African Nubian Queens Hair in Durham, NC

I called needing an appointment ASAP. I was told to come and I could be seen right away. I arrived with no waiting. My hair is very damaged from color and relaxer applied by my beautician . My hair is 12 inches long with areas shorter than1/2 inch. They were very sympathetic and able to braid my very short areas without problems. I am very surprised that I don't have a headache and my hair is not too tight. Its beautiful. Great job!

After my first braider flaked on me, I had to come up with another plan and FAST. A colleague of mine had mentioned this place earlier. I remembered and called. They were able to get me in within an hour...on a Sunday! I went with my favorite protective style -box braids which were done very neatly. The downside to this salon's location is it's downtown and parking can sometimes be challenging. The ladies were nice and fast! Happy customer!

I got senegalese twists here in March 2012. I had an appointment but when I arrived I had to wait and hour and 45 mins with someone else who had an appointment. The braids were great, but the customer service wasn't. The women were very loud and conversed on the phone and with each other the entire time. I left in a hurry and didn't look back until today.
I called yesterday for an appointment and the woman was very friendly and kind over the phone. I let her know that I had been there before, was pleased with the work, but was there for too long. My appointment was at 8:30 am and a stylist was there waiting for me. Over the phone I was quoted 4 hours for medium sized box braids, but I was out of there by 12!!! I was really impressed with how quick these ladies worked on my hair. I had to block out the conversations and phone calls but was still pretty impressed. The only downside of the braids is that they didn't knot the ends (which I guess is somethings that not all braiders do, but I think should), and that they were $240. I think I could have paid a lot less somewhere else, but knew the quality would be great and didn't want to risk waiting my money elsewhere like I have done twice before in the past.

I have so many things to say about my visit to this place!

Pros:
- I was able to get a last minute appointment
- I am satisfied with the style, I actually slept that night so it was not done too tightly
- One of the stylists there was very professional. Wish I had her name. She worked quickly, she never answered her phone. All I know is she doesn't speak their language

Cons:
- I was told it would take 4 hours it took 7hours
- I paid $200 ... I have never paid so much for BOX braids but I wanted them long
- The staff there are not very professional, they are nice but LOUD. I am not opposed to them speaking their language but no matter what language you are speaking in, excessive yelling and cackling is obnoxious as well as your personal phone ringing every 15 minutes
- Their credit card machine does not work so you have to go to the ATM and get cash or just bring cash
- Parking on the street is 1 hour only, so you have to keep moving your car every hour, or park in the city deck (0.2 miles up the road) which only takes cash or check  - NO CARDS!

Overall, they have potential but it's unprofessional to quote someone 4 hours and then  unapologetically take 7. Myself and another lady who was in the shop had to be at work in the afternoon and we were both late. The stylists said "it depends on your hair" but you can clearly see my hair while you are telling me four hours.  She kept telling me someone else was coming to help her and no one ever came.

I am not deterring anyone from going, as a matter of fact they have many return customers and good reviews on other sites which is why I went, but the key is to be very specific with them that I must be out of here by this time or make sure the 2 or 3 people braiding your hair are all there before they start. And also ask them IF it takes longer than 4 hours how much will they discount the price.  Time is of the essence ladies, and so beautiful hair!