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| - I've always been apprehensive about hair salons. The most pretentious ones make me feel like a clumsy ogre. So, what a relief that Parlour, despite being on the trendy Ossington strip, manages to be both trendy and friendly - the best combination!
I went in for a cut to give my lifeless hair some shape and texture. My stylist Hiko was quiet and thoughtful. He asked about my lifestyle (do I go to the gym and put my hair in a ponytail often? Do I blow dry my hair? How much time can I afford to spend styling it?) and then played around with my hair to get a feel for what he was dealing with, which is thick, wavy, occasionally frizzy hair. Difficult hair.
After the shampoo, Hiko went about cutting my hair in near silence. I'm okay with this; I don't need a chatty stylist, and I could see that he was concentrating, which is always good. It gave me an opportunity to look around the salon. All the clients I could see looked happy. They were either chatting, relaxing under a heating hood, or waiting for their dye to set. Despite the busy room, the atmosphere felt very laid-back, and this was a Saturday!
And then the finished cut: it was fabulous! Hiko really is an artist. He managed to thin out my thick hair with perfectly positioned layers rather than using thinning shears (evil). Hiko also gave some good tips (twisting thick strands as you blow dry for a tousled look) that I've tried and loved. I'm so pleased with Parlour. I'm sure I'll be back.
(As an aside: the shoe mecca Gravity Pope is opening up beside Parlour, which is just amazing, amazing news).
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