black business owners instead of putting them down just because you don't agree with something they've said or done. You have to give the sistah her props because she's come a long way!
I am a hairstylist and I have watched several of liz's videos. She is a good stylist who doesn't mind sharing her knowledge. No Lye Relaxers - (Guanidine Hydroxide Relaxer)A no-lye relaxer that is made up of guanidine hydroxide includes two primary ingredients:
A crème called calcium hydroxide.
Also It uses the liquid activator called guanidine.
These relaxers are very strong as well. It is a common misconception that no lye relaxers are less damaging than those containing lye. This is not true. If extreme care is not exercised when applying a no lye relaxer, the damage is just as devastating. Protein and moisture treatments should also be used before and after a relaxer to rebuild the hair structure and prevent breakage. No-lye relaxers tend to leave calcium deposits on the hair shaft. Calcium deposits make it difficult for moisture to penetrate into your hair. When your hair doesn't receive proper moisture, it will appear dry, brittle and break off very easily.
So lye or no lye it is a harsh chemical that should be left to hairstylist for application. Also before you sit in any hairstylist chair you should be smart enough to know you should have a certain level of trust in her. Don't quiz her while she is trying to service your hair.
Oh goodness. Loretta and Rosalyn appear to be too willing to cut Liz slack on not knowing basic hair chemistry. I've actually suffered the same issue as Anonymous at the hands of a stylist. All relaxers are alkali, but not all relaxers contain lye. Calcium hydroxide (no-lye) and sodium hydroxide (lye) are not the same things. I repeat, they ARE NOT the same things. If they were the same things, then they'd have the same chemical structure and be called the same things. They merely achieve similar results.
I went to a stylist and asked for a lye relaxer because I was suffering dryness and breakage from a no-lye relaxer. I noticed the stylist mixing the relaxer and then stopped her and double checked my asking her if it was a no-lye relaxer. She said that it was not. Flash forward two and half years later and my hair was still the same length and I was still battling dryness. I decided to research the brand of relaxers that she was using and discovered that she was mixing no-lye to relax my hair. The entire time that I was going to her I thought that she was simply mixing in oil to use in the lye relaxer, until I got tired of having brittle hair despite using quality salon products to maintain my hair at home.
This stylist, due to her incompetence, pretty much kept my hair dry as a desert for two and half years. THAT'S NOT OKAY ON ANY LEVEL. I do not care if your other client's hair looks great. What I care about it my own hair.
Considering that I do not know Liz Muller, this is not a commentary on her at all, but it is reinforcement of the fact that what you put on your hair matters. It matters a lot. I'm not resigned to doing my hair by myself because I cannot trust any stylist to do my hair the exact way that I want. And that is alright with me, but I do wish that I had not spent $80 for relaxer services every 12 weeks for 2 and half years.
If client wants lye, but you do not think that their hair can handle lye, then explain to them why you are making the decision that you're making for them. Don't just put the wrong chemical in their hair because you're "an expert." It's the client's body, not yours.
I hope this helps some stylists realize that they don't know best if they client wants otherwise.
10 comments:
Liz Mueller is awesome. I learned how to properly wrap my hair and make the parts for my roller sets from her expert village videos. I am located in florida about and hours drive away from her salon. I have been seriously considering making the drive since I only go to the salon about once every 3 months.
I hope you did not bother making the drive. I called to ask her whether she uses the Affirm Lye Relaxer. She indicated that she uses only lye relaxers, but that she mixes it. After looking at her video I determined that she uses the Affirm relaxer for sensitive scalp-- which is NO LYE (AVLON.com confirms this). When I told her this, she stubbornly insisted that the relaxer you mix is lye-- which any one who has even had enough relaxers done to their hair knows is not true. A lye relaxer never needs mixing. Don't be fooled by all the videos. She is not very knowledgeable at what she does if she can't discern the difference between a no lye and a lye relaxer.
I have to agree with Randi.
I was a client of Liz for a while absolutely could not recommend her as a stylist. It's true that she does not have even the most basic knowledge of the difference between a no-lye and lye relaxer.
I told her not to use a no-lye relaxer in my hair. She did so anyway and when I asked her about it she stubbornly insised against all sensible evidence that it was a lye relaxer. I literally pulled up affirm's website and read to her directly from it that the active ingredient in the relaxer she uses is guanidine hydroxide which is considered no-lye. I told her that only relaxers with sodium hydroxide in them (the scientific name for lye) are considered lye relaxers, something that anyone who's been a stylist for over 25 yrs should obviously know.
Caught in her lie she begins to stubbornly insist like a fool that all relaxers really are the same and that the active ingredient is derived from lye so it makes no difference anyway. Yet when I suggested I bring the lye version of affirm to her and have her apply it she stubbornly insisted that it would be too strong. If it's all the same why the problem? What a liar.
