Review of Kimage Prestige Salon @ Plaza Singapura

Rebonding to me is like milk is to baby. I can’t live without it.

Both my parents have really thick hair. I must have inherited the genes from both of them, as mine is incredibly thick…probably both of their thickness put together.

Rebonding was my saviour. Before this amazing invention in the early 2000s, I was relying on a harsher chemical treatment, known as ‘Relaxer’. On one occasion, a less-than-competent hairdresser burnt my scalp, leaving it oozing in pus and blister.  

How about way before that when I was a poor student? I had no choice but to don the mushroom hairstyle – the POOFY version. I’d also tried hair straightening cream (Wella) from the pharmacy with dismal results. When I was in my teens and had longer hair, I would hide the volume by tying my hair in half, looking like this: 

The photos are from present days, and this is rebonded hair. Un-rebonded hair will look much thicker than this. 

 

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Six Hair in one Follicle. Seriously?

Many years back, a hair stylist used a device to magnify and examine my scalp. I wonder why he had to tell me that I had six strands of hair in one follicle. I hope he was joking.

Anyway, I’ve resigned to the fact that rebonding is the only hair treatment or style I can have to tame my poofy look. Religiously, I’ll rebond my hair once every 9 months or so. Unfortunately, I’ve yet to find the ‘Holy Grail’ hair salon which can do the rebonding job well, and to do it willingly and gently, plus topping it off with a decent hair cut.

‘Your hair is so thick.’

‘I’ve used up the lotion already. Ah…need to refill again.’

‘Alex, come and help me blow dry her hair together.  Else, this will take forever.’

9 out of 10 times, I’ll have two hairstylists drying my hair simultaneously. One pulling my head to the left. The other pulling it to the right. I didn’t feel like a human at times. More like a basketball.

Enough of my ‘sad’ history, let me share with you my review of Kimage Prestige Salon @ Plaza Singapura.

 

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Review of Kimage Prestige Salon @ Plaza Singapura

After reading rave reviews for this salon, I made an arrangement to visit it on a weekday afternoon. I booked my service with a Master Stylist by the name of Cecilia as she has a really good reputation online.

Here’s how my hair looked before the rebonding session.

Did you know?

Long hair can help weigh down thick hair, making it appear less puffy.

 You can see the slight volume near the roots, which were the new-grown and un-rebonded hair. 

 

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What’s Good about Services at Kimage Prestige Salon (Plaza Singapura)?

1. Served Mainly by One Person

The master hair stylist personally served me probably 70 to 80% of the time. I was pleasantly surprised that she even helped with simple duties such as placing the neutralizer, washing and blow-drying my hair.  Other salons typically leave such tasks to the assistants.

2. Friendly Staff

All the staff who worked on my hair that day were polite and gentle. I was not made to feel guilty of having thick hair. They were professional throughout the 5-hour session and never once looked like they were unhappy handling my hair.  

Must-Read: This Kimage Hair Colouring Service made me Stylish Overnight

3. Comfortable Washing Area

Unlike other washing area where clients sat on a recliner, Kimage @ Plaza Singapura offers a bed. You basically lie down like you would on a bed. It was so comfortable I almost fell asleep in it.

4. Full Treatment 

Some salons required me to pay extra for treatment. At Kimage @ Plaza Singapura, full treatment is thrown in at no extra cost.

5. Hair Condition did not worsen

This should be a given. But given how harsh rebonding treatment is, I have to commend them for performing the job without getting my hair all dried and frizzy. Just a year ago, I had to cut off my hair by 6 inches because some salon at Far East Plaza (facing front entrance) fried my hair.

 

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What’s Bad?

1. No Prestige Feel

Among the many outlets under Kimage, only two are branded as being ‘prestige’ salons, with Kimage @ Plaza Singapura being one of them. The rates charged by these prestige salons are the highest among all the outlets under the umbrella.

Was there any prestige feel?

Unfortunately, there wasn’t. In fact, I think other normal salons may fair better than Kimage @ Plaza Singapura in this aspect. For instance, I was not served any welcome tea or biscuit. An hour passed and still, no one offered any drinks. In the end, I had to request for some water because I was too thirsty.

I have never experienced this in other salons of the same price bracket. So I was pretty taken aback that such a basic service was lacking or overlooked.

 

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The Result

To be frank, it’s not the best rebonding job I’ve had. In fact, my hair didn’t quite look like it was rebonded. It didn’t have the sleek, unnaturally-straight and glossy look. There wasn’t any shine or sheen to it.

 

Though I was far from being impressed with the result, I am willing to keep an open mind. Cecilia had advised that I only rebond the new-grown hair, i.e. the roots. Maybe that could have explained the average not-so-sleek result.

In any case, I was thankful that at least my hair was not damaged in the process. Also, the roots which were rebonded were less poofy and lie flat and tamely against my scalp. 

How about the haircut? It was alright, but not fantastic.

 

 

What’s a Good Haircut? 

Over the years, I’ve learnt that a good haircut for thick hair means not over-layering it. Doing so may cause the hair to get entangled on its own without any apparent reasons. A gust of wind or a swing of the head is enough to cause the strands to fight among themselves.

A fine haircut should also give hair a good flow or movement. Like when you swing your hair (like how the models do it in commercials), your hair should have streaks of hair moving at slightly different pace in contrast with a huge block of hair swung in one instance.

Cecilia knew about the first rule and gave me a hairstyle that was manageable and not over-layered. However, I didn’t see the movement in my hair. I also felt that my hair was as heavy as when I first came in. All in all, I think the haircut was acceptable, but not outstanding. Maybe I should give her another go, just to be sure. If I do, I’ll sure report it here. 

 

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The Price

$335 before discount. I paid only $235.

If you purchase their Edge Card (at $1,080), you can get up to 30% discount off their hair services.  The Edge Card is used like a prepaid card stored with value.  Every time you visit, the amount you incur will be deducted from the card, at 25%-30% discount.

 

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Will I visit again?

I may try out Cecilia’s skill again, when I’ve garnered enough courage for a different look, maybe a perm job. However, if we are talking about rebonding, then the likelihood is that I will continue to look for “The Holy Grail” salon.

 

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More about Cecilia, the Master Stylist

Petite and friendly, Cecilia has about 18 years of hairdressing experience under her belt.  She spent the bulk of her time with Kimage, clocking 15 years in total.

Cecilia enjoys doing perm and rebonding more than hair styling jobs. Her weakness, she felt was in creating ‘neat’ type of styling such as a neat bun updo.

If she’s not a hairdresser, she might have become a dancer.

 

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Right. That’s all I have for you today? Do you know of any hair salon that does an amazing rebonding job? Do share it with me as I am still in search for ‘The One’. 

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