Deep sigh. Yes, well, I braved (this is silly but I had butterflies in my stomach the morning of) yet another hair salon upon recommendation from a friend. I had my hair cut and "highlighted" with Manu, the owner of this 9 yr old Malasaña salon, about 3 weeks ago now and, obviously, I didn't rush to rave about it here on yelp. Sadly, I haven't been able to sing praises to anyone because, I'm gonna say it now-- I wasn't impressed. That's it. So, here's the deal...
Please bare with me cause I think this story deserves a bit of context because, in all honesty, I do think that Manu is a good, creative stylist. That said, my hair backstory is long, like most of the ladies I know round my age and up. We've all had our great moments, the hair cuts that make us feel supermodel-ish, and we've also got our horror stories. Let's just say that if we are not happy with our cut and/or our color, it's a bad hair day every day. And, we've all seen people with bad hair, and that's how we see ourselves when we are bummed about our "do". It can affect how we see the world because we are paranoid about how the world sees us in return. This may be a stretch, but hair can become a state of mind (hence, the famous musical Hair??), so as logic might dictate: if hair is wrong, state of mind might be, too . At this point I can no longer complain or fuss about the prices I have to pay when I get my hair cut and colored at my go-to salons back home in LA. Believe me, I would rather not pay 100+ for this service, but...my other tried and true options are--mediocre salon= bad to mediocre hair. And I have fine, weird wavy hair so if the cut is not good, I have a frizzy mess on my hands. Google "Duquesa de Alba" (though not nearly as fro-licious). Anyway. You can call me spoiled, call me vain. I'm definitely fair game with this one. And, I can handle that. I can handle that way better than bad hair.
I am currently suffering from bad hair. Which means more mirror time in the morning and a some trepidation when I venture out in the streets. My approach to avoid current situation was to get a recommendation, go with the top stylist of the salon and take a very clear photo of the haircut I want, and be positive. My recipe failed, however, my high hopes dashed. A lot happened from the moment I sat in the hot seat to the final glance in the salon mirror. Time to wrap this up-- Manu did come up with a great blonde color to blend with my last mega blonde highlights. The color is very nice, he toned my beach blonde down to earth. And he assured me that it's a long-lasting, gentle color (he uses Sassoon products). I am very grateful for nice color. BUT, the cut. It's not the cut that I showed him in the very clear photo. He matched the length (though I told him I wanted it slightly longer), but I don't at all understand the layers. They were almost like an afterthought, very haphazzard. The worst of it though is the frizz factor and the fact that one side is longer than the other! He either intended to give me a "modern" asymetrical look or he miscalculated. I say this, and it's mind-boggling to think so, because it looks accidental given that it's really not that much longer on one side. Now, if I want a symetrical cut (which is always what I want) I only need to tilt my head to the right ever so slightly. But then I just look kind of stupid. The good news, as always with hair, is that it will grow.
If you want a creative cut in a fun atmosphere for a good price (80 for cut and color), this is your place. If you want a precise cut and you don't want to feel so much at mercy of the one with the scissors (even though you ultimately are), I'd search for another. read more
