Color By Inoa At Regine’s Salon

as you may have noticed my hair has changed a bit in the last week. now shorter and with a more defined golden hue, it feels lighter, bouncier, happier. it’s all thanks to my recent visit to regine’s salon (makati), in which i got pampered with a fabulous haircut, a concoction of gorgeous hair dyes and topped off with a luxurious hair reviving treatment.

i started off with my long, straight, lifeless hair.

my stylist jimmy gave me an awesome layered ‘do, cutting off a significant amount of hair and thinning out my thick mane as he went along. i got to have a fringe again and absolutely loved it.

then he customized a hair dye for me, using a combination of ash and golden hues to achieve a brighter dye that wasn’t too orange. we used INOA by l’oreal, an odorless, ammonia-free line of hair color that promises hydration and protection so the hair doesn’t suffer like it normally does with dyeing. i really got excited with inoa because my hair is badly damaged from years of chemical treatments and only recently started getting some TLC from me (i know, i’m sorry!).

i was told that not a lot of salons choose to offer inoa to their patrons, since the dye is of a different formulation that makes it a bit trickier to apply. and true enough: it turned out to be rather thick and eventually got more difficult to incorporate into little sections of my hair. it definitely takes skill and patience, plus quite a bit of tolerance since the tugging around can get uncomfortable. my whole head took about 45 minutes to get covered, but that’s mostly because i have a LOT of hair.

still, i managed relatively unscathed and all that dye was left on my hair — and eyebrows — for 35 minutes.

after a good rinse using l’oreal’s crème de la crème of shampoos and conditioners, it was time for my pampering. jimmy’s assistant trudis suggested i try a new-to-me treatment called fusio-dose. this breakthrough by kérastase is a made-to-measure deep conditioner completely customizable to suit one’s needs. i got a medley of liquid that targeted hair texture and provided shine plus color protection — exactly what i needed. the fusio-dose was sprayed from a bottle, massaged into my hair and left in cellophane for 15 minutes.

i then got a final rinse, followed by a blow-dry with a bit of styling. i asked for some big waves and…voila!

perfectly bouncy hair. although the waves are now long gone, i still notice some shine on my hair that just wasn’t there before. it’s also still quite soft and manageable and all i really need to do now is maintain a healthy hair routine so it stays that way. will definitely get regular treatments from now on, too!

for details on INOA, fusio-dose and other l’oreal services, you may contact regine’s salon here. or hey, why not ask your favorite salon about them! (;