Pre-wedding dark brown tone-down at Sinseoldong hair salon Salon de L

Tone-down dye before a wedding shoot: why I chose Salon de L

With my wedding shoot coming up, I wanted a neat tone-down dye, so I searched for hair salons in Wangsimni and found Salon de L (살롱드엘) in Tenzhill Mall. As the shoot date got closer, more and more things started to worry me. Dress and nails matter, but the most important thing in photos is the hairstyle, isn't it? So I decided on a tidy tone-down color and started searching for Wangsimni hair salons.

• Location: 137 Majang-ro, Seongdong-gu, Seoul (Tenzhill Mall, 2nd floor, Unit 115)
• Hours: 10:00-19:00 or 20:00

After reading the reviews carefully, Salon de L in Tenzhill Mall caught my eye. Quite a few people seemed to visit before their wedding shoots, so I booked right away and went.

Getting to Salon de L in Tenzhill Mall, and the vibe inside

Salon de L is easy to find: enter Tenzhill Mall and take the escalator up to the 2nd floor. I found it from a list of Wangsimni hair salons, and the mall itself is bigger than I expected, so it felt a bit sprawling at first.

I arrived at my reserved time and was seated right away with no waiting, which was nice. The interior isn't big or flashy; it has the feel of a neighborhood place with loyal regulars? But it turns out it has been running for a full 12 years as a professional salon. So there's a reason it has lasted.

Which level of tone-down color for the wedding shoot?

When I said I had a wedding shoot coming up, we chose a dark brown of about level 4 that wouldn't fade easily. My hair before treatment looks fine in photos, but in reality the color was patchy with lots of over-bleached parts, so it felt messy overall.

Black felt too heavy and I wanted something naturally calm, and dark brown was exactly the direction I wanted, so we went ahead.

It isn't just dye, either: a protein clinic treatment is included in the set menu, so for the price the value was pretty good.

Protein clinic and scalp protection: fine for a sensitive scalp?

At Salon de L, the protein clinic came before the dye. They apply the product and then use heat, and the warmth felt healing for the whole body.

They even brought iced tea and snacks midway, which touched me a little.. I really like small touches like that.

My scalp is sensitive, so dyeing has sometimes stung or itched, but after the clinic they applied scalp protectant carefully, and this time I got through it comfortably.

Then the dye started in earnest, from the crown! But when the dye is slathered right up against my face, I don't know why I look so ugly in the mirror, haha.

When I dye at home myself, it comes out patchy and damages my hair, but premium dye at a salon is definitely different.

Why the shampoo at Salon de L was so good

The best part of this visit to Salon de L, personally, was the shampoo. A shampoo paradise, I admit it... and one reason I'd recommend it among Wangsimni hair salons! At other salons I've often been disappointed that the shampoo wasn't refreshing or ended too fast.

But at Salon de L, I could fall into deep sleep in a short time... The shampoo takes quite a while, and they handle your head like a scalp massage; it felt so good that I fell asleep.

The finished dark brown tone-down: right for a wedding shoot?

The finished color is a natural dark brown rather than black, so my skin tone looked much more put together and my features looked sharper. I'd heard a lot of advice to avoid dark colors before a wedding shoot, but I was actually glad I settled my color calmly beforehand.

I think I'll look much cleaner in photos, so I'm already looking forward to it. Before an important event, getting a professional's touch really seems to be the answer.

This tone-down dye was done by the head designer at Salon de L, who was thorough, and the whole experience was comfortable enough that I want to visit again. If you're worried about color before a wedding shoot or another important event and are searching for a Wangsimni hair salon, I think Salon de L could help :)