Mane Element

I went to see Dionne based on her great Unilocal reviews and was not disappointed. She did a fantastic job and my lashes look amazing. She was also sweet and funny! I will update this soon to share how long they last.
I recently moved from NYC to DC and was stressed about finding high quality and affordable spa services. My lash salon in NYC, Bling Lash, only charges $ 125 for a full set of mink lashes. Dionne’s price seemed to be the most affordable in the area but you’d still be assured of quality. It took some sucking up to pay DC rates, but until lash extensions become more popular here and economies of scale brings the price done, I’d still say it was worth it.

The BEST! Dionna made an impossible situation POSSIBLE!
She took off the most hideous, embarrassing, unprofessional lashes that were done by someone else. Dionna, thank you for your patience, professionalism, and wonderful job! I would recommend you to EVERYONE!
Simply THE BEST!

Dionne is a hair professional and a perfectionist. I have come to her twice for a Brazilian blowout (the real kind). And she is always polite, punctual and very skilled at her craft. She takes her time and focuses on the customer. I have frizzy 1 inch ringlet curls and a long haircut. After the treatment my hair felt so incredibly silky and smooth. And the process lasted 6+ months very well. During that time I rarely used my flat iron and never worried about moisture or frizz at all. My morning hair routine became super easy, no more blowing out forever. And it looks so natural. My hair never felt like it was processed or had any smell at all. It is pricey but I felt it was worth it.
If you have very curly hair, do yourself a favor and go see Dionne at Mane Element. Life changer!

I’ve been going to Dionne for Brazilian blowouts for over a year and have recommended her to other friends. She is wonderful– friendly, on time, and painstaking in her application of the product. My hair stays straight, shiny, and frizz free for about four months or more. Highly recommend!

Dionne was great! I got a Brazilian Blowout from her back in October, and it’s just now slowly starting to wear out months later. She was BEYOND thorough and did a great job with my very thick and very long hair. No, her salon is not an over-​the-​top experience but her prices are fantastic especially considering the amount of work that goes into applying one of these treatments! She was a pleasure to talk to during the service and I definitely feel that I got my money’s worth. I will be going back to her. Also, to the other reviewer – because these treatments are so expensive, it’s industry standard to charge 50% upfront. I’ve been to some of the nicest salons in New York and paid significantly more for the same treatment without such great customer service! I definitely recommend Dionne.

5 WORDS: ONE WOMAN CHOP SHOP BUSINESS (to be fair I take back the «chop» since I never even got my hair cut)
ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE. WILL NEVER GO BACK. I picked her because she had 5 star reviews on Unilocal.If you don’t want to read the whole thing, just scroll to WHAT REALLY BLEW ME…
As a gift, my dad payed $ 275 for a Brazilian Blowout. I got there and the door to the building is locked. You have to search for the business name but there’s no Mane Element or Dionne listed, no nothing. I text her that I’m there and she tells me the suite # which isn’t helpful and I can only get in the building because someone else was coming out.
I was 20 min late which I take full responsibility for and I texted her ahead of time. She let me know that because I was late she would have to «SKIP THE LAST STEP of the Brazilian Blowout» which «wasn’t necessary.» Of course, I would still be charged for the full amount. I wasn’t thrilled but it was my fault for being late.
SHE SAID SHE WOULD HAVE TO RUSH to get the blowout done and then I reminded her that I had requested a trim as well. She said «I don’t remember that» until she checked her text and confirmed I had asked for it. So even though SHE didn’t remember and SHE did not allow enough time for that, she wants to charge me an extra $ 40. FOR A TRIM! Who doesn’t have time to squeeze in a trim anyway?
Now, initially when I booked with her prior to this appt and had to cancel I requested the blowout, a cut and relaxer. At the time, she said no problem we can do the relaxer first then blowout. She was going to charge me $ 375 for everything. My roommate does hair so I figure why not have her put the relaxer in and save $ 100. So that’s what I did the night before. Unfortunately, my scalp burned as it always does and I suspect as it would have had I gotten Dionne to do it.
She asked me if I had put relaxer in and then told me «it’s really best to space the 2 treatments out a couple of weeks.» BUT YET YOU WERE GOING TO CHARGE ME 375 FOR A SERVICE THAT GOES AGAINST YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS?!
The whole point of me going was to feel good about myself and look pretty. Instead I felt judged when she said «Mm…mm.mm» while shaking her head no because I had over processed my hair. Haven’t we all done that at one point?
As soon as she put in the clarifying shampoo my scalp started burning from the relaxer that was applied the night before. ETHICALLY, SERVICE SHOULD HAVE BEEN STOPPED AT THIS POINT.
When she put in the keratin it was even worse and I had to tell her to wash it out. I told her I wanted to come back another day once my scalp had some time to heal. She said that she had a 50% cancellation fee and I was somewhat surprised that she would still charge me for that given that I showed up AND wanted to re-​schedule (not to mention my dad pre-​paid the entire 275+tip so she already had collateral in case I didn’t come back). Plus, the cancellation policy is that at least 24 hrs. notice is required. But the email she sent me (which she said would be sent Thursday night) late Friday afternoon with a link to the cxl policy arrived less than 24 hrs from my Saturday morning appt. YOU KNOW, BECAUSE THAT’S FAIR.
WHAT REALLY BLEW ME… on top of the cancellation fee she wanted to charge me for the time she spent shampooing my hair and applying the keratin to about ¹⁄₃ of my hair!!! ARE U F@%KING KIDDING ME?! The cancellation fee should have been sufficient to cover any losses she might have incurred. She explains that she’s «all about being fair» but wants to charge me an extra $ 70 for the 40 minutes she spent with me. YOU ARE GOING TO CHARGE ME A 50% CANCELLATION FEE PLUS $ 70??? The result was she refunded $ 107 of the $ 317 my dad paid. What a fucking ripoff.
Throughout this whole thing, she kept saying «I dunno what to do, I’ve never been in this position before, I need time to think.» She had the nerve to say, «this is why I don’t like charging people up front» but yet you GREEDILY require a 50% deposit the day before an appt. My dad called her 4X to pay and said he kept getting 1 or no rings, so finally she had to call him. When I was at my appointment even she admitted that she «didn’t know what was going on with her cell phone.»
GET A LANDLINE, A LEGIT WEBSITE and A RECEPTIONIST. OH YEAH THE ADDRESS ON Unilocal IS WRONG. THEY’VE MOVED. WAY TO UPDATE.
Before I left, she actually told me I could come back and she would still charge me the new client price of $ 275. Wow, thanks for the favor even though I could get a better deal on both Unilocal and Living Social for under $ 200.
*******The only thing I got out of my visit to Mane Element was a bathroom trip before I left to get back on the metro. I would never go back. Not unless I REALLY HAD TO PEE.

