Cisse Hair Braiding

*Please note this review is 2 yrs old and has been sittin in my drafts. I will update myly experiences when I revisit :)*
I came here at 10:30 AM to get my hair box braided and didnt leave until about 5 PM (which is good time for braids). Once they turned on the African Movies, the vibe in the salon became more lively and comfortable so i was relaxed. The ladies definetly know how to do hair Nd stick with there pricing also… my only WARNING is that you come before 12 or you will b there waiting for a loooooong while.

***THIS VISIT IS FROM MAY 2013. THIS REVIEW JUST NEVER POSTED AND STAYED IN DRAFT UNTIL NOW.***
Went there for Senegalese twists. They came out nice… I get a lot of compliments. The price was $ 140 plus you have to buy your own hair. Although my hair looks nice. I can’t really wear it down completely because the top of my hair is spacey and in my eyes it doesn’t look right. So make sure to tell your stylist to make it full if that’s the look you’re going for

Naturals Beware!
Lemme tell you about Cisse Hair Braiding.
About a year ago I sought out a Brooklyn African Hair Braiding Salon to do some simple two cornrow style on my hair. I’m natural and a West African women who has been going to braiding salons her entire life, so I know that walking into these salons with my fro is a no no. At these salons, Africans hate African hair. Its unfortunate but true. They see our hair as a nuisance and never really hide the fact that they don’t want to deal with it.
I chose Cisse because we have the same last name so I was feeling all kindred spirit-​like about giving them my business. So to prepare I spent HOURS blow drying my hair straight so I wouldn’t have any problems this time around. I was careful and meticulous and so proud of my work I considered rescheduling my appointment so I could rock my blowout a bit, but in the end I decided to go.
When I got to the salon, I took down my bantu knots to show the hairdresser my hair to see if it’d be cool to get the style I wanted. She said yes and I got so excited. It all went down hill from there. The woman who tried to do my hair started parting my hair but it was more like an attack on my hair cause she didn’t know how to properly comb Black hair. A BLACK WOMAN AT A BLACK HAIR BRAIDING SALON DID NOT KNOW HOW TO COMB BLACK HAIR! When I tried to explain to her that she has to start combing from my ends and work her way up she got an attitude with me and said my hair was too full of knots, it needs to be straightened. Which was funny cause I spent 4 hours detangling and straightening my hair and she blamed the knots that took her two seconds to create on me. But I’m like whatever, its already straightened, if this makes her feel better about being incompetent I don’t care, the only thing I was worried about was her blow drying techniques.
That girl had that blow dryer set on LAVA! My hair, that before that day hadn’t been exposed to heat in over 3 years, felt like it was on fire. After a few seconds of this nonsense I yelled at her to STOP! She slams the blow dryer down and storms out of the room like she just couldn’t deal with me.
The owner, Cisse, starts talking to me telling me next time I should come more prepared and telling me anecdotes about «These kids and their natural hair. My daughter makes a fuss every time I do her hair now that she’s natural.» Some other girl getting her hair done even advises me to blow dry my hair before coming and I’m getting extremely annoyed at this point because this was stuff I already knew and already did. The hairdresser was unprofessional and incompetent and no one in the room seemed to understand why.
When I got home from the debacle, I thought I was able to stop her from doing any real damage in time but inches of my hair were literally breaking off right out of my head.
The only thing I commend them on is being able to undo years of tender loving care to my hair in a matter of minutes. Never. Again.

One of the better African hair braiding salons in the New York City area first and foremost for cleanliness (the cleanest one I’ve been in this far… that’s over fifteen years) and second because the braiders are relatively good and provide good customer service.
About a week ago, I got shoulder length Havana twist, size medium as done by the woman at the second station on the left after walking in. I have received so many compliments that I’m thinking of going there the next time I get my hair done. That’s saying a lot since I find it hard to commit to one hairstyle/​stylist. The best part about this visit was that it literally took two hours from the time I walked in to the time I left. Mind you I came in on a Saturday at about 6PM.
The only thing I didn’t like was that the stylist said she couldn’t start the braids using the invisible method. Shrugs* Okay.
Thanks Cisse Hair Braiding.

I deleted my review by accident. Stay away from this place! The top braider isn’t there anymore, and they charge more then all the salons around. The owner has a really bad attitude

I came here on a friend’s referral, with warning. She said even though they are good and fast beware of the manager/​owner because she will try and charge you too much. So, with hesitation I still gave them a try. First visit, even though I was treated with the worst customer service, my hair came out pretty good.
Second visit, I was too through! I specifically talked to the manager/​owner over the phone and she gave me one price for the style I wanted, then before the conversation was over she dropped it $ 20. Get to the salon, the owner herself starts doing my hair, even AFTER I showed her the pic once again of the style I wanted. Two hours later I noticed she’s not giving me the style I asked for. I wanted twists and she puts box braids!!! When brought to her attention all she could say is «I’m sorry, I forgot.» So then she asks, «what are we going to do?» and I’m like so we taking these out and getting my twists right? She proceeds to tell me to come back tomorrow because it’s too late. So at this point I’m fuming and have to get a plane in the next day so have no other choice but to continue with the box braids smh…
Then, not only did she tell me it was the same price as the style I originally wanted, she ups the price from what she told me yesterday and tries to throw in $ 10 off! After finally arguing with her that not only did she not do my hair to my liking, the style I was given was way less than the style she quoted me for and tried to rip me off. Guess my friend was right.
Needless to say, I will not be returning here. I don’t care how good and fast they may be, the owner needs to stop trying to rip off her customers and pay more attention to what the customer is asking for.

