We’ve been seeing many articles about women empowerment these days because of International Women’s Day on March 8.
At Beauty Undercover, we too want to celebrate how far we’ve come and inspire more ladies to love and feel good about themselves with features on recommended styles and insights for inner and outer transformation.
This week, we have Agent GS sharing about how a simple haircut at Kenaris Hair Salon made her damaged hair look almost as good as a volume rebonding / perm!
March 2015
Remember I was doing my hair last Sunday and I say I’ll share if it was good?
Well, it was better than good… it was GREAT! It took me this long to share more, because my laziness took over.
Initially, I was invited over to Kenaris Salon by the lovely Agent G, from Beauty Undercover to try out their Volume Rebonding / Perm!
But after a good wash and analysis of my hair condition by Aris, the founder of Kenaris (!!!) and the perm specialist, we had to rule Volume Rebonding out
Why?
Because my ex-hairstylist ruined my hair with bleach! (20 May 2014)
And the remaining bleached hair is around an inch and a half long 
Notice the ends are rather dry and matte? Very different compared to my natural hair!
The chemicals used for the Volume Rebonding might actually damage my hair even further, and I was advised against taking the risk.
I was definitely disappointed (because I was looking forward to fuss free curled in hair like them Korean agassi!!! 
) but after listening to Aris’ detailed explanation and having a feel of my own hair… I decided not to risk it.
I was consoled by the fact that Aris would be giving me a haircut that would help my ends curl in a little easier and more naturally!
Reassured that I was in good hands, I left everything to Aris and she began her magic!
Slowly, she began working her way through each thin layer of my hair to ensure it was cut well to give my hair more structure.
She mentioned that I should avoid blunt chops to my hair, as it would weigh the natural curl of my hair down! Instead, I should opt for a slightly higher crop behind, with slight layering to help reduce the weight!
I was exactly sure of what she meant, but by then, I was completely sold by her sound advice and was willing to leave everything in her expert hands! If you can’t trust your own stylist, why are you even getting your hair cut by them right?!
Rule #1: Never teach your stylist how to cut your hair. Just like how you’ll never instruct a surgeon on how to operate! A little trust goes a long way
That’s what I like about haircuts, it’s always a leap of faith and a surprise at the end!
Getting back to the haircut, it lasted for around 45 minutes (might just be the longest haircut I’ve had lol!) before Aris was completely satisfied with it!
Then she sent me off to do a hair treatment with Esther, who gave wicked head massages. oh man, it was insanely soothing. More on that in a jiffy!
If I didn’t remember wrongly, I was given an Extreme hair treatment for damaged/distressed hair! It included a leave-in treatment for 10 mins, wash off, followed by steam treatment for another 10-15 minutes! ⌚️
Esther helped me with the wash & treatment and I must say, I’ve never enjoyed getting my hair washed and scalp massaged this much before! It made getting up at 9AM on a Saturday worth it!
Preparing the mix for my distressed hair!!
Application followed by a…
Steam treatment! Never seen this end of the treatment before, so I’m glad I could see it through Agent A’s snaps! Looks very cool hehe
After the treatment was done, it was time for my blow out and here’s Aris showing me how it’s done! (If you’re wondering why I’m always laughing in most of the shots, it’s because Aris is just super comical!
No uneasy moments here even though it’s my first time meeting her! )
As my hair has a natural curl to it, she advised me to point the hair dryer from a down-up direction. This would create volume and allow my hair to curl in naturally!
That explains a lot because most of us tend to dry our hair in a top-down motion, which can create very limp & flat hair.
So take note ok! It’s time to change the direction of how you dry your hair, girls!
See! My hair actually behaved itself and curled in after drying! And, Aris didn’t even use any comb! Amazeballs!
My hair was already awesome at that point, but she decided to up her game and taught me how to enhance the curls with a curling iron (since I have one at home too!)
I was more than happy to learn from the pro, since y’know… YouTube video tutorials haven’t really been working out so far…
So the idea is to curl the ends gently, going a few rounds at the end if you want a slightly more voluminous result!
Only one side done and my hair’s volume has increased x 3. Seriously getting wow-ed every few minutes here lol!
The other side was completed quickly and Aris went on to loosen the curls with a round comb and the hairdryer, so I won’t look like an ahjumma (aunty in Korean)!
Gone are the days of limp and blunt chops that weigh me down! My new cut has totally given my hair life again!
So thankful to have Aris share tips and tricks about how to manage and care for my hair better! Her experience and dedication truly reassures me that my tresses are in good hands!
Here’s how my hair looks like around 4 days after my cut and treatment! Extremely easy to manage and I hardly have to use my comb when drying my hair now! Just twirl my hair in circular motions upwards while drying and I’m left with a neat do!
Can’t get any simpler than that!
Oh and I used to have issues with my fringe being too limp & flat, but not anymore after I was introduced to these two miracle workers!
1. REDKEN ROOTFUL
I use this when my hair is still damp! Just spritz a few times at the roots and finger comb through while pushing it upwards during hair drying!
2. REDKEN POWDER GRIP
This amazing product has sadly been discontinued, but Kenaris customers will still be able to purchase it (while stocks last!). I use this when my hair is already dry and I need some SOS help in creating some volume for my fringe! Just dust it over the roots and use your fingers to spread the product evenly while combing through then forward to create volume (scroll down if you don’t understand)!
Here’s how Aris blow-dried my fringe, and taught me to do so as well:
Run your fingers mid-way through and push it forward to create volume!
Very simple! If I can do it, anyone can! 
Byebye crappy fringe! Look at my beauuuutiful fringe now!
Once again, I’d like to say a big thank you to Agent G for inviting me down and Aris from Kenaris Hair Salon for the terrific TLC to my hair!
You have truly ruined me for other salons!
And, a bigger thank you goes to Agent A who helped snap 90% of the photos in this post! Patience is a rarity these day haha!
Now, I can’t wait for my bleached ends to grow out so I can do the Volume Rebonding!
Grow Hair, Grow!!