Hello!
I'm Nessa, your resident Bulakenya in Manila and an alopecia survivor. (Yes, I'm back to blogging, finally.)
Three years ago, my hair started falling out and when I got checked by my doctor, it turned out to be Diffuse Alopecia Areata.
Throughout the course of about 3-5 months, I lost 95% of my hair. On my 22nd birthday, I decided to shave my head and accept whatever life will throw at me.
Fortunately, after shaving it off, it started growing back little by little. Of course, it wouldn't be like that if not for my talented dermatologist, Dr. Paolo Lizarondo.
With that little growth that I had, I made a pact with the Universe that I wouldn't touch my hair for a year -- no salon, no hair cut, no colors, no nothing -- as long as I don't have to go through it again.
A year turned to two because I was so scared of having anything done, in fear of the unknown. Two years then turned to three, then three years, and a couple more months because of the pandemic.
I turned 25 this year and I really wanted to change it up because I felt like it was the right time to do so. I scheduled an appointment with Sir George Salon Premier back in March 2021, but it got moved and moved because of the MECQ.
Finally, on May 14th, my salon schedule pushed through!
So sorry for the long intro, but yep here's my Sir George Salon Premier experience! :)
My partner and I got there at around 1:30PM-ish and there were only a couple customers inside.
At first, they were confused about my appointment but after explaining what happened, they worked super quickly.
Sir Ronnie Aristales (Senior Stylist), Sir Gold (Junior Stylist), and Sir Elphie (Junior Stylist) were the ones who took care of us during our stay. All throughout the time we were there, they were warm and friendly but also professional. They were making jokes, telling stories, but at the same time, working efficiently. When you visit the salon, I highly recommend that you request them so you get the same wonderful experience as I did.
I went in with a clear idea in my mind. Here are the pegs that I showed Sir Ronnie, including the color I wanted.
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| Hairstyle, photos taken from IG, linked the accounts below. |
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| Hair color, from Google |
They started off with assessing my hair, and clarifying what I wanted to do with my hair. They were very thorough in making sure we were both on the same page with my hair plans which I really appreciate because it put my mind at ease. Since this was my first salon experience in quite some time, I was also very nervous. They assured me that they knew what needed to be done.
The first step was having my hair washed, which felt so nice even though it was weird having someone else wash and even touch my hair. After that, I went back to the chair and had my hair cut.
I opted for armpit-length hair with layers to give my hair some shape, and some face hairpieces. I didn't want curtain bangs (or any bangs for that matter), but rather something like Enma Ai and Yumeko's hairpieces. I don't know what to call it, but here's their hairstyle.
Sir Ronnie did the rest of the styling, my only request was to keep the longest parts armpit length. The rest was up to him. Because of our clear communication and how he listens, I loved how my haircut turned out. I felt fresh and light, and most importantly, it felt like me.
Here's a photo of my hair before and my hair after the hair, both unstyled (1st pic just washed, 2nd pic just dried).
After the haircut, they started the sectioning for the bleaching, which looked like this. My hair was bleached for about 1.5 hours and then foiled for about 30 minutes. I requested that the bleach not be put near my scalp/roots because I felt like it wasn't necessary with the look (and I didn't like the feeling tbh) that I was going for and Sir Ronnie agreed.
After bleaching, my hair looked like this:
When my hair was dried, it looked like this.
Not sure if this kind of blonde suits me...
Now for best part, achieving my dream hair color! My hair was divided into 3 parts, left, right, and the top part.
For the top part, I wanted it to be flush with my natural color. They did an amazing color match to be honest because it doesn't; look unnatural on me unlike with simple black dye. If I remember correctly, it was a dark brown blend.
With all that said, here are the results!
For my right part, I wanted an emerald green, but not so obvious. I wanted it to be subtler green and the team was able to achieve it amazingly.
For the left part, I wanted it a toned blonde. I didn't expect it to have a rosy shade, but I am not complaining. I loved how it contrasted the right side and the top part!
Here's how it looks side by side, with flash and without flash.
And here are pictures I took when I finally had the chance to glam up.
Thank you, Sir George Salon Premier - Venice Grand Canal Mall, Mckinley Hill , for taking care of my hair! I'll be back for a color change soon <3
Update:
They now offer home service packages!