I have been looking for a braider that I would religiously go to now that I am transitioning to natural hair. I’ve been here 3 times and never disappointed. I always receive compliments on how neat and amazing my hair looks. ALWAYS. I usually go to the head braider, (not sure what her name is as of yet) & she is lovely. She does braid tight, so you have to let them know what you can take. My hair always lasts really long; no loose braids falling out. I will be going there next Thursday to get my hair braided up again! Definitely recommend.

This review is based on 3 different visits spread across the last 2 years, with 2 stylists. Two weeks ago was my last visit– My braids fell apart a week later– never going back again.
Here are my general take aways:
— it’s never a chill or relaxing experience, I get bad hair energy there.
— generally much more expensive for similar services offered in the area.
— tight braids= hair loss. Not cute. Even when you keep asking for no tight braids.
— I always bring photos but never walk out with the style I want: (my bad for going back, I thought all the good reviews meant I was not communicating well.
Hope this helps someone save time/​money hopefully both.

I went here a day before Christmas Eve because of the reviews … The box braid extensions that I got done were neat but I can’t help but feel tricked.
I understand I have a lot of hair, but that doesn’t give valid excuse to cheat me.
1) the «Xpression» hair they sell there was $ 5 a pack and very hard to manage, the women had to comb it out… With most of it falling on the floor. Not the usual legitimate Xpression hair I’m used to. I had to buy 6 packs for my style and usually when you don’t finish the last pack they give you the hair that you paid for. Not in this case, more than half of my 6^th pack was hidden somewhere
2) I had tipped the woman generously and while she was dipping my braids’ ends I told her I was thankful that she didn’t try and cheat me and cornrow the back — I often fall victim to that because the braiders get lazy at other salons. INSTEAD OF SAYING PR ADMITTING THAT SHE DID, SHE CONTINUED ON AND NOW I CANT PUT MY HAIR UP AT ALL BECAUSE OF THE CORNROWS
Like I said the braiding was neat and I should have known that she cheated because it would have taken longer than 6hrs. $ 185 for a style I can’t wear past a month because of the cornrowing — miss me on that…
By the way, don’t try and blow dry natural hair like it’s straight hair. With the comb attachment pulling out people’s hair like that smh…

Very neat! Affordable prices and kind of quick. I would recommend however that you continue to specify during your visit that you don’t want your hair too tight.

I have been to several places but Adji at Cisse is our favorite and does a great job with my daughter’s hair. She is quite, beautiful and does a great job.

I have been here twice with my girls and have not been disappointed. Walked in both times– without making an appointment– and did not wait long for my girls to be seen. Everyone is nice and the price is right. This is especially helpful for me when I have to bring both my daughters in to get their hair done. I’d advise to get there early– they seem to get the most walk-​ins after 2pm. They’ll definitely see more of me and my girls!

I have been here multiple times now. Very good work (speaking for Senegalese twists). Not too tight, though thats after me telling to loosen up a few times, but what else is new with braiders…
To be honest, appointments are not always honored. Make an early appt, and show up early. That’s the only way to ensure you won’t be there all day because they do take walk-​ins.
I will be going back.

Im sorry. I had to update my review of this place. I just took my braid out I have 2 bald spots in the back of my head. There are bumps all over from where the braids were too tight. My hair is coming out in clumps. I dont recommend this place to anyone who wants to keep or grow their hair! Sorry

This is my second time going and I will be going every two weeks now ~ I love braider Ajia and got a whole bunch of business cards from her to give to folks who asked where did I get my hair done~~ I posted the pictures on craigslist just look she did a great job~

I went to Cisse’s and was quite pleased with the results. They were time on task and finished my Senegalese Twists in 3 hours. At times there were four women on my head. Each played a different role in making your beautiful, neat twists. You do have to remind them to relax on the edges but otherwise, they were great. I will certainly be back.

I’ve been looking for a braiding salon closer to my home because I dont always have time to go to Harlem. I decided to give this place a try based on the reviews. They do excellent work, they dont braid to tight & most of them are friendly. Customer service is very important to me. I believe if im paying you to do a service then I expect to be treated a certain way. I’m 100% natural so I came in looking rough but my hair was washed and combed. The owner is the one who did my hair and she combed it again ok no prob. But then she tried to blow dry my hair. I wasnt having it because I know all she’s going to do is damage my hair, that took me a year to go after my big chop. Long story short we got into it and I ended up combing my own hair again for her. So she walks away with a attitude an starts talking about me in her language, which I understood because she speaks a French dialect an I understand French. They do great work but I refuse to deal with people who talk about me behind my back, give me attitude and then expect to get paid.

I can Say the salon is good No Complaints really. There is alot of staff so even when it is a full house there is someone able to do your hair (But still come early) only thing i could say is my stylist was a bit slow for me to be getting cornrow braids. It was a lady there before me with box braids and she finished at the same time but i guess it was not my stylist day that day. But i can say i would recommend this salon.

I went to this braiding place on the advise of a friend her hair looked great.
I went and was happy with the service the ladies were very friendly and welcoming. Fatima did my hair i had long box braids they were very neat tight lol but neat and she listened when i asked her to take out my edges she was very apologetic as well when she saw me wincing lol because of the tightness.
But all in all i was very happy with the end result and i had a lot of compliments.
The best part about it is that she was very fast. I would definitely go back for braids when needed.

The 5 stars is for how my hair looked when I walked out of here! Awesome! I believe it was Cisse who did my hair. I brought in a photo and she was so on point with giving me the style in the photo. So refreshing that she paid attention! If you have ever tried taking a pic into a salon before you that you don’t always walk out with the hair in the picture. I think my hair came out even better!
Another woman finished my hair which is pretty normal in an African braiding salon. But the intricate part was already done before the switch and the second woman (her mom) finished it up perfectly.
Great service and prices! So glad I walked in!