Unfortunately my experience at Alexandre's was not a good one and I will not be returning. The salon does not appear to be used to black hair care. I was referred to Alexandre's because a lady in my neighborhood had beautiful bouncing hair. When I asked where she had gotten it done, she said Alexandre de Paris. I am from Atlanta, Ga, where there is a very high level of quality of black hair care. So far, I have not found this in Washington, DC since moving here 6 months ago. After seeing my neighbor's hair, I was hoping Alexanders would be it. When I entered the salon I was immediately impressed. It is quite bright and modern--the quality I am used to in Atlanta. It was a place that looks as if hair professionals take pride in their work and treat it as an art. Upon my appointed time, I was whisked away to the washing bowl. My hair was immediately washed, but I wasn't certain it was conditioned. If it was, the conditioner wasn't on my hair very long. (A necessity for black hair.) My stylist was very nice. I asked if specifically if she was used to styling black hair. She mentioned she didn't get many clients, but she knew what she was doing. I asked specifically because my hair is natural (unrelaxed) and I wear it straight. I was not overly concerned that she was not African American, as I've had many races straighten my hair. As long as they are skilled, I don't mind at all. To make along story short, she wasn't as experienced with black hair as she'd indicated. My hair looked better when I walked in than when I walked out. However, she was quite nice and even offered to get another stylist to finish, as my hair was extremely puffy. She tried very hard to "fix" it, but in the end, after 2 1/2 hours there, I gave up. The problem came with the bill. I was appalled that I had to pay $70 to walk out of Alexandre's looking like Ronald McDonald. The stylist was aware that my wasn't completely satisfied with my hair. The lady who took my payment could see that my hair was a mess. Why didn't they ask? And why make me pay full price for a job they knew was poorly executed. My recommendations for improvement: 1) Please listen for indicators of a person's race and match them with a stylist that is experienced with that method of hair care. When I made the appointment, I tried to give every indicator possible that I was African American without insulting the appointment agent and shouting, "I am black! Give me a person who knows how to do black hair!" It is understandable that some stylist wouldn't have experience with black hair care. However, given this, don't steer African American patrons in that direction. 2) If a stylist can see that a patron is not happy with the style, and even the stylist is not comfortable with it: Don't charge the patron. If a patron walks out with a bad style and someone asks where they got it done, the salon maintains its good name when the patron can say, they stylist wasn't great, but they didn't have to pay for it. I understand paying for a stylist's time, but isn't it just as big a drain on MY time to sit in a chair for 2 1/2 hours and still leave with messy hair? 3) Please prep the desk agents to ASK a patron if they are happy with their hair style once the stylist is out of earshot. And please provide a mechanism to deal with negative feedback. It would improve customer service. Unfortunately, I cannot recommend this place to my colleagues, who are also black professionals looking for a quality place for healthy black hair care. However, I do appreciate the opportunity for feedback.