There was once a time when the most unusual hair colour you might see in Singapore is platinum blonde. Nowadays, every colour of the rainbow – or the whole rainbow all at once – is no longer off-limits, with more and more people of all ages being more bold with their hair colour of choice.
However, whether you’ve gone down the unicorn road before, or you’re unsure if you want to take the rainbow plunge, it’s fairly certain that you will be concerned about how long will the colour last, and how much damage does bleaching and colouring do to your hair.
Luckily, with advancements in hair styling technology, bleaching and colouring no longer need to mean that you have to live with dry, grass-like hair for the next few months at least. Furthermore, if you follow your hair dresser’s advice and do the proper after-care procedure, you can make your hair colour last longer too.
If you’re looking for a hair salon that can help you achieve all your coloured hair dreams, we have a few to recommend.
These are the hair salons that don’t stint on quality for your perfect hair colour; they stand out because of their stylists’ experience and skills, the hair styling products they pick for their customers, and the professional after-care advice that they dispense.
1. Apgujeong Hair Salon
We’re all guilty of it: we ask for a certain hairstyle and colour, only to leave the salon disappointed, because it didn’t suit our skin tones or face shapes.
This problem will not happen at Apgujeong Hair Salon. The hairstylists at Apgujeong literally know better, coming from their years of experience and training in customising your hairstyle and colour according to what suits you best.
They can advise you on a suitable hair colour that would complement your appearance, and even do something called hair contouring, where they carefully place darker or lighter colours on the right part of your hair hair in order to frame your face better. This skilful technique is able to alter the appearance of your face shape and facial features to make them look more flattering, and make your skin tone look more vibrant.
As a Korean hair salon, Apgujeong Hair Salon also pays as much attention as you do to your favourite Korean celebrities and dramas, so that they will be able to use the most on-trend Korean styles and colours on you.
Getting your hair dyed at Apgujeong
Look for: The hairstylists most known for their creative hair colouring are Thomas (Apgujeong Great World City), Sean (Apgujeong Bishan), John (Apgujeong JEM), and Leonard (Apgujeong Tampines 1).
Try out: the Pravana hair range. Known to be industry leaders in hair colour, Pravana products can create bright, vibrant colours which are also long-lasting – in other words, perfection. This kind of quality is almost impossible to match.
After-care tips from Apgujeong
Apgujeong recommends that customers use specially formulated shampoos that are specific for the hair colour you have chosen.
For example, if you just dyed your hair blue and/or purple, using the Pravana Perfect Blonde Purple Toning Shampoo and Conditioner can help to subdue and eliminate the brassy tones in your hair, which will make your blue/purple colour look brighter and more vivid for a longer period of time.
Apgujeong stylists are well-placed to advise you on how often you should be bleaching your hair, since different individuals would have hair textures that respond differently to the bleaching chemicals. On average, though, bleached hairstyles should have the roots touched up every 2 to 3 months.
Where to find Apgujeong Hair Salon?
- Bishan Junction 8
Address: 9 Bishan Place, #02-18, Junction 8 Shopping Mall, Singapore 579837 (nearest MRT: Bishan)
Opening Hours: 10.30am – 9.30pm daily (including weekends and public holidays)
Telephone: +65-6250-9937 or +65-9100-2184 - Tampines 1
Address: 10 Tampines Central, #04-27, Tampines 1 Shopping Mall, Singapore 529536 (nearest MRT: Tampines)
Opening Hours: 10.30am – 9.00pm daily (including weekends and public holidays)
Telephone: +65-6781-1052 or +65-9457-5780 - Punggol Waterway Point
Address: 83 Punggol Central, #01-40, Punggol Waterway Point, Singapore 828761 (nearest MRT: Punggol)
Opening Hours: 10.30am – 9.30pm daily (including weekends and public holidays)
Telephone: +65-6385-8957 or +65-9239-1297 - Tiong Bahru Plaza
Address: 302 Tiong Bahru Road, #03-106, Tiong Bahru Plaza, Singapore 168732 (nearest MRT: Tiong Bahru)
Opening Hours: 10.30am – 9.30pm daily (including weekends and public holidays)
Telephone: +65-6250-8591 or +65-9853-6365 - Vivocity
Address: 1 Harbourfront Walk, #02-216, Vivocity, Singapore 098585 (nearest MRT: Harbourfront)
Opening Hours: 10.30am – 9.30pm daily (including weekends and public holidays)
Telephone: +65-6255-6564 or +65-8299-5460 - Great World City
Address: 1 Kim Seng Promenade, #02-30/31, Great World City, Singapore 237994
Opening Hours: 10.30am – 9.30pm daily (including weekends and public holidays)
Telephone: +65-6235-1629 or +65-8112-0226 - JEM
Address: 50 Jurong Gateway Road #04-05/06, JEM, Singapore 608549 (nearest MRT: Jurong East)
Opening Hours: 10.30am – 9.30pm daily (including weekends and public holidays)
Telephone: +65-6694-0978 or +65-8112-0310 - Hougang Mall
Address: 90 Hougang Avenue 10, #04-08, Hougang Mall, Singapore 538766 (nearest MRT: Hougang)
Opening Hours: 10.30am – 9.30pm daily (including weekends and public holidays)
Telephone: +65-6909-2563 or +65-9060-9721 - Clementi Mall
Address: 3155 Commonwealth Avenue West, The Clementi Mall, Singapore 129588 (nearest MRT: Clementi)
Opening Hours: 10.30am – 9.30pm daily (including weekends and public holidays)
Telephone: +65-6909-3210 or +65-8161-7393
2. Picasso Hair Studio
The hairdressers at Picasso are certainly not afraid to experiment with the various techniques when it comes to hair colouring! When pixellated hair was a thing a couple of years ago, they immediately jumped on board and boldly tried their hand at it – and the results look great!