This past weekend I went in and got a Brazilian blowout with Dionne. I was a little hesitant at first because I had never had the procedure done and didn’t want to ruin my hair. When I got there Dionne answered all my questions and made me feel at ease. Through the procedure she was a delight to talk to and made the 3 hours fly by. I washed my hair for the first time yesterday and I couldn’t believe how easy it was too do and less frizzy. It cut my time to do my hair in half and it looks better than ever. I would highly recommend going to Dionne, she was terrific and my hair has never looked/​felt better.

Dionne is super talented! She does an amazing braziian blowout and gave me the most gorgeous eyelashes (novalash)!!! She is incredibly knowledgeable about hair and eyelashes, is extremely professional and experienced. I feel totally confident with her and trust in her to do a fabulous job every time.

Unilocal reviews typically don’t lie… and this is how I discovered wonderful Dionne! Thank you fellow Unilocalers:) I got a Brazilian Blowout treatment from her last weekend and am VERY pleased with her work. My hair has not looked this shiny, healthy, straight and frizz-​free for a very long time! Dionne is relaxed, friendly, easy to talk to, and most importantly… totally knows her hair stuff (i.e. fully explained the Brazilian vs. keratin treatment difference, I had no idea these two were different?!). The salon itself is within a drab generic D.C. office building and not ‘bougie’ at all (no free-​flowing mimosas, spa candles, and soft music to put it that way) but really who cares when the prices are reasonable and the work top-​notch? Plus it’s quite refreshing to have the person who does your hair NOT push various expensive, useless fancy hair products upon you on your way out the door. I have had keratin and Brazilian blowout treatments at various places in Miami but Dionne is so far the best I have experienced and I will be back! Do not hesiatate to book an appointment asap… your hair will thank you! And you will thank her!

I had a Brazilian blowout here back in november and it just recently started to come out. I was going to go back to Dionne but I bought a Groupon for a «keratin» «la brasilian» at another salon. BIG mistake. Dionne told me I could wash my hair right away– the only limitation was I had to wash with sulfate free shampoo (standard). The other salon told me I had to keep my hair sweat-​free for at least 4 days– no washing and no hair-​ties. Huh? NEVER will go back to anyone except Dionne and maybe soon to fix this mess. I was hesitant to review her on here because I didn’t want her to be booked all of the time. :)

I have had several Brazilian Blowouts (including dropping a lot of money at the Rita Hazan Salon in NYC) and Dionne’s is by far the best. I’ve washed my hair twice since getting it done last weekend and my hair still looks and feels like I just got back from the salon. She did an amazing job and really took the time to make sure it was perfect.

I got a Brazilian Blowout from Dionne in November and it was fantastic. She’s very thorough and the blowout stayed for about 4 months.

I also had a great experience getting a Brazilian Blowout and cut from Dionne.
I had 4 or 5 Brazilian Blowouts at a different salon before coming to Dionne, and I much prefer Dionne. The straightening effects from this blowout seem to be lasting at least several weeks longer than prior iterations from a different location.
I will be going back to see her, once this treatment (finally) wears off.

I had a great experience getting a Brazilian Blowout and cut from Dionne. She was really friendly and easy to talk to, which is important when it takes several hours to get your hair done. She listened carefully to my requests (my hair had to be long enough in back to go in a ponytail, and in front to tuck behind my ears) and checked along the way to make sure that the cut was going to meet those criteria. Now that it’s been several days since my cut, and I’ve had the chance to see how it looked when I styled it myself, I’m still very pleased.
It was also easy to get in touch with Dionne to schedule my appointment. Mane Element is the name of Dionne’s business, which is located within a larger salon setting. There are a few stylists, each working in his or her own room, and sharing the waiting area and shampoo bowls.
Between the attentive service and reasonable prices (not to mention great location), I’ll be back!