When you find a good hair salon, you never go back. When I moved to Korea, I thought for months and months about going to the salon and never did. Choosing a new hair salon is daunting enough in your own home country, let alone somewhere with a different language altogether! Nonetheless, I grew tired of my hair and wanted change. And so, here is my experience at a Hair Salon in Korea.
Choosing the Right Salon
Choosing a hair salon in Korea is difficult for foreigners, not just because of the language, but because Korean hair is different from ours. We’ve all been through the dreadful experience of asking a hairdresser for a trim and ending up with a short bob…and that’s in our native language! On that note, I searched for a foreigner-friendly hair salon.
Captain Housae & LUMIO Beauty House
If you follow Korean YouTubers like Q2han or Joanday, you may have heard about their hairdresser, Captain Housae of LUMIO Beauty House. My friend and I contacted him through Instagram in English and he was very friendly. Moreover, he booked appointments for us personally.
My Experience
The time of my visit was during Covid-19, and so the salon had appropriate safety measures in place. The staff took our temperature on entry, as well as our contact details, stored our belongings and provided us with new masks to wear inside the salon.
I wasn’t 100% sure what treatments I wanted and so the hairdresser recommended me a colour that he thought would suit me. He also discussed the price with us before we agreed to the treatments — we even got a 30% discount for mentioning Q2han!
Colour and Cut
The hairdresser and I decided on a lighter colour for my hair. However, as my hair is very dark and thick, several rounds of bleaching were necessary. He started the first round of bleaching which took about 20 minutes, washed it and then cut in a layered style. After that, he applied the second round of bleach and continued it was light enough to apply colour and toner
The entire process took around 5 hours and I was very satisfied with the service. The staff were friendly, considerate and clearly talented in their line of work. I would definitely recommend this salon to other foreigners living in Korea. The artists are very knowledgeable about different hair types.
Note: price, duration and experience may vary depending on hair length, type and whether allergies are present.
Address: 19 Bongeunsa-ro 4-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul Operating Hours: 10:00am - 8:30pm everyday
