Salon: Head Studio, Perth

Walking into Head Studio is like walking into the party you always wanted to go to, at the exact moment you wanted to be there.  The staff are hip and clad in the funkiest on-trend outfits naturally matching their ahead-of-the-trend hair.  The atmosphere is buzzing with creativity, the clans of white candles drip wax artistically onto the tables and gilded mirrors make the long salon look larger than it is.  Soothing indie tunes from an iPod allow clients to relax, while the coffee offered is the best salon quality I’ve ever had (it would be fit to serve at a cafe).

It’s only natural this aesthetically brilliant salon is nestled among Perth’s greatest boutiques in King Street and doesn’t seem (a hair) out of place.  The staff obviously shop at their neighbouring stores and know their stuff when I name drop hair styles from the likes of Tiah Eckhardt and Pip Edwards (of Ksubi fame).

I dragged myself out of bed to enter Head Studio at 10.15am on a Saturday (yes, I was still in bed around 9-ish;  it was a hard night before) and was pleasantly surprised to find myself whisked straight through to the consultation area of the salon by Marc Cain and offered that wonderful coffee.  Served on a Moroccan-style green and gold patterned saucer with a small cookie on the side, I was admiring this and the rest of the salon’s interior when Fleur and Rachael came up to introduce themselves.  Fleur would be my colourist, creating the balayage look in my ends that I’d been lemming for a while.  Rachael would then cut and style my new locks to make the most of them.

Colour: As my hair is naturally brown, Fleur and I decided to highlight only the ends in a lighter colour for the balayage.  We headed upstairs and immediately got into it with Fleur sectioning my hair in zig-zag parts and intermittently free brushing the colour on and setting with foils.  As she goes, we get talking.  Fleur says balayage has become increasingly popular over the last few years, despite it being around since the 70s, and that she does at least two heads of balayage a day.  This, she says, is mostly due to celebs like Alexa Chung (whose name is repeated over and over to me as the hot hair look of the moment), Erin Wasson, Nicole Richie (pre-Australia trip) and SJP.  But she warns that if you’re thinking of going for the balayage style, you really need to make sure it’s for you.  For people who have highlights all over and want to try balayage, they may not like it because it will feel like regrowth.  It’s up to the person and the style whether they can pull it off, says Fleur.

That being said, there are many types of balayage available through Head Studio and Marc breaks it down for me saying, “each technique depends entirely on the consultation and desired look.”

Balayage Full Head: Inclusive foil technique with 3 tones blending from root colour to mid-lengths and ends.  At Head Studio, this starts from $145 to $165.

Balayage Root Fade: Root stretch, good if you like your ends but want to go darker/lighter from roots to mid-lengths.  $105 at Head Studio.

Balayage Freehand (what I had done): Gives a great natural feel or can be very drastic – it’s up to the person.  This one is $105, also.

Marc also notes that most styles require toning, which can range from $17 to 30.

All balayage styles take between one to one-and-a-quarter hours.

After a wash out (where Edward Scissorhands is playing above you!), toner, treatment and misting, I’m taken back downstairs with Rachel to get my cut and style done.

Cut: Rachael works super fast. That’s the first thing I notice about her.  Next, I notice her cool deep red balayage that has me mentally preparing to do that colour next time.  Then I notice she uses a .8 curling tong rather than ghd to curl my hair.  More on that later.

Rachael also believes the ‘Alexa’ long bob is a hot style right about now, and sees some other trends coming through also.  Mainly, women are coming to Head Studio asking for cuts that will be low maintenance and make use of their natural hair styles (utilising curls).

After cutting layers into my hair, she runs through L’Oreal Professional Volume Riche, which has a mousse-like texture but doesn’t result in the crispiness other mousses do.  Instead this provides some tackiness so we can avoid using a strong-hold hairspray when curling my hair.  Volume Riche only has 4/6 hold so it keeps my hair put and protects it from the oncoming heat without weighing it down.

Next we blast my hair dry and then get to tonging my hair.  Rachael prefers to use tongs to curl because she was taught that way and it creates a longer-hold curl.  That being said, she says that if you already own a ghd, there’s no need to buy a curling iron too.  We brush through the final curls and apply some L’Oreal Professional Lis Control+ serum to my ends before spraying with a light-hold hairspray (L’Oreal Professional Elnett), which Rachael says is “God’s gift to hairdressers” thanks to it’s non-crispy hold.

And here’s the final result:

Before

After

Head Studio

Address: 64 King Street, Perth  WA

Phone: 08 9481 6464

Opening Hours: 10am – 6pm Monday to Thursday, 10am – 8.30pm Friday, 9am – 5pm Saturday.

Head Studio also have salons in Rockingham (4/7 RailwayTee, Rockingham Beach. 08 9527 1697) and Success (Shop 20A Gateway Shopping Centre, 816 Beeliar Drive, Success.  08 9498 7577)

Opening Hours: 9am – 5.30pm Monday to Friday, 9am – 9pm Thursday, 8.30am – 5pm Saturday.

Website: www.headstudio.com.au

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