One thing I learned from Korean culture is to give good fan service – instead of simply recommending Cecica Hair Salon and my stylist Jei to you, I’ve gone a step further to do up a blog entry on how you can get to Cecica 
Now there are tonnes of hair salons located at Sinchon / Ewha Women’s University, so it was by a stroke of luck that I first stumbled upon this salon sometime in 2010. Ever since then, I’ve been going back there to do my hair.
Jei speaks minimal English, so it’s best that you bring photos to show her what you want. What I love about her is that she’s got the whole strict disciplinarian vibe about her, kinda like Professor McGonagall in Harry Potter but with a great fashion sense. She will always recommend you stuff that your hair / face / overall style can suit.
That’s Jei on the left with the bangs and the stern face. haha. scary balls.
Sept 2011: After my first perm done by Jei.
May 2012: After my second perm by Jei
Sept 2012: As you can see, in the photo on the left, my hair has deteriorated to epic proportions, but with Jei’s magic hands, voila! I am selca worthy again (on the right)!
Dec 2012: I wanted to dye my hair but she absolutely refused to do it, cos my hair was too damaged. She insisted on a hair treatment (they call it clinic) and hair cut chop of 4-6 inches. Whining or pouting doesn’t work lol.
Apr 2013: Koreans have this particular hair treatment called manicure – it has the same meaning as a nail manicure – a coating over the hair strand to help hold the color pigments better. However, the downside is that the next time you wanna change your hair color or redye, it’ll be a lot harder for the color pigments to get through the manicure layer.
Since my hair was too porous and damaged from 2 rounds of perming, it didn’t't hold color dye pigments that well. I wanted to do the bright red dye + manicure – again, adamant refusal from Jei cos she said that my hair was recovering and I shouldnt do anything to jeapardise it. She did consent to a normal hair dye, the usual hair clinic and some minor trimming though.
How to get there
Take the subway on Line 2 (green line). Alight at Ewha Women’s University. Click on the map to enlarge or to print it out.
Alight the train and take the very long escalators up. This is rare cos Seoul Subway stations somehow seem to hate escalators. haha.
Exit the station via Exits 1 or 2. You can look for the following landmarks.
It doesn’t matter if you take Exit 1 or 2, cos when you emerge at the street level, there’s only a tiny road separating the two exits. I usually take Exit 1 (on the left) if I’m heading directly to Cecica. Sorry for blurry photo – it’s hard to snap when your fingers are frozen.
This is what you’ll see if you use Exit 2 – key landmark will be Coffee Bean. As you can see, that’s the tiny road separating the two exits.
If you use Exit 1, the largest landmark you’ll see on your left is Yes aPM, a shopping mall similar to those found in Dongdaemun (Doota, Hello aPM).
The view from Exit 1 is definitely less exciting. You’ll see many street stalls selling yummy food, so just walk straight following the arrow…
… and you’ll see Olleh G after about 2-3 minutes.
Turn left at Olleh G – I’d recommend walking on the road instead of the pavement – it’s ridiculously steep for a strange reason.
Walk down straight from Olleh G – it goes slightly downslope from here.
After about 3-5 minutes, you’ll see this large corner shop It Girl at a junction. See Cecica hidden in the right hand corner?
A clearer view of the junction before you hit Cecica – there are a number of large shoe shops in this area, so don’t just use the shoe shops as a landmark.
And voila! You’re at Cecica Hair Salon 
A view of Cecica at night
The interior: on the left is the cashier / locker area. You’ll pass your bags / coats over the staff and they’ll give you a gown to wear. Beside the cashier are several seats and the octopus perming machine.
Right in the center facing the main door is the consultation area – many tables with laptops and magazines so that you can flip for inspiration. Alternatively, Jei has her own scrapbook of hairstyles. These consultation tables also act as a divider between the cashier and more seats where you do your hair. Here is a random shot taken whilst I was waiting for my turn.
The other side of the salon where Jei seems to predominantly work from. I think she’ll hate me for posting such an unflattering photo of her heh. 제이 언니~ 이런 나쁜 사진을 찍어서 정말 미안해요 ㅠㅜ But check out her 4-inch heels! This woman has no fear of pain haha.
Next to Jei’s territory is the wash area, and in front of the wash area are seats where you let your hair perm set / do some hair clinic / do other random hair thangs. I think it’s also for less monotony – a change of scenery is good lol
My hair chopped again BUT it looks much healthier, doesn’t it? Jasmine did Magic Straight, which is rebonding but somehow is better, lasts longer and makes her hair look healthier.
For those who are interested in doing your hair, here are Jei’s details:
Jei (pronounced jay-eee) 제이
쌔시카헤어 Cecica Hair
서울 서대문구 대현동 37-22 1st Floor Seoul, Seo Dae Mun Gu, Dae Hyun Dong 37-22 1st floor
Tel: 02-313-8956, 1455
Opening hours: Week days (11am – 9pm), Weekends (11am – 8pm)
Website and nicer photos here: Cecica Hair
