
Can you imagine walking through a lofty, high-tech warehouse with brick walls, earthy tones, incredibly high ceilings and track lighting? This futuristic, ultra modern space with all four natural elements describes the new home of Khamit Kinks -- Hair Apparent's Salon of the Month. Khamit Kinks is the premier natural hair care salon, located in the thriving borough of Brooklyn, New York. Originally founded in a Brooklyn brownstone in 1989, Khamit Kinks moved to Tribeca, NYC in 1996 and has since completed a circular journey by returning to its roots-- contributing to Brooklyn's cultural and commercial renaissance.
Find out more about salon owner, Anu Prestonia and Khamit Kinks' hair philosophy.

Do you remember the infamous GODDESS and TRINI Braids from the 90's. The Afro Bush, Baby Bush and unique natural stylized bridal designs are the signature creations of innovator, Anu Prestonia, founder and owner of Khamit Kinks. The salon boast a celebrity clientele of who's who, including Stevie Wonder, Oprah Winfrey, Angela Bassett, Lenny Kravitz, Queen Latifah and many others. Khamit Kinks' regal styles have also graced the pages of Essence and many beauty and fashion magazines. Ms. Prestonia paved the way and introduced several popular styles to African American culture, such as, Casamas Braids, Senegalese Twist and thread wrapping -- all styles originating in the motherland, Africa.
The salon has a diverse clientele and offers women of color, innovative styles incorporated with cultural heritage. It also provides quality services and continues to set the trends that all others follow. Anu, a natural hair care pioneer in her own right shares her philosophy with Hair Apparent.
HA: What is your Hair Philosophy?
Anu: My hair philosophy and the philosophy of the salon is -- it is essential to have a regimen that encourages and maintains a healthy head of hair, no matter what the style. Your hair always looks better if you start out with a healthy head of hair and the style of choice should forster hair growth. So after you remove the braids or weaves, your hair should continue to grow thicker and healthier.
Many clients mistakenly believe that if they wear locs, weaves or extensions, there is no need to care for their own hair. Every so often, each client should make the time and investment in receiving deep conditioning treatments for both their hair and scalp.
HA: You constantly change your hair styles. What is your current style and what are Khamit Kinks' signature styles?
Anu: Right now, I am wearing Sister Locks, which I have worn for a few years now. This is my third set of locks. Since I have dyed the tips of my Sister Locks with a vibrant turquoise color, admirers often approach me. Khamit Kinks' signature styles right now are the Baby Curl Twist, Cola Weaves, Swing Braids and Stylized Locks.
HA: What are the more popular styles that your clients are requesting?
Anu: The Baby Curl, which is a two-strand twisted style using textured extensions, is by far our most requested hair style. The Baby Curl hairstyle tends to be costly, since human hair is required. Consequently, we have developed an alternative version using a less expensive hair, which we call the Gypsy Twist.
HA: What products do you highly recommend for your clients?

Anu: Of course, we highly recommend our signature Khamit Kinks hair oils. These oils are formulated by yours truly, using top quality natural ingredients. We also highly recommend Jane Carter Solution products, as well as, the Indigo line of products.
HA: What essential tips can you offer for our braided and locked sistas for maintaining healthy hair?
Anu: One of our essential tips for maintaining healthy hair is to moisturize, moisturize, moisturize. Our hair tends to be dry. This is especially true during the fall and winter months when the air is exceptionally dry. Since we all tend to hibernate a little more during the cold season, it's a great time to treat ones self to the moisturizing treatments offered at their favorite salon. For those wearing locks this is a must! Also, I would like to recommend for those with locks and weaves to have their hair serviced more often to cut down on the rancid and sour smells that are often times associated with these styles.
HA: How does Khamit Kinks stand out from other salons?
Anu: We at Khamit Kinks have a high level of respect and regard for our clients. We believe what makes us stand out is the superior customer service we offer our clients. We are open and receptive to their needs and concerns and we do our best to have them leave the salon with a glowing smile on their faces.


Comments: (23)
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By: KER on 1/20/2008 3:00AM
I also want to add to my comment above that not only were attitudes bad at Khamit Kinks, I had become unhappy with how my hair was looking. We need people who trully love and know how to do hair. If your heart is not in it and hair is not something you really like doing don't become a hairdresser. Also stop being selective about what person's hair you're doing. You should want the client's hair to look good when they leave the salon. I don't want to sound vain but I never received any comments after I left your salon but when my sister did my hair everyone wanted to know where I got my hair done. My sister is not even in the hair business.
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By: Kendra on 1/20/2008 2:00PM
Ms. Prestonia,
My mom was a loyal client of yours for many years, first with braids, then locs. She continued to come to you when she moved to PA, but now that she's in FL, she has no stylist for her locs. I would truely appreciate a reccomendation for a good natural hair care salon in the Tampa/St. Pete area if you know one. She was a faithful and loyal client of yours for many years. I'd like to have her locs cut and styled for her birthday. She hasn't had much success with salons so she's pretty much given up years ago. Please help.
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By: Tracey on 1/21/2008 4:07PM
Reading these comments brings back some memories for me. My first visit to the salon was in the early 90's when I got my hair braided in goddess braids a beautiful new hair style I saw in Essence magazine. The salon was in a Brownstone in Brooklyn and the service was just wonderful. I had lock extensions(actually just had some locks reattached) done when the salon was in Manhattan about 2 years ago. The stylist was late,kept stopping to do other things. Some guy(a regular?) came in and needed to have his locks rebraided (I don't think she worked on my hair for an hr straight) took a lunch break, then when it was getting late rushed through my head. When I got home and looked @ the back my head in the mirror there was 1 or 2 locks that were not completed. I do hair on the side and have ordered hair for the styles from them. The first time was fine, the second time the hair took along time to arrive, I had to call them to find out what the holdup was. Shame on me, I was so pissed off(with both situations) I never complained. As the years have passed the quality of the work(lock reattachment) has proved to be poor. Large black pieces of thread were visible as the locks grew out. So I did it myself, Thank God for my skill. I couldn't afford to pay someone eles (what I paid them) to fix my problems. Very long story short, I wouldn't go back and wouldn't encourage anyone to go there either, even though someone eles' experience might be different.
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