April 2016
Ever since I’ve last dyed my hair blue for IHG (inter hall games) 2 years ago, because KR people bleed blue, I’ve always wanted to try out a different colour after the blue faded off.
It took me TWO years of procrastination to finally get it done, and also partly because 95% of the people tell me that the bleached colour on my hair is.. I quote, VERY NICE.
So I decided to drown myself in their praises and procrastinated.
I have always been a fan of having vibrant hair colours because I’m attention seeking like that. However, as I am going to start work soon, I didn’t think it would be too good of an idea for me to bleach my entire head and go crazy with that hair. Yet, I am one who don’t like my style to be restrained by my circumstances, so I’ve decided to work a way around it, that is, to dye just the insides of hair so that I can rock the OL look during working hours, and unleash my wild child when I knock off. Hehe!
Beauty Undercover has done me a huge favour by linking me up with Bump Hair Design for this little project!
About Bump Hair Design
Located on Lorong Liput at Holland Village, I was surprised that I haven’t even heard of them or SEEN them despite frequenting the area for the past 9 months for my physio sessions. Like I am so familiar with the entire HV area I could tell you where is what, YET I haven’t seen BUMP before. They are located IN BETWEEN Project Acai and Nakhon Kitchen on the second floor!
Take the steps up..
I was honestly wow-ed by the serenity and the whiteness of this entire salon.
That natural lighting flowing through and this place just looks so hipster.
Bump Hair Design is a Japanese hair salon ran by Japanese, of course.
All with at least 8 years of experience!
Upon hearing this, I was at ease to allow them to deal with my hair. We all know how amazing the service standards of Japanese are, and the hair stylists here definitely did not disappoint in that aspect. Their sincere service kept me in awe.
However, as all of them were Japanese, communication barrier was a problem. It was not so easy for me to try to get my message through to them. If you’re looking for a particular style, maybe you should keep a picture of it in your phones as it could help in the communication. I was told that my stylist, Kanako, had the best command of English amongst the stylists in Bump, but I still struggled a little during the consultation process.
Patience. Patience was definitely key.
Kanako specializes in hair coloring and head massage, just in case you’re wondering! Also, if you’re looking for a fresh new change, and want to be just spontaneous to go with a new look, you could ask for Hiroe as she is known to find a style that best suits you, even if your hair type is hard to handle!
The Experience
For a start, this was my hair before, a little bleach beneath that luscious black hair. HAHAHAHA!
After my consultation with Kanako, we were good to go!
We decided on the colors that were available and made sure that we all had an idea of what and where the colors would go to on my hair. MY HAIR IS A CANVAS, SHE WAS THE PAINTER. We decided on blue, green, purple and pink!
We are starting! Really excited at how it would turn out!
Second, we bleach.
This process took a good hour or so?
Then we washed off.
This was my first time having a tissue paper over my face during the wash. Apparently it serves 2 purposes,
1. It’s awkward if I’m staring right at her while she washes my hair
2. To prevent water from splashing to my face
We did a second bleach after this.
Kanako applied a scalp protector before beginning the second bleach. Then, she went all out to the scalp in the second bleach.
This was probably because she wanted a fuller colour and more complete job done. However, it still stings!
Do keep your stylists (at any salon in fact) informed on how you want the bleach job to be done instead of assuming that they would avoid the scalp!
Third, we COLOUR!
The white looking bucket is actually BLUE. COOL RIGHT?!
Purple
And pink highlights.
Blue
I could feel her applying the blue all over my scalp and it stings especially on the side and a part in the back of my scalp.
Not a particularly nice experience.
Later after everything was done, I found that those parts of my scalp actually felt sticky and the hair was hardened at those parts. The next few days saw them flaking and peeling A LOT.
Lesson Learnt: PLEASE TELL YOUR STYLIST, DON’T TOUCH YOUR SCALP PLS.
After what seemed like a long time, I was finally able to see the end product!
“OMG VERY CHIO”, I exclaimed.
Despite the not too friendly experience of the bleaching and dyeing, the end product was all worth it. Kanako really had an eye for splashing colours on to my hair.
It is now GALACTIC!
TADA! Do you want to visit the galaxy? No need lah, just look at my hair. HEHE!
I also got a quick hair cut after the dye!
Her fast and nimble fingers got the job done within 20 minutes! I liked how she was conscientious throughout the cut, checking and double checking to make sure the hair is of the same length on the both sides.
We also got my hair styled to bring out the colours.
Here’s a quick curl.
Braided!
I LIKE. Even though I usually prefer my hair straight.
HAHA!
Definitely a huge difference when compared to what I had before:
This entire cut/ 2 X bleach/4 color dye for my hair length would set you back about $400+. Their services are relatively affordable for a Japanese salon with their hair cuts ranging from $45 (student rate) to $60 for men and $65 for women! Their color services start from $95 REGARDLESS OF hair length, and they even have a cut & colour deal for just $160.
I really like how the price point is so affordable especially for a salon at Holland Village and the fact that we don’t have to pay more for LONG HAIR! HEHE!
Closing Remarks
I really liked the chill ambience of the entire salon, and it is probably the most minimalistic yet instagrammable salon I’ve ever been to!
That has already enhanced my experience at Bump Hair Design!
Apart from the language barrier, I was really impressed by their service and how patient they were to try to understand what we wanted before proceeding! Even though I had a not too good experience with the bleach and dye, I’ve learnt that it was also my responsibility to ask the stylist to try to avoid my scalp instead of simply assuming that everyone would! Of course the end product would look a lot fuller and nicer if they went all the way to the roots! Kanako really did surprise me with that amazing job well done with the colours and she even intentionally cut my hair in such a way that the top layer was slightly shorter than the colored layer so as to show off the colors from behind! Really thoughtful and skilled!
Now I can rock this hair to work, as well as ummm.. Let my hair UP to party after work! Hehe!
Thank you Kanako for the amazing experience at Bump Hair Design!