It hasn’t been a walk in the park when it comes to searching for a hairdresser to manage my excessively thick and long hair. But I just might have found the one.
For those who have read my previous hair review, you’ll know about this unique hair issue of mine. Not only do I have THICK hair, I have A LOT of hair. What you see in the photos here are hair that have already received rebonding treatment (which is supposed to make hair look straighter and finer).
A long time ago, a hair stylist used a special device to examine my scalp and said he found six strands of hair in one follicle. You can read more about my struggle with thick hair in this post.
Cutting Thick Hair is Not as Easy as You Think
Some think it’s easy to cut thick hair. Like how a stylist from my neighborhood salon used a thinning scissors unsparingly, snipping off my hair in random fashion and boasting about how much hair she had helped to remove.
When I reached home that day, I couldn’t even run my fingers through my hair. The sloppily chopped hair of varying lengths, at probably all the wrong places meant that the hair were fighting among themselves. They required no effort to get themselves entangled. Innocent act of god, such as a gush of wind can get them into total disagreement.
Such mediocre hairdressers are a dime a dozen. Their unprofessional act meant I had to either chop off my hair or tie it up. A less painful but slower and more expensive way would be to visit salon every few weeks to get the hair chopped off gradually. Talking about a long and painful torture, huh?
Found a Good Hairdresser? What if they are inconsistent?
Over the years, I’ve found a handful of salons that managed to thin my hair well. While they gave great haircuts initially, they failed to be consistent during repeat visits. Perhaps, their growing popularity meant they had more customers in the queue and hence less time for each. So, I was forced to switch.
Kimage @ Tampines is my next switch. Let’s see how well it fares.
Review of Hair Cut Services at Kimage @ Tampines?
Heartland Location
Most Kimage outlets are located within shopping malls. Kimage @ Tampines is the exception. It resides within a HDB neighborhood in the eastern part of Singapore, and faces the main road of Tampines Street 21.
Address:
Blk 201D Tampines St 21 #01-1149
Singapore 524201
Those who aren’t familiar with the east may find Kimage @ Tampines difficult to locate. Being located outside of the mall also meant that every trip is a special trip. You can’t run convenient errands or do some shopping after the hair cut. But such out-of-the-place location has its advantages too. Read on.
Ambience & Service
The interior setting was very “neighborhood-like”. There wasn’t any fancy wall papers or pretty interior decors. Things were basic but clean and functional.
Although the stylists didn’t spot hippy outfits or outrageous hair dyes, they were well-groomed and extremely friendly.
Zero Waiting Time
I visited Kimage @Tampines on a weekday afternoon and found myself the only customer there. In between the 30-minute haircut, only one student walked in.
So, if you want devoted one-on-one attention in an unhurried setting, this salon is an excellent choice.
Hair Cut & Service
No major complaints on the miscellaneous services rendered, such as shampooing and blow-drying. They did a good job. Even dual-blower service didn’t lead to tug of war.
Haircut was done by Joyce, the salon manager of Kimage @ Tampines. I’d specifically pre-booked her service. Fast and experienced, Joyce skillfully snipped off large volume of my hair with her shears.
At the end of the haircut, I found my hair lightweight and healthy. A real test was to hold my hair into a pony tail with my thumb and index finger. The diameter of my hair was reduced by more than half.
With the dried and split ends removed, my hair was my crowning glory once again. They never once got entangled. Great job!
Her Styling Advice
One memorable bit of our conversation was when I sought advice on how to prevent my hair from falling over my face after a new change in hair parting – from center to side.
I was awaiting some expert tips and advice, such as using hair spray or giving light perm to the fringe. Instead, Joyce firmly advised that the only way to prevent hair from falling over is to change to center parting. Hmmm, that was like telling me the only way for smokers to overcome withdrawal syndrome is to continue smoking.
I’ll just continue pinning the new folds every night until the hair gets used to the new direction.
Reasonable Pricing
$37.50* to enjoy the service of an experienced salon manager is very reasonable. I’d paid higher amount at salons of the same class, or even at other Kimage outlets.
*Edge card holder enjoys 25% off all hair services. Price above is after the discount.
So, in Summary
What’s Good?
- Great haircut for long and thick hair
- Minimal waiting time
- Dedicated one-on-one service
- Reasonably-priced
What’s Bad?
- Not so accessible
- Low confidence in styling advice
Post-edit on 27 Sep 2017
After two years with the salon, standards were becoming less consistent. Hence, I’m revising the rating from 4.5 to 3.5/5 for the time being and will have to search for another hair salon. Let me know if you know of one that’s great in rebonding and/or cutting very thick hair.
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