My corporate job left me no time to visit a salon for almost a year, and I haven’t had a proper cut for almost two years. And immediately after leaving the corporate world for my blog, I jumped right into a plane for a month-long trip to Canada and the US, right in the beginning of autumn. So my poor, super long, very dry tropical tresses went in a state of shock in the cold and dry North American climate. Or maybe I shouldn’t blame the climate; my locks were just so badly neglected and in need of proper pampering that a great shampoo and conditioner combo just won’t do the trick anymore.

How my hair looked by the tail-end of our US trip: very long (up to my waist) and super frizzy

So the first thing I did when I got back home to Manila, where salon services are way more affordable than in the US, was to book an appointment for a cut and hair treatment. A friend invited me to try the newly opened Vivere Salon at Glorietta 2 in Makati, and I obliged because I’ve already tried their services at their Megamall branch.

My best friend also told me that now would be a good time to get a haircut, so it would have grown back to a good length in a year for my wedding. I didn’t really plan to cut my hair short, since I’ve sworn I’ll keep it long for the rest of my life, but chopping off a few inches surely wouldn’t hurt.

I decided to go in the morning of an event-filled day, so the blow-dry wouldn’t go to waste. I arrived around 1030AM, and had to wait a bit for one of their creative stylists to arrive a little before 11AM, which is when they come in, I found out then. (I suggest you make sure when you book an early appointment that a creative stylist would be there.) Cuts by creative stylists are at P550 for ladies, but if you just want one of their regular Vidal Sassoon trained hairstylists, a cut would just be P390.

I also asked for the recommended hair strengthening treatment, which I was told was already the Keratin Complex treatment by Copolla (starts at P5,500). It’s meant to bring hair back to life by restoring lost keratin, leaving hair soft, smooth, and very manageable. It’s a leave-in treatment, and I’m only supposed to wash my hair after two days.

The treatment lasted for about an hour, and then I spent another hour for the cut and blow-dry. I was able to relax in their bright, spacious, and modern looking Glorietta salon, which I now prefer over the Megamall branch. They also made sure I had a huge stack of magazines to read while I waited for the treatment to be done.

My hair looked shiny, smelled great, and felt soft and smooth after the two-hour pampering. My hair may have looked a bit flat that day (the effect of the Keratin treatment), but I was assured it will have body after I wash it.

And I did love the effect: It had volume this time, and it was definitely tamer, smoother, and softer. See how my hair looks now a month later:

Compare how my hair looks now to the first photo above—definitely tamer, right?

My hair doesn’t look flat, it’s shiny, and it’s still manageable even when it’s windy outside, like in the photo above, taken at the al fresco area of a rooftop bar.

I definitely recommend the treatment and asking one of their creative stylists to cut your hair because ang ganda ng bagsak! I’m just not very sure about the hair strengthening aspect of the Keratin treatment, since there’s been no marked improvement in my persistent hair-fall problem. But as far as how my hair looks now compared to before the treatment, it looks better and seems to have more life—at least for around three months that the effect of the treatment is supposed to last.