It all boils down to one thing. Either she's a liar who has so little respect for the clients that she would trick them into using a product against their wishes or she doesn't have the even the most basic knowledge of the science and chemistry of a relaxer. I think it's both. Either way Liz Muller of Liz's Hair Design is a very poor choice for a stylist. Stubborn, classless and unwilling to learn. I simply cannot recommend her. She's also extremely pricey for someone who doesn't give her clients the minimal in respect. $120 for a relaxer from someone who's going to try to degrade your hair while you're in the chair and who doesn't even understand the most basic difference between a lye and no-lye relaxer. Ladies go elsewhere!
She would not even answer questions about my hair. Everytime I'd ask her something about a change in relaxer, going natural etc., anything her response, although I'd already been going to her for monthes, would be "well I cant do anything for you baby. People wanna see results but I cant do anything for you unless you come every week and let me set it, press out the roots when it's growing out etc. In other words. She would offer no advice on my hair unless I could pay $40 to see her for a wash and set every single week. Now I intimated to her that Im just out of school and didnt have money for this yet everytime Id get in her chair shed continue to indirectly push this idea of how i need to come every week. Very obnoxious and classless.
This lady looks good on paper but is an absolute clown in person. Very poor attitude. Only after the money. Has a lot to learn about running a professional business.
To the anonymous writer, sadly you didn't have enough courage to use your name or else I would address you that well, but this will have to do. As a former employer and client of Liz, I have to say that most of the things that you speak of in your lengthly comment are false. As her worker I have seen many of her clients and she always treats them with respect and class. Yes, she has the tendency to joke around at times but she only does this with clients of hers that are considered friends and from the sound of this you would not be considered one of them. Now, before you go speaking about things you know little about I would do some research and see that many of Lizbeth Muller's clients are very pleased with her work, and I can vouch for this again as well since I am also friends with many of them. Now here is one last question to leave you with. If she is as terrible as you say, why did I have to work from 7am until 10pm because SO MANY people want to have her as her hair stylist? Oh yes... based on these facts, she must be terrible. If anyone questions this, I invite them to walk into her salon on a Saturday and attempt to even find space in her salon to let alone stand never mind get their hair done. Have a great new year, and I hope that with that you will find a new attitude.
Alex, I have serious questions as to why you are taking this so personally....unless of course you Liz herself posing as an objective reviewer. This could very well be the case because frankly Liz's "salon" barely holds four people and I've never known her to have any helpers....
However, I really can't see why you would take issue with said review. This was my obiective experience with Liz which is equally valid as yours. I stated not opinion but fact- namely that she purposely used a no-lye relaxer in my hair when I told her not to. There is no mitigating the fact that it was outside of her place and bounds as a stylist to do this.
A good stylist respects the wishes of the client instead of trying to circumvent them. If for some reason they find that they can not do this, most have the common courtesy to explain this to the client thus allowing them to go elsewhere.
Liz Muller did not understand the importance of showing respect for the client's wishes- an elementary point of good relations in any sector. How would you feel if you went to a restaurant and ordered chicken? Would you be happy if the server served you minced shrimp because they privately decided that was better for you? What if you bought what you thought was a diamond ring only to find out it was cut glass? Am I wrong to think you would be upset and very disappointed in the seller's lack of honesty. Well that is how I feel about Liz and how I have every right to feel. She was not forthright about the product she was using in the beginning and when I asked her about it directly she failed to answer honestly. I think clients have every right to expect their stylists to be honest and respectful of their wishes. I would hope, if only for your own sake, that you also realize that to be your basic privilege and right in such affairs.
Lastly, I do hope you realize that the fact that Liz has clients does not presuppose that she is a good stylist. That is a great leap of logic you are making and does not necessarily follow. That type of argument is known as "non sequiter". Look it up and please, learn to think before you speak. I'm sure you will find that it saves you much trouble in the future.
Oh and one more thing "Alex" or should I say LIZ??!!
Your deep dishonesty is becoming woefully manifest yet again. I left a comment detailing my experience at your salon on youtube. Link here. http://hairlyobsessed.blogspot.com/2008/02/liz-muller.html
And on Jan 2 at a 7:48 PM a reply was left from your official youtube account negating my comment. Now a mere 30 minutes later on the same day a mysterious individual by the name of "Alex" leaves an extremely similar reply negating my comment here.
Now tell me please what are the odds of such an uncanny coincidence???!! 1 in 100,0000 or so??
Furthermore, I have NEVER known of any "Alex" working in Liz's salon. Indeed I barely see where there may space for such an individual considering the "salon" of which we speak is barely bigger than a bathroom. It seats 2 dryers, 1 sink and 1 chair. That's it. Now tell me please if you have 1 stylist (Liz) and at least two clients (you claim business is always bumping) where exactly would there be room for this 4th individual to stand in such cramped accomodations???
