Salon A'Marie

Aundrea Watkins opened Salon A'Marie in 2020. It is the most recent of three hair salons she has owned. She still works full time as a stylist here, and her hair career now spans more than 15 years, beginning with a co-owned salon, Naturally Ever After, in 2007.

The menu covers braids and locs: small, medium and large knotless braids, free-style feed-ins, butterfly locs, distressed locs, soft locs, rasta locs and men's braids. For hair, the Silk Press/Curl starts at $35 and takes about 30 minutes or more. It includes a deep cleansing and moisture balance shampoo and conditioner, a heat-protectant blow-dry and flat iron styling. The Silk Press Premium adds scalp exfoliation, a detox mud mask and a steam hydration treatment. New guests can book the New Guests Start Here package from $50, about 30 minutes or more, which covers a consultation, a hair and scalp detox, shampoo with steam hydration therapy, a blow-dry and trim if needed, and flat iron or natural styling. The package is for new clients or anyone not served in the last two years. Braid and loc appointments do not require it first.

New clients book their first appointment online and pay a $25 non-refundable deposit by email payment link within 24 hours of requesting a time, or the request is declined. The deposit is credited toward the service. Rescheduling within the same week keeps it, and cancelling with less than 24 hours' notice forfeits it. Hair should be detangled before arrival, and a $10 fee applies if the salon has to detangle it before washing. Hair washing is not included in braiding prices, so hair should be washed and blow-dried beforehand or a Shampoo, Condition and Blowdry service added. Late arrivals of more than 15 minutes pay a $10 late fee, and appointments are cancelled after 30 minutes. No extra guests are allowed, including children or spouses. No-shows are charged the full service cost. The salon supplies only 1B braiding hair; other colors must be provided by the client, and hair is not included for faux locs, Marley twists or passion twists. Buy Now, Pay Later is available for in-person bookings from $50 to $4,000, and through Afterpay for memberships.

Hands On Learning classes start at $250 and take about 120 minutes. They cover detangling, blow-drying, flat ironing where age appropriate, and hair care tips, and may include a silk press, twist out or blow-dry technique. Shampoo and conditioner are available on request. Classes are offered to children as well as adults, and a curl confidence coaching option is available within the class.

Memberships are one-time payments valid for 12 months and do not roll over. The Silver Premium Membership costs $495 and includes 6 silk press or curl services, 1 maintenance trim, 1 premium treatment and 20% off retail products. Members have an intake meeting where their included appointments are pre-scheduled, and they may make three cancellations or reschedules per year. Membership sales are final. Services not covered by a membership are added at the time of service. Booking is available online through the salon's Glossgenius page.

Aundrea Watkins is a full-time working stylist and plans to make room for younger stylists to grow in the trade.

The salon describes its environment as professional yet personable.