As women, it’s already a struggle to schedule a hair appointment, but to be accused of not paying for a service and to be held hostage in a salon? Now that is next level. Hoping to leave the braid shop with a new look, the traumatized customer left with a bald spot, a bunch of video evidence, and a story that has now reached more than a million people online.
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According to WBRC, Jessica Odom just finished her hair appointment at Mama’s Gifted Hands, a local African braid shop in Birmingham, Ala. Before, she and the stylist had agreed on a price of $200 for the service.
After taking a final look at her finished hair, Odom did exactly what any customer would do.
“I looked in the mirror, I loved my hair and I went in my purse and grabbed the $200 in cash and I gave it to the braider,” Odom said. “She started speaking in their language, and I don’t know what ethnicity they are but she went over to the owner, which they refer to as mama and she gave her the money and then she hopped up and she was like ‘no, this is $200.’”
Then things went completely left.
Refusing to accept the original amount, the stylist began demanding an additional $50 from Odom for using human hair. Odom suddenly found herself in the center of a battle against the stylist and the other workers.
“I just wanted to get my hair done and go home,” Odom told the outlet.
In the viral video, the stylist had wrapped her hands around the woman’s hair and demanded the remaining balance while the customer recorded the whole exchange on her phone.
“She told me to just give her $30 dollars and I can leave or if not, go sit in the chair and ‘we’ll cut the hair out,’” Odom told the outlet. “I said ‘You’re not cutting my hair out and I’m not giving you anything extra. I paid your $200, I’m leaving.’ She was like, ‘You’re not leaving,’ so she turns and locks the door.”
The clip begins with the stylist saying, “Yea, record us.”
“Let my hair go. I paid you exactly what I asked for,” the customer responded, yelling for her to release her hair.
The two women continued to yell at one another as the stylist gripped the customer’s hair. Based on their text conversation, the customer claims the new asking price of $250 was not the agreed price.
Tension escalates quickly.
“I’m going to sue you,” the customer said. “I’m going to shoot you too,” the stylist said.
“I said ‘sue,’” the customer shot back. “I’m going to sue you, too,” the stylist responded.
Odom says she was held inside for about an hour while she tried to force her way out and called the police.
According to AL.com, On Nov. 21, stylist Aissatou Camara, 32, Julia Ondo, 30, and Gwadys Audrey Nzinga Koumba, 45, were arrested and charged with first-degree kidnapping and third-degree assault. They are being held with no bond.
Just earlier this year, The Root reported that Black women were calling for a protest against patronizing African braid shops because of the constant disrespect they experience while getting their hair braided. This latest incident has social media on fire.
“I would have recorded what I needed to record, turned that camera off, and went to work,” one Threads user wrote.
“Ain’t no way you pulling my hair and we still talking,” a TikTok user wrote under the viral video.
“See where hate and xenophobia will get you?” another TikTok user wrote. “She treated this lady this way because of her extreme bias and pre-existing negative stereotypes towards Black women.”
No court date has been announced for the workers.
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