The Digital Perm Experience at Beauty Brick Salon
Exactly a week ago, I finally made the decision to subject my dull, undefiled hair to an afternoon of chemicals and heat. I’ve been growing my hair out for the last two years with the intention of getting a digital perm (digiperm) as soon as it got long enough to cover my boobs. But last Sunday, I looked at myself in the mirror and realized that I don’t want to wait another two or three months to get new hair. As soon as I made my decision I began to feel nervous, mostly because I’ve heard a lot of mixed reviews about digiperm outcomes; some say that their curls unraveled the day after they got the perm, others say that their hair stayed curly for almost a year. I know that digiperm curls eventually unravel and become sexy mermaid waves, but I don’t want it to happen too soon after the perm.
Then there was the matter of finding the right salon and hairdresser. It took so long for my hair to finally grow this length, and I am not trusting it to some incompetent hairdresser who will botch up the whole thing. And since I don’t really know if the hairstyle I want will flatter my face, I’ll need someone who can give his expert opinion on what will look good. The Internets say that Korean salon Tony and Jackey does really good perms, but I chose to get my hair done at Beauty Brick Salon in Makati instead. I figured that if everyone gets their perms done at Tony and Jackey, the salon will probably be crowded as hell, and I refuse to spend hours waiting for my turn to go under the curlers. So when I stumbled upon the rave reviews of Beauty Brick at the Female Network forums, I was convinced I had found my salon. According to the forum posters, the service is excellent, the staff is friendly, and salon manager Mr. Shin is a perming genius who will give you his undivided attention and suggestions that work. I made my appointment at Beauty Brick and set aside an entire Saturday afternoon to get my hair done.
Even though the salon was bustling with activity when I got there, I was greeted by a chorus of welcomes from the staff. I’m glad I did the smart thing and made an appointment instead of walking in; I soon found out that Saturdays are their busiest days.
After a shampoo and a quick trim by Mr. Shin, my “virgin hair” (hair that has never been chemically treated) was soaked in a solution for about half an hour and placed underneath the heating hat.
My hair was then rinsed and ready to get permed. I love how efficient this salon is – it took Mr. Shin and two staff members to apply the curlers.
Each curler was then strapped on to the freaky-looking digiperm machine, which controls the heat and the time it will take for my hair to cook. My boyfriend says that the digiperm machine was set at 150 degrees Celsius, then he mentioned something about how now would be a bad time for the machine to blow up. Not really something you want to hear while your hair is attached to it. :P After twenty minutes or so, my hair was removed from the curlers and soaked in another solution for about half an hour. After one last rinse, my perm was finally done!
“Kawaii!” said Mr. Shin as he arranged my curls. Apparently, my hair responded really well to the perm; there was no damage from the chemicals, and the curls should stay bouncy and healthy for a long time. While he applied hair wax on my curls, Mr. Shin gave me aftercare instructions – no shampooing for the next two days, let the hair dry naturally, and use mousse or wax on the curls so they’ll maintain their shape.
I’m really happy with how my perm turned out, and I’m glad I chose to get my hair done at Beauty Brick. Aside from the awesome job Mr. Shin did, it was the little things that made the whole experience worthwhile. The staff made sure I was comfortable the entire time and kept offering me pillows or magazines to read. I even got a head, neck, and shoulder massage while my hair was being soaked. As for the price, I found it pretty reasonable at P3,500, considering I got really great service and walked away with awesome hair. I doubt that I’ll need to go to a salon anytime soon but when the time comes for a retouch, I’m definitely trusting no one but Mr. Shin.
I don’t know why my boyfriend thinks pouty pictures are cute, but I posted this picture because it shows my eye makeup well. :P I bought the Urban Decay Eyeshadow Ammo palette on eBay recently and it was such a good investment. For my daytime look, I use Chopper and Smog. (Will write a review about this later!)
And to reward my boyfriend for spending three hours at the salon with me, a glimpse of my sideboob!
Forgive the major eyebags, I only slept four hours the night before and I came down with a nasty bout of the flu a few hours after stepping out of the salon.
Beauty Brick Hair Art Salon is located at Unit 103 Doña Consolacion Bldg., 122 Jupiter St., Bel-Air, Makati City. For appointments, call or text 473-5108/0917-5200044. Trust me, you won’t regret getting your hair done there!
Wow! That perm looks good on you. Is Mr. Shin Japanese? I think I want to try his salon.
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Lauren Reply:
December 14th, 2009 at 10:09 am
Thanks! :D He’s actually Korean, but he opened a salon in Japan and speaks fluent Japanese. You should definitely get your hair done at Beauty Brick! Service is top-notch, not to mention that Mr. Shin is really good at what he does.
