Moving to a new city is great and fun. It’s an adventure! There’s so much to do and try, be it a new bar / restaurant or finding your favorite retail store. But when searching for hair inspo in a new city, where do you turn? Pinterest, Google, and Youtube have been a go to for many women since 2010. But Instagram is proving to be a modern day visual Yellow Pages with vibrant imagery and information for hair salons.

Mikki Hendrix, a St. Louis native and Detroiter (as of February 2017), scoured the web for hair inspiration and hair stylists in the Detroit area after she relocated. Pinterest, Facebook and Yelp provided few suggestions for either.

Pinterest, specifically, doesn’t fully depict the range and extensive hairstyles that black women have. So she turned to Instagram and GroupMe. We were in a mutual group chat the proved fruitful in her search, as well as the Instagram search feature.

“Because I don’t know much, I went to Instagram and hit the hashtag #detroithair , then I found a lady. My real frustration was that I had to drive to Farmington Hills. I found another lady who had good photos and other people went to hair. I’m particular about how straight they can get my hair. “ - Mikki

What’s a girl to do when circumstances determine that she move to different cities? “My curl pattern is inconsistent. I’ve moved to three cities since I’ve been natural” said Hendrix. Again, moving to a new city is great and empowering! But, the water is different in every city and will impact your hair and skin. “I didn’t realize the water and cold would impact my hair as much“ said Mikki. This is where a community comes in. Every hair space has their “regulars”. These people will tell you who is great and who isn’t. But when you don’t know any regulars, Instagram is your friend.

Personally, when I moved to another city I purchased a filter for my shower because I was unsure of the water.

Yelp. Pinterest. But Instagram Reigns Supreme.