Just wanted to put in a good word for Sondra Goodwin at Renee's Uptown Salon up here in Alpine. SD KItty mentioned her in Sept but I didn't see a follow-up since then. I can't remember where online I found Sondra (I thought it was on NC.com) but never mind that as I'm so glad I did! I made an appt for a free consult which was incidentally today. She's very pleasant and listened to my concerns (gripes?) about straight haircuts that left my curls grasping for identity. She took her time figuring out my texture, pattern, etc and her recommendations were so intuitive that it made perfect sense to stay for my first Deva cut! She cut me dry, reworking the back to balance the overall shape and then did a gentle low-poo and conditioner followed by a soothing scalp massage... yummmy! She scrunched out the drips and very lightly trimmed a bit here and a bit there to even things up... really, teensy tiny snips... so everything blends as it continues to grow back. She scrunched in an aloe vera glaze and a generous palmful of mousse (both sold in the salon) and then diffused me, head between my knees towards the last. I'm just getting my head (!) around products and the mousse seemed to work better that the AnGel and GF clean gel that I've been using (if my avatar posts, it was taken AS (after Sondra). I couldn't be more pleased to have finally found a stylist who "gets" my curls and wanted to spread the word for other frustrated curly girls who live in East County and the Mountain Empire. She charges $35-$45 depending on your curl pattern and the salon carries DevaCurl as well as other organic products. Sondra Goodwin (619) 445-4031. 2710 Alpine Blvd, Suite L, Alpine, CA 91901 www.reneesuptownsalon.com