Liz, I'm calling you out by name because I know for a certainty that's who this is! How dare you object to me posting anonymously when here you are posing under a pseudonym pretending to leave an "objective" yet very clearly biased review in YOUR OWN behalf??!!!
Liz I am laughing so hard at you and your stubborn hypocrisy right now! You seriously don't think there's any moral conflict in posing as someone else to leave a glowing review for YOURSELF??!!
Ladies beware. As you can see from this episiode what we have here is a bossy, classless person merely posing as a professional. Anyone so desperate to prove themselves right that they have to lie and pose as someone else is someone to watch out for not someone to trust with your hair and your money.
This does nothing but superabundantly confirm what I said from the very beginning Ladies. Lizbeth Muller is NOT honest!
Dear Anonymous
You sound like you couldnt make it in the hair business. Did your salon closed due to lack of clients? Is your hair not long and healthy, like Liz's hair? The proof is in the pudding!! All her clients hair looks good, I'm a client and she made my hair look beautiful! You sound bitter! Alex, we know the truth! Try liz you may not love her, but you will love your hair!!
It's really sad to see such negativity. Not everyone is going to like the same hairdresser - regardless if she has only one client or she has clients lined up around the corner. When I lived in New York, I went to the same hairdresser for 18 years because she did great work and the condition of my hair was superb. She did tell me that all relaxers have lye - normally the professional brands such as Affirm, Mizani, etc has conditioning lye. Being that I have gone to beauty school, it is a known fact that lye is the basic component that straightens the hair and there is lye in EVERY relaxer. Now whether you want to believe it or not, it's really on you, but degrading someone on the internet because of the "lye and no lye" issue?? Come on! Grow up! The lady is a staple in the community and she does what she does well because she has a love for it. We need to uplift our black business owners instead of putting them down just because you don't agree with something they've said or done. You have to give the sistah her props because she's come a long way!
I am a hairstylist and I have watched several of liz's videos. She is a good stylist who doesn't mind sharing her knowledge.
No Lye Relaxers - (Guanidine Hydroxide Relaxer)A no-lye relaxer that is made up of guanidine hydroxide includes two primary ingredients:
A crème called calcium hydroxide.
Also It uses the liquid activator called guanidine.
These relaxers are very strong as well. It is a common misconception that no lye relaxers are less damaging than those containing lye. This is not true. If extreme care is not exercised when applying a no lye relaxer, the damage is just as devastating.
Protein and moisture treatments should also be used before and after a relaxer to rebuild the hair structure and prevent breakage. No-lye relaxers tend to leave calcium deposits on the hair shaft. Calcium deposits make it difficult for moisture to penetrate into your hair. When your hair doesn't receive proper moisture, it will appear dry, brittle and break off very easily.
So lye or no lye it is a harsh chemical that should be left to hairstylist for application. Also before you sit in any hairstylist chair you should be smart enough to know you should have a certain level of trust in her. Don't quiz her while she is trying to service your hair.
Oh goodness. Loretta and Rosalyn appear to be too willing to cut Liz slack on not knowing basic hair chemistry. I've actually suffered the same issue as Anonymous at the hands of a stylist. All relaxers are alkali, but not all relaxers contain lye. Calcium hydroxide (no-lye) and sodium hydroxide (lye) are not the same things. I repeat, they ARE NOT the same things. If they were the same things, then they'd have the same chemical structure and be called the same things. They merely achieve similar results.
I went to a stylist and asked for a lye relaxer because I was suffering dryness and breakage from a no-lye relaxer. I noticed the stylist mixing the relaxer and then stopped her and double checked my asking her if it was a no-lye relaxer. She said that it was not. Flash forward two and half years later and my hair was still the same length and I was still battling dryness. I decided to research the brand of relaxers that she was using and discovered that she was mixing no-lye to relax my hair. The entire time that I was going to her I thought that she was simply mixing in oil to use in the lye relaxer, until I got tired of having brittle hair despite using quality salon products to maintain my hair at home.
This stylist, due to her incompetence, pretty much kept my hair dry as a desert for two and half years. THAT'S NOT OKAY ON ANY LEVEL. I do not care if your other client's hair looks great. What I care about it my own hair.
Considering that I do not know Liz Muller, this is not a commentary on her at all, but it is reinforcement of the fact that what you put on your hair matters. It matters a lot. I'm not resigned to doing my hair by myself because I cannot trust any stylist to do my hair the exact way that I want. And that is alright with me, but I do wish that I had not spent $80 for relaxer services every 12 weeks for 2 and half years.
If client wants lye, but you do not think that their hair can handle lye, then explain to them why you are making the decision that you're making for them. Don't just put the wrong chemical in their hair because you're "an expert." It's the client's body, not yours.
I hope this helps some stylists realize that they don't know best if they client wants otherwise.
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