They’ve also begun doing handpressed colouring techniques, where coloured dyes are pressed into the hair on a board so it achieves the most seamless blending of colours. They have their eyes and ears opened for the latest colouring trends from all around the world, and always try to be ahead of the curve and be among the first to bring it to their customers in Singapore.
Hairstylists from Picasso Hair Studio are always constantly upgrading themselves, regularly attending workshops conducted by overseas trainers to make sure their skills stay relevant. They are even given one day a week just to “innovate”, that is, having absolute freedom to experiment with whatever hair colours and techniques they want on a dummy so that they can potentially introduce a self-invented technique to the hair salon.
The craziest hair colour that a customer had done in their salon was requesting to dye her hair 16 different colours. The Picasso hairstylists were absolutely up for the challenge, even managing to achieve their results using top-quality dyes and treatments so that the customer’s hair would not be damaged despite all that rainbow being soaked into her hair!
Getting your hair dyed at Picasso
Look for: Jason or Carmen.
Jason has a good grasp on hair colouring techniques, and is meticulous when it comes to applying colours. Ask for him if you hope to achieve meticulous work on a complex design.
Jason’s work
Carmen is known for her creativity with the colours she uses, and also has a good sense of aesthetic when it comes to matching colours, ensuring that the overall look will come out great as a whole.
Carmen’s work
Try out: The Olaplex and Smart Bond treatments. Picasso strongly encourages the use of these treatments to protect the hair and scalp from damage, and so these treatments are usually bundled together in their 3C colour packages. If bleaching has to be done on the roots, they will also use a pre-bleach leave-in treatment for the scalp to protect it before the process begins.
Alternatively, if you are not keen on the time it takes for bleaching, or the damage it might cause to your hair, you can also opt for dark purple or dark green hair dyes which can be done without bleaching the hair, and which still shows up beautifully.
After-care tips from Picasso
Interestingly, Picasso actually recommends that you apply your conditioner on to the coloured parts of your hair before you start to shampoo your hair. This will help to close the cuticles of the hair and reduce the wash-out of your hair colour.
You can also use the Olaplex and Smart Bond home care treatments in between your salon visits, in order to strengthen your hair before you go in for your next colouring job. Picasso Hair Studio says that how fast and how damaging bleach might be to the hair really depends on your own hair texture. Thicker hair tends to be more resilient to more rounds of bleaching. However, Picasso maintains that they will only go for a maximum of three rounds of bleaching for any hair colouring service.
They generally also don’t recommend bleaching near the roots, as it dries out and may damage the scalp. Rather, Picasso recommends colouring the roots with a matching hair colour that does not require bleach. This will create an ombre look that will not look unsightly when your hair eventually grows out.
Where to find Picasso Hair Studio?
Picasso Hair Studio
Address: 662 North Bridge Rd, Singapore 188798 (nearest MRT: Bugis)
Opening hours:
- Mon – Fri: 11am – 9pm
- Sat: 10am – 8pm
- Sun/PH: 10am – 7pm
Telephone: +65-6291-0691
3. Bada Hair
While technique is obviously essential for a hairstylist, Bada Hair also encourages their hairstylists to hone their personal creativity, as well as being up to date with the latest trends in hairstyling. They keep their eyes peeled on the latest Korean dramas, music videos, magazines, and social media trends, so they have a keen understanding of what trends are coming down the line, and what’s becoming passe. They’re as game as you are when it comes to experimenting with the craziest hair colour and style that you can think of!
On top of making sure you walk out of the salon with beautifully coloured hair, Bada Hair is just as concerned about your hair’s health as you are. This is why they don’t compromise on their pre- and post-colouring hair care steps.
Bada Hair offers two types of treatments to minimise the damage that the hair colouring process would do to your hair: the Shiseido Salon Program treatment, which protects your hair and scalp before colouring, and which can also be used after colouring to re-hydrate the hair, and the Tokio Inkarami treatment, an intensively hydrating treatment to be done after colouring.
Some of the craziest styles they’ve done for customers include: holographic hair, an anime-like ash-rainbow hair, and rainbow blocks with a blonde base!
Getting your hair dyed at Bada Hair
Look for: James or Preston. They have the most experience when it comes to going crazy with hair colours, and are going to showcase their hair colouring works soon. Look out for them!
Try out: The Tokio Inkarami treatment. Formulated for post-colouring care, this treatment will make your hair look impossibly smooth and silky despite the processes done to your hair!
After-care tips from Bada Hair
Bada Hair recommends customers to use purple shampoo every day after colouring their hair, and then colour hair masks to tone the hair.
There are different types of hair masks available: Choco Masks are suitable for brown and red hair, Pink Masks for pink and rose gold hair, Ash Masks for matte grey and cool brown hair, and Violet Masks for silver, grey and blue hair.
Where to find Bada Hair Beauty Salon?
Bada Hair
Address: 333A Orchard Rd. #03-13, Mandarin Gallery, Singapore 238897 (nearest MRT: Somerset)
Opening hours: 10am to 8pm daily
Telephone: +65-6909-0504 or to book through SMS/WhatsApp: +65-8133-0818
Booking: Contact form on website
