Last Thursday afternoon saw me arriving at Emmanuel F hair salon in Central hot and frazzled. I had been running around town all morning, and was in that state of heat-induced frizzies and pregnancy-induced “glowing” that made me almost embarrassed to go into a hairdresser’s at all! Thankfully Emmanuel F is an oasis of calm and peace, despite being just directly across busy Connaught Road from ifc Mall. The concept behind Emmanuel F (who were originally located on Pottinger Street and recently moved to this new site) is that they are Hong Kong’s first fully organic and chemical-free hairdresser. They use an innovative water filtration system, and use energy-saving appliances. I was really excited to try out their Signature Conditioning Treatment and blowdry ahead of our Sassy Hour later that evening – I needed some serious beautification!
The salon space itself is absolutely huge for Hong Kong, and has been very thoughtfully laid out so that each station has its own television with selection of movies and iPod dock. There’s a VIP section tucked away behind a door for those who don’t like the world to witness their hair covered in foils, and a dedicated suite of spa rooms where they give facial and body treatments. One of my favourite parts of the salon is the little boutique area at the front which sells natural hair products and organic makeup range, Couleur Caramel, which is the brand that the salon uses for their makeup services.
I love the idea of trying to eliminate as many chemicals as possible from my beauty regime, especially at a time when I’m feeling more sensitive about all the possibly toxic things that I slap on myself on a daily basis! Of course, it’s not possible to completely eliminate all chemicals from the dyes that are used, but they do contain mere fractions of the levels that the normal salon brands use. My treatment began with my hairdresser demonstrating just how weak and dry hair is by snapping off a section! She then applied protein treatments about two or three times (with rinsing in between in their super-relaxing shampooing room with almost hypnotic coloured LEDs on the ceiling) followed by a deep-conditioning and then a blowdry. By the end of the quite lengthy process, she demonstrated just what a difference there was in a flexibility of my hair strands – from snapping off it went to effortlessly stretching instead.
While I was at the salon, it was great to be able to try out their quick makeup service as well which was great because as I was short on time, I didn’t give any input at all about how I usually have my makeup or the colours I normally wear, so I put myself entirely in the hands of their makeup artist. I felt like it was a very different look from what I normally do for myself, but got so many compliments at Sassy Hour that evening I think it will teach me to put myself in the hands of professionals more often!
From July 18th to 23rd, Emmanuel F are offering free hair diagnosis sessions (20 minutes) to analyze the condition of your hair and give advice on how you can improve it! If you book in for this hair diagnosis, you can also get 20% discount on the Signature Hair Treatment and Blowdry that I enjoyed (normal price HK$1300 for shoulder length hair). Book now by calling 2167 8280.
Emmanuel F Hair Salon, Nexxus Building, Podium Level 2, Shop 211-213, 41 Connaught Road, Central. 2167 8280
