Seoul: My first perm, Myeongdong, Lee Chul Hairkerker

Many friends and others have asked me where to get a good perm in Seoul or where I permed my hair, so I thought I should do a post on my first (and favourite) perm in Seoul, and also the first ever perm in my life. Before flying to Seoul, I told myself that I would get my hair permed because Koreans always seem to have perfect hair (they really do in real life by the way) so I assumed that hair technology would be more advanced and professional in Seoul.

Javin, Sherman and I did our salon search at Myeongdong, one of the major shopping areas in Seoul because Javin's friend recommended a salon there called Juno Hair, which has really good reviews online. Myeongdong is one of my favourite places to go for a walk with Javin when we are free. It holds a lot of memories for me because it was one of the first places we visited in Seoul and the place where I first ate my favourite Seoul street snack 계란빵 ("egg bread" in Korean, pronounced "kaeran bbang").

The shops there sell stuff mainly from brands, like Boy London (one of the most popular and trendy brands among Koreans) and there is A-land there too, a shop that sells stuff from young designers. I only window shop there because most of the items are too expensive for me, so I'd rather go to Hongdae/Dongdaemun/Gmarket, two of which I talked about in my Shopping in Seoul post. Myeongdong has a ton of food places to eat and I actually have a list of places to eat in Myeongdong, which I may or may not do a post on. There is a movie theatre, street food, cafes, departmental stores... Oh and a Catholic cathedral. It's just a huge congregation of buildings.

For people who are into Korean beauty products, Myeongdong is THE PLACE to go. It's practically heaven for all beauty junkies and shops are constantly having sales. Don't even get me started on Korean beauty products and cosmetics...

There are hair salons too in Myeongdong, but they are more on the high-end side compared to those in Hongdae. I was pretty apprehensive about getting my hair permed because my hair is already pretty dry to begin with. We headed first to Juno Hair to check out the prices, but they were too high. We combed Myeongdong and ended up in a salon, now known as Lee Chul Hairkerker (이철헤어커커), which I highly recommend.

Don't ask me what Hairkerker means though.

Hair salons in Seoul have such impeccable service. Upon entering the salon, the assistants took off our coats for us and put them in lockers while hairstylists gave us one-on-one consultation at their consultation corner. I regret not taking photos to show the beautiful place but it was very well-renovated and designed. We were all given albums of hairstyles to choose from and they gave us advice based on our preferences and hair condition. I went for a digital perm with the most expensive treatment because Eun-young (my stylist) strongly advised me to do so. I trusted her because her hair was really soft and silky. That's how I choose hair salons by the way haha.

My perm was 110,000 - 130,000 won (I can't remember the exact price) and my treatment was 70,000 won so the total was about $230. Significantly more expensive than in Hongdae, but comparing my first and second perm, it was definitely worth every cent. It's still cheaper than in Singapore anyway.

My curls were pretty lasting. It's important to get a perm that actually lasts or your money will just be wasted. Of course, there are certain hair types that just don't hold curls. My hair is quite dry so it holds hairstyles pretty well. They started out like this:

And by the end of four months, they were like this:

My advice for people with dry hair and want to perm their hair is not to scrimp. Go for a really good treatment. My theory is that treatment should ideally be before the perm itself, because prevention is better than cure. The treatment I went for consisted of seven steps. That day I went around Far East Plaza to ask about the treatments the salons were offering for promotion and they were all mostly one-step treatments, with the exception of a few two-step treatments. I find that if the treatment isn't intensive, it doesn't really work or last. The treatment at Lee Chul Hairkerker really kept my curls shiny and soft. Money should not be saved when it comes to hair if you can afford it (if you are financially-strapped, then you shouldn't even be wasting money on doing your hair) because it really does make a difference! I kind of regret not going back to Lee Chul for my second perm because my curls didn't turn out as soft and smooth as the first time.

Lee Chul Hairkerker (이철헤어커커)
4F, 22-5, Chungmuro 1-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul-si
서울 충무로1가 22-5 4층
(Located opposite Primo Bacio Baci)
Myeongdong station, Exit #6