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 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. However, it was the rave reviews at the Female Network forums that finally had me convinced. 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. So 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. 
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. 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.
And to reward my boyfriend for spending three hours at the salon with me, a glimpse of my sideboob!
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!
