If you’re looking for someone new to do your hair, these are the names to try. They each give you that something extra. They don’t charge an arm and a leg – their prices are from $60 for a cut, $100 for colour. They’ve won awards at hair competitions. Bonus: they’re easy to get a last-minute appointment with.
Photography Kenneth Wong, assisted by Chong/Stills Network Styling Jeanette Ejlersen Makeup Kenneth Lee, using YSL Beaute Models Nastya/Mannequin & Desiree/AVE Jackets & Tops H&M
ALSO READ: THINGS ARE LOOKING ROSY FOR SINGAPORE’S HAIRDRESSING INDUSTRY & HER WORLD SPA AWARDS: 11 EDITOR-APPROVED HAIR SERVICES TO TRY NOW
Go to him for: Hairstyling
Eng has been in the business for eight years. Be it a Maleficent-inspired horn hairdo for a costume party or event-ready hair for a wedding or D&D you need him to do, it all comes easily to him. How do we know? He’s a familiar face in the fashion, editorial and celeb scenes. He creates looks for models and magazine covers, and for local actresses Oon Shu An’s and He Ying Ying’s red-carpet showings, where having the right hair is as important as what you wear.
Eng’s customer of three years, Haley Chow, says it’s not just hairstyling skills he has. He’s a good cutter too. Her haircut lasted six months without looking like an unruly mop as it grew out.
Another customer raves about his skill in colouring. Because it’s not easy turning brown hair purple without damaging it.
Find him at Hairloom, #01-50 Shaw Tower, tel: 6295-2088. From $80 for hairstyling services.
Instagram: @bosco_eng; salon instagram @instahairloom
ALSO READ: THE BEAUTY TREND EDIT: NYFW AW’18 & 5 WAYS TO KEEP YOUR SKIN IN TIP TOP CONDITION
Go to him for: Cutting & colouring
Kawasaki has worked in the hair industry for nine years – four in Tokyo, and five in Singapore.
He specialises in low-maintenance haircuts. You don’t have to spend hours styling your hair after he’s cut it. You could even walk out of the house as is, in the mornings.
He’s your go-to guy for drastic changes – a long cut to a short one, or a natural shade to a wild, bold purple.
Four out of five new customers he gets become regulars. Why? He’s gentle. He makes every effort to bleach out uneven tones from previous colouring jobs without damaging the hair. And when your new colour fades after a few months, you’ll merely look as if you have a new shade, and not like you need a touch-up.
Find him at Kizuki+Lim, 31 Seah Street, tel: 6221-6320. From $60 for a women’s haircut; $100 for hair colouring.
Instagram: @koji11251; salon instagram @kizuki_lim
ALSO READ: THINGS ARE LOOKING ROSY FOR SINGAPORE’S HAIRDRESSING INDUSTRY & HER WORLD SPA AWARDS: 11 EDITOR-APPROVED HAIR SERVICES TO TRY NOW
Go to him for: Korean & Japanese perming
A hairstylist for 11 years, Chong is a perm expert. He can give you the tight, high-volume curls Korean women love, or the natural waves Japanese girls favour.
His special instinct for hitting on the right perming temperature for your hair texture means the strands don’t get fried. He wants your curls to be perfect from the start. For him, there’s no such thing as the industry practice of doing a tighter curl that loosens up after a few washes. Instead, he gives you hair treatments
during the perm so the curls last longer. After the perm, he goes the extra step of cutting your hair to further shape it.
Beauty writer Dione Chen, on whom he did a soft Japanese perm (these usually last about four months), says her curls are still holding well eight months later.
Find him at Salon Orient, #01-217/218 Marina Square, tel: 6336-3250. From $280 for a perm.
Instagram: @un_kenchong; salon instagram: @salon_orient
ALSO READ: THE BEAUTY TREND EDIT: NYFW AW’18 & 5 WAYS TO KEEP YOUR SKIN IN TIP TOP CONDITION
Go to him for: Cutting & colouring
If you go to this 13-year industry veteran, your hair will look great. All the time. Really.
Want to grow out short hair? Ng can give you a bob that will last six months, no trims needed (and here’s how to make them grow faster and stronger). Your hair may feel heavier, but it won’t lose its shape or look overgrown.
He’s also skilful at bleaching. Not every colourist can do what he does: carefully bleaching up to the roots with steady hands without hurting your scalp (bleach can burn and irritate the scalp, causing it to itch, scab and peel).
Says 27-year-old Denise Taw, a customer of three years: “I’ve done cuts, perms and fancy colours like platinum, green, blue and purple with Den. My hair always looks good and the colour lasts twice as long.”
Find him at Prep Luxe, #01-62 Capitol Piazza, tel: 6384-1406. From $95 for a women’s haircut.
Instagram: @den_ng_; salon instagram @prepyourhair
Right: Ng made this cut on a synthetic wig, which is notoriously hard to do because the strands don’t fall naturally like normal hair does.
ALSO READ: THINGS ARE LOOKING ROSY FOR SINGAPORE’S HAIRDRESSING INDUSTRY & HER WORLD SPA AWARDS: 11 EDITOR-APPROVED HAIR SERVICES TO TRY NOW
Go to him for: Colouring (ombre & full-head)
The hairdresser of eight years is a blending expert. For an ombre look, where two distinct colours – say, dark brown roots and pastel pink – blend seamlessly at a point, he knows just which sections of hair to pick up. You’ll end up with graduated colour, not blocks of it.
With full-head colour, which can easily look flat and lifeless, he doesn’t use only a single hue. He uses different tones of the same shade in different areas for added shine and depth.
Yeo knows what works for you. Even if you don’t. Says Sari Burkhard, a customer of five years: “When I wanted a new hair colour, Sandy chose one that suited my personality and skin tone, and I loved it although it wasn’t a colour I had initially considered.”
Find him at Evolve Salon, #02-09 Liang Court, tel: 6336-1358. From $150 for hair colouring.
Instagram: @__sysysy; salon instagram: @evolve_salon
Right: This “colour job” was done using hard-to-control colour sprays. What’s even more impressive is that it was done on a synthetic wig but still looks natural.
ALSO READ: THE BEAUTY TREND EDIT: NYFW AW’18 & 5 WAYS TO KEEP YOUR SKIN IN TIP TOP CONDITION
Go to him for: Colouring (balayage)
Teh honed his balayage skills during his national service days. It’s a highlighting technique where several colours come together without obvious streaks.
He’s like a van Gogh for hair, using it as a canvas to create an artistic look. He painstakingly paints different sections in varying colours so you can’t pick out distinct highlights. Be prepared to spend at least three hours at the salon.
Customers Keryn Wai, 25, and Lynn Koh, 34, say his colours always fade out nicely. Adds Koh: “I’ve never stuck to a hairstylist for long, but Teh’s skills keep me going back.”
Find him at Hair Inc., 76A Serangoon Garden Way, tel: 6487-4778. From $258 for balayage.
Instagram: @jameson_coiffure; salon instagram: @hairincsg
ALSO READ: THINGS ARE LOOKING ROSY FOR SINGAPORE’S HAIRDRESSING INDUSTRY & HER WORLD SPA AWARDS: 11 EDITOR-APPROVED HAIR SERVICES TO TRY NOW