Haircut at Beauty Brick, a Korean Salon

After months of planning and then suddenly forgetting about it, I finally had a haircut done at BEAUTY BRICK, one of the much raved about Korean salons in the Philippines, well, at least online. Thanks to various blogs and forums (hello GIRLTalk!), I came to know about the "wonders" this salon does to its clients. 

So here goes my Beauty Brick experience.

For starters, I had to set an appointment to ensure that I'd be accommodated. I was just fortunate that even if I called the salon at 10 am, I was able to secure a 1 pm slot on the same day. It was one of those relaxed days for the salon, I was told. Maybe because it was a Tuesday? Anyway, tagging my ever supportive Hubby along, I then braved the heat of the metro and commuted all the way from Marikina to Makati just to be at Beauty Brick a little after lunch. 

We found the location to be a bit obscure even if it's just along Jupiter St. We should have been more watchful of some landmarks particularly Red Ribbon and Franck Provost. 

Upon entering the salon, we received a chorus of welcome greeting from the staff. Though we arrived  30 minutes early, I was immediately brought to the shampoo station since there were no other clients at the moment. Meantime, the Hubby settled at the cozy reception area. 

 Designated Relaxing Area

Cool wall graphics!:)

Cool wall graphics!:)

The shampoo boy was very courteous. He asked me for my preferences several times ("Cold or warm water ma'am?", etc.) and gave me helpful notices ("Ma'am mainit po yung towel ha", etc.) before he proceeded with his task. 

Afterwards, I was brought to my seat and my hair was blow-dried by one of the salon's staff. She paid attention to my hair and asked where I had it permed. I gleefully told her that I had the curls since birth teeeheee. That was actually the second time I was asked by a salon staff where I got a perm, first was in Azta Urban Salon. (Read the story here.^^)

My longer hair and curls on some random day and
minutes before the haircut, for everyone's reference
PLEASE DON'T MIND MY FACE IN BOTH SHOTS^^

I was given some hair magazines so I can have a photo reference of the cut that I want. I flipped through each magazine while being entertained with stories and salon trivia by the staff who blow-dried my hair and a co-staff. 

Finally, it was time for my haircut. A Korean man approached and checked my hair. Known as Mr. Shin, he's the owner of Beauty Brick who always sees to it that he personally attends to each client. Unfortunately, I couldn't talk to him directly because he speaks Japanese. But thanks to a Filipina assistant who translated for him, communication was made possible. Whew!:)

I showed Mr. Shin the photo of my preferred cut but he commented (through his assistant) that the cut I chose will not work for me because of my natural curls. So I told him (through his assistant as well) that I will just entrust my hair to him and leave everything  to his discretion. I was asked if I wanted "blow-dried" or "natural" finish. I chose the latter, of course.

Mr. Shin at work.

The snipping, shaping and styling of my crowning glory were done in less than 30 minutes. Yes, that fast! It ended up, however, looking blow-dried even if I asked for the natural finish. Here's the "right-after-stepping-out-of-the-salon" photo of my new hair. For some reason, my photo was taken against a black background, sorrrrrrrrrrreeeeee!T_T    

Anyway, here's a clearer photo of my new hair taken less than 3 days after my Beauty Brick visit - already washed, shampooed and conditioned. I somehow managed to style my hair in such a way that the curls are defines and yet tamed, at least in my opinion hahaha :) I MISS MY LONG HAIR THOUGH...but that's another story.

After settling the bill (cash basis only as Beauty Brick does not accept credit card payments), we headed to the door and the staff thanked us again in chorus. A big check for customer service!:)

Would I go back to Beauty Brick for a haircut? Well yes, though I have plans of exploring other salons as well.:) It seems to me that Mr. Shin knows his craft well and passionate about bringing out the best in his clients. At a glance, the price may be higher than what I pay for cuts done in average salons but since it would most probably be an annual thing for me, then the price is just right. 

BEAUTY BRICK is located at Unit 103 Dona Consolacion Bldg. 122 Jupiter St., Bel-Air, Makati. Contact numbers: 4735108, 09175200044. The salon is open from 10 am to 8pm, Mondays to Saturdays.