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love the curls!!! im so inspired to get one myself….have to wait 6months for my hair to grow out tho (boo). but it was so nice for the bf to wait for you :)
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Lauren Reply:
December 17th, 2009 at 5:21 pm
Hee, he’s the best boyfriend ever.
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oh my! just 3,500 for sexy curls? now that made me cringe. i remember last 2007 right after i received my back pay from iweb, i’ve spent 5 grand out of it for my digiperm service at a japanese-korean salon along shaw (i forgot the name of the salon). awwwww…. next time i decided to get my hair curled, i’ll visit Beauty Brick Salon. Thanks for sharing Lau. Regards to Marco.
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Lauren Reply:
December 17th, 2009 at 5:22 pm
Ooh yeah, I remember you had curly hair for a time! 5k is hella expensive though. o_o You should definitely get your hair done by Mr. Shin, he gives great haircuts too. :D See ya soon!
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how much does the perming cost?
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Lauren Reply:
January 5th, 2010 at 1:45 am
Mine cost P3500. I’m not sure if that’s a flat rate or the rate for my hair length.
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wow… after your review and this one http://35664.multiply.com/photos/album/317# i’m leaning towards mr. shin na instead of t&j. weeh.. excited!
thanks for sharing.
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Lauren Reply:
January 5th, 2010 at 1:46 am
Yay! Good luck with your perm. Bring a book to read, you’ll be at the salon for at least 3 hours!
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Your curls are overly cute!!!!! And by the way, you have a beautiful hair from the beginning, which might be the reason why your hair turned out to have gorgeous curls. But 3,500 is somehow expensive… I’ve heard Victor Ortega offers around 1,500 for digiperm too. It’s good that you’ve made the right decision though. I’ll try to visit Beauty Brick.
Also, I suggest you color your hair dark brown / ash brown. I think it’s becoming to your skin color and heart-shaped face. =)
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Consider me a Mr. Shin _fan_ heeeh. I went back to him this year for another treatment. For as long as I’d want perms, I’d keep going back to him!
I had him do my first digiperm a few years back at his old salon (Ark’s Salon). Sad to hear he had to close it down. Beauty Brick is more conveniently located, interiors definitely nicer than his old one.
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hi… just want to ask if beautybrick accepts credit cards?! thanks btw ur hair looks good on you..
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Lauren Reply:
January 20th, 2010 at 11:59 am
I’m afraid they don’t. Bring cash. :)
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how’s your hair now? :) I got a digiperm there too last September and it’s still nice and curly now. It’s getting a bit long for my comfort though and i’m not exactly sure what to do next – have it cut and retouched? What do you think?
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Lauren Reply:
March 8th, 2010 at 3:09 am
I love my perm! Most of the curls are still there, but I notice that the ends are starting to loosen up into mermaid waves. How long is your hair now? If I were you, I’d wait a couple more months til you get your hair retouched cos the chemical bath might end up frying your permed hair. A haircut might be a good idea, especially since it’s starting to get so warm these days. But you should probably get it done by Mr. Shin cos he’s the one who did your perm in the first place. :)
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I’ve got my digiperm a month ago at Tony & Jackey’s. I’m just wondering what mousse or wax you use to maintain curls. For a while I’ve just been using setting lotion and cuticle coat.
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Lauren Reply:
March 8th, 2010 at 10:08 pm
I use Human Heart Nature’s styling cream (http://iambourgeois.com/hair/switching-to-organic-hair-care-products/). Before that, I bought V05 Mousse but I hated the chemical smell. Mr Shin says it doesn’t matter what product you use as long as you put something to make the curls hold. :)
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Hi Lauren :) I was wondering what your hair texture is? I tried asking the korean salon owner if my thin hair would hold the curls well but I doubt she understood me. I’d love to hear your input before I actually get an appointment for the perm. btw, love your blog!
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Lauren Reply:
June 12th, 2010 at 12:45 pm
Thanks! :) Um, I don’t actually know what my hair texture is. It grows really thick and is slightly on the coarse side. Is your hair stick-straight and smooth? Cos if it is, the curls won’t hold and it’ll become wavy in about a week. I’ve seen this happen to friends with really straight hair before. I think their hair type really can’t hold perms.
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hey, thanks for the insight. fab blog you have here!
been getting an annual perm for the past 4 yrs @ T & J.
But, reading your review made me decide to mark my 5th perm-goodness year with a bang!
i would definitely get it from Beauty Brick, thanks to you. :)
cheers!
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Lauren Reply:
July 1st, 2010 at 10:51 am
Yay! Good luck with your perm. Mr Shin is awesome. :D
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hello is that a medium curls? :)
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