Geomdan hair salon root straightening and cut: Lee Kyung Min Foret

Why I went for root straightening before my trip

With a trip to Qingdao coming up, I went for root straightening for the first time in a while because I wanted nice photos. I was short on time with all the trip prep, so I went to Lee Kyung Min Foret Geomdan New Town Branch, where parking is easy.

I’ve also been keeping up with root coloring lately, so I was worried the straightening might not take well, but it came out better than I expected. I loved the styling too—this is the kind of straightening that will have me taking lots of photos in Qingdao!

What were the parking lot and salon atmosphere like?

Parking is tough at the commercial buildings in Geomdan New Town, but Lee Kyung Min Foret Geomdan New Town Branch has plenty of room. Parking in Ara-dong can be stressful, so I tend to look for places with easy parking. The parking area goes down to B3 in the building, and both the spaces and aisles are quite roomy. Even beginner drivers shouldn’t find parking difficult!

The interior is fairly spacious in white tones, so I loved that it didn’t feel cramped. The overall tone-on-tone look even had a luxurious feel, which was totally my style.

I especially liked how widely spaced the treatment stations were. When you’re in the chair for a long perm, having the chairs too close together somehow feels a little uncomfortable.

I took this so you could see the distance between me and the person beside me while I was actually getting my treatment. It definitely feels nicely far apart, right? Haha.

Root straightening and a cut tailored to my wavy hair and head shape

My sadly shaped head: very wavy hair, thick strands, and a rather square-looking crown. I was looked after by Designer Gawon, who immediately noticed that because the sides of my head stick out a little, my hair starts to look square as the roots grow out.

Even at a glance, my hair looked puffed up, and with so much wavy growth, my bangs looked frizzy too. I hadn’t originally planned on getting a cut, but one side had grown longer than the other. I trusted Designer Gawon and got the cut, and seeing the result, I’m so glad I did—it looks polished! Be sure to look at my finished hair at the end. :)

After applying the solution quickly, they brought me tea and snacks while my hair was under heat. I drank mine quickly, and kind Gawon even asked if I’d like another cup!

For the first shampoo, the shampoo room felt luxurious and the chair was especially comfortable, so my neck didn’t hurt. Designer Gawon is really great at shampooing too, and for me with an oily scalp, it felt so refreshing!

Root straightening isn’t all the same, because everyone’s head shape is different. Since the sides of my head stick out, I prefer it smoothed completely straight without volume. They paid really close attention and straightened it beautifully, and they were especially quick with their hands, so it didn’t take a long time.

The styling change after finishing the cut

Here’s my hair after the cut and root straightening: the length is even, and the back looks polished. What really made me feel I was right to get the cut was the treatment of the ends. Since I have thick hair, I was very satisfied that the ends were finished so softly.

If you look at my old roots, you can see how bent they were, and my very wavy hair had a frizzy look as well. They said they use Shiseido shampoo and treatment as standard because they care about damage. Even without a basic hair clinic treatment, I loved that my hair felt softer than before. If you need styling before a trip like I did, make a reservation and visit in advance. Especially if you have very wavy hair, try Lee Kyung Min Foret, a Geomdan New Town hair salon that does root straightening well.