I was quite fickle about my hair last year. I went from my usual golden brown shoulder length to a blonde bob, then a burgundy lob. It was burgundy for all of two weeks, but apparently, red tones don't stick well on dark hair, so it kept washing out. Not satisfied, I tried a more purple shade that came from a box, which alas, also kept coming off on my towel after every shampoo.

After giving my hair a rest for a few months (you should color only once every three to four months to avoid more damage), my strands were several different colors - my natural brown-black, a faded light brown, and some areas that were threatening to turn orange. I wanted my hair to look healthy again!  

Piandré Salon at Oakridge Business Park immediately came to mind. They did a great job before with a deep conditioning hair treatment that left me with coveted "rich girl hair," so I wanted to see what they could do for my color. 

After quite a bit of discussion with the colorist, Rheymonn (hope I got that right!), who listened to exactly what I wanted and gave his suggestions without imposing on me, we decided on a chestnut brown base with ash highlights. This would darken my color overall and give it a cooler tone to counter the orange hue that dark hair tends to get when it's fried from the summer sun. I've wanted to try ash brown for ages since my hair has always been on the warmer side, but dark hair has to be bleached first for ash to translate well. With the ash highlights I didn't have to bleach my whole head, while giving the dark chestnut base more dimension. Rheymonn did a literally very fine job with the highlights as he bleached the tiniest, finest sections before applying the ash blonde. 

Piandré uses all Lakmé hair products from Barcelona to prevent damage while coloring and improve hair health, from the pre-color scalp protector to the dye itself. Lakmé products for every possible hair condition and conundrum are available at the salon. I picked up a few to help maintain my new hair color and softness and they work wonders, especially when hair is blow dried.

Even with two people working on me, the whole coloring procedure took five hours with several rounds of wash - rinse - dry for base, bleach, highlights, then toner to finish. Thank God that aside from its extremely clean, comfortable interiors, the salon is well stocked with up-to-date magazines and plenty of water and tea. The competent, knowledgeable staff made the whole experience a mini vacation from reality. You know you're in good hands when those hands aren't scrubbing your scalp like a kitchen pot, and hair is blow-dried expertly and carefully. 

Rheymonn trimmed my ends and gave me some fun loose curls to finish the look. I felt like a movie star! It was just too bad I didn't have a party to go to. 

Here's the before and after:

The real result for a color job is a week or two after you leave the salon. My hair looks healthier than before and isn't brittle or dry at all, considering the color and highlights it went through. My base color is the same, with the highlights now slightly more pronounced. It's just what I wanted! My hair feels healthy and looks so much more sane now, thanks to Piandré. Contact the salon at 412-1824.

A version of this post was published on April 21, 2017 in Sun.Star Cebu.