Review / Rave: Looking to Do a Korean Perm? Try The Comb Hair Studio!

As you guys know, I’m a firm, firm believer in the K-magic of Jei from Cecica Hair Salon in Seoul, Korea. For the last few years, she’s been at the top of my list when it comes to stylists I trust to cut/perm/colour my hair. However, I haven’t had the time to zip over to Korea since May last year (gasps) – it’s been more than 6 months! My last perm was done in February, which is exactly a year ago, so my curls have gone as flat as the economy these days. Anyways, I am very excited to share with you that I have finally, at long last, found a legit, decent, can-be-trusted Korean hair salon and hair stylist in Singapore! I can finally haz K-curls without having to zip overseas (although I would still love to visit Seoul as often as some zip over to JB heh).

Before and After: Lookie ! I went from vague waves to vavavoom curls!

Where the K-magic happened: The Comb Hair Studio, 12 Gemmill Lane S(069252)

It’s within a 5-10 min walk from Telok Ayer MRT station, in the vicinity of of Club Street and Amoy Street (nearer the main road)

Now as you know, the buildings in this area are mostly shophouses, and this is no exception. It’s got a long format, so what you’re seeing in this photo above is what you’re getting (there’s no right/left turn into another treatment area etc)
Towards the end, beyond the curtains, are the wash basins.

The ambience of this place is pretty chill – you’re offered a choice of tea, coffee or a juice upon arrival (pick from the menu), and of course, there’s Kpop music playing in the background hur hur hur. The Comb has a Korean lady Rina Kil as the Creative Director, and my assigned stylist for the day was Ryan (who’s also a Korean).

Ryan and his apprentice fussing over my hair – first the hair quality was checked, following which came the sad sighing (yes yes, I know the ends of my hair are damaged), and the obligatory non-question “let’s snip off the bottom 2-3 inches, shall we?” Since I was opting to do the digital perm, and I also know firsthand from experience that perming damaged or dry hair ends will not result in pretty curls, I let him do his snipping.
Once the hair was cut, some chemicals were applied to the portions of the hair that were being permed – Ryan recommended to perm only the bottom one-third as he was wary of frying my hair.
And here comes the octopus-like machine! It’s not as alien-like as the one in Korea, but I’m guessing this one is much more portable (on wheels and a stand instead of being hooked up to the ceiling permanently)
I shall not bore you with the details, but essentially, there was just the usual sitting, waiting, washing, sitting, setting etc. This is taken after my final wash. I yam excited to show you the results!
Ta-dah! Ryan is clearly very proud of his handiwork and that the ends of my hair did not fry. hurhurhur.

My verdict: ME LIKEY. The reason(s) why I’m raving about this salon/stylist is because:

1. Ryan’s a legit Korean stylist., and he’s a nice friendly fellow
2. he bothered to check the condition of my hair before perming
3. he gave recommendations on the type of perm I should do based on my current hair condition
4. my hair came out gorgeous
5. he sat me down for 10 minus after the session to teach/nag me how to curl/style/blow-dry my hair in the comfort of my hair,
6. he even gave me tips on how I can maintain and trim my fringe at home!
7. [for a limited period] A digital perm costs only $168+! LIKE SERIOUSLY GUYS. It’s SUPER cheap – in fact, it’s almost comparable to the price I pay in Korea! You can add on a treatment for $80 if you want, but I didn’t, and my hair’s still in rather good condition. The usual price for a perm for my hair length (aka very long hair length) would be $340+.

Look at him flashing my namecard and promoting my blog for me. hahaha.
This is me immediately after leaving the salon – look at dat wind and me pretending to be Beyonce and all. But seriously guys, the curls are awesome! Did I also mention that the entire process (just the trimming and digital perm) only took just under 2 hours? I was so amazed! (Although I would suggest adding on a treatment after, just to secure the quality of your hair).
And at the end of the day – I am so in love with the curls!

Note: It’s been a week, and I barely have to style my hair, and the curls will still be there. You just need to occasionally twirl them around your fingers to get them to join together instead of fraying out into a huge Hagrid-from-Hogwarts mess.

Here are the deets if you decide to join me in having nice pretty curls:

The Comb Hair Studio

12 Gemmill Lane, Singapore 069252

Tel: 6438 3138 [ask for Ryan]

Remember: The digital perm promo for $168+ is only for a limited period, and I have no idea when it’ll end, so it’s best to go do it soonest~! You can add on the following for $80 (colouring, 3-step Privvy Treatment, Magic Setting and Keratin Rebonding). Call for more details (and do remember to check if the $168 promo is still on!).

SPECIAL PROMOTION FOR MY BLOG READERS: Now as much as I know the above promotion is super appealing, if you aren’t into curls and prefer to do something simpler like a cut or treatment alone, just quote my name/blog name for a 20% off ala carte prices (it will not be applicable to promo items). Here’s a menu of their usual ala carte pricings.

And one last one (I really couldn’t stop taking selfies after I had my hair permed lol)

Korean curls ftw!  :D