Most people in Singapore tend to do up their hair in preparation for Chinese New Year, so I decided to join in the fray for once (I don’t do this very often because there are price hikes pre-CNY and I is too poorrr hurhurhur). I tried out a new salon called S.A.D’s Hair Design, located at River Valley Road (near Mohd Sultan).
Now, let’s get the elephant out of the way – they do have a rather odd acronym for their hair salon name (and I never found out what it stands for), but I’m just gonna attribute it to being lost in translation, because this is a Japanese place. Contrary to its name, this salon is surprisingly cool and almost boutique-like.
When you enter, this is what you’ll see (and almost all there is) – 2 seats in the main area of the salon.
In the main area, there’s a grand total of… 2 seats – very much boutique-style yo. Note the white basin in the middle? It’s actually a rotating wash basin, so you don’t have to even leave your seat to get your hair rinsed.
Well, there’s actually 1 more (and the last seat) in the house in a private room – it also has its very own wash basin (in white, in the corner). Now while this basin can be rotated/extended outwards, the chair is a really swanky one that can also be raised/levelled, kinda like a massage chair/business class airline seat).
The waiting and consultation area, where manager Toshi will sit and chat with you regarding your hair session (what you wanna do, show you the color chart etc).
Why they haz to much swag? Toshi (in white) speaks pretty good English and helps out in hair rinse/hairdye application etc, while Katsuto (in black) is pretty much the hair maestro but speaks limited English.
After about 4 hours (cut, hair color and treatment)… Voila! (Note that before this, my hair was a faded orangey/blonde).
Taken under sunlight – can you see ombre?~
Hints of ash can be seen
Traces of blue, violet, ash and reddish purple
Under indoor lighting, the ash and blue tones are more obvious (click to enlarge). Note that the bluest parts of my hair were previously bleached streaks, which explains why the blue shows up more easily. For this round, all he did was color my hair – no additional bleaching was done.
My thoughts: They do indeed have a slightly upmarket pricing, but note that you’re really paying for immaculate Japanese service. I kid you not – they are meticulous to the nth (to the extent that they even say thank you/sorry when you have to raise your head slightly during rinsing). The consultation is very detailed, and Toshi takes into consideration everything you have to say. There even was an extremely relaxing shoulder massage by Katsuto while the hair treatment was setting in. In terms of the cut and color – I’m pretty satisfied. I’ve never had blue show so obviously on my hair before, and note that the hair is still glossy and seemingly healthy (no frizz). It’s been about 2-3 weeks since I did the colour, and it’s slowly fading to violet purple. The hair quality is still rather glossy and non frizzy, so yay!
Keen to try out their services?
S.A.D’s Hair Design
233 River Valley Road
#01-01 RV Point
Singapore 238291
Opening hours: Tue – Sun – 11am to 8pm *Closed on Mon
Te: +65 6235 0570
Their price list
