Men's iron perm for crown volume at Muse Hair Salon, Sangam-dong

My crown flattens easily and my fringe keeps falling onto my forehead, so I used to spend forever every morning trying to blow-dry it back up. I'd tried volume magic a few times before, but after about a month and a half the roots would go flat again and it'd revert back to normal. This time I got a men's iron perm at Muse Hair Salon, a hair salon in Sangam-dong, and now I can basically just fix it with my hands in the morning — so I wanted to record it in detail.

Where is Muse Hair Salon? Finding it on Nurikkum Square B1

Muse Hair Salon is a hair salon inside Nuriggum Square near Digital Media City Station. It's been running on word-of-mouth alone in Sangam-dong for over 10 years without any advertising, and apparently they recently expanded to a bigger space within the same building — which is why it looked so clean and spacious.

I have to mention the directions here, because Nuriggum Square is such a huge building that it's easy to get lost on your first visit — I ended up circling around myself. The exact location is right in front of the Digital Pavilion elevator, basement level 1 of Nuriggum Square. If you're coming from outside, entering near Exit 3 is the closest route. Go in through the entrance with the blue sign reading 'Nuriggum Mall Food Court/Hospital·Pharmacy/Amenities B1,' go down one flight of stairs, and next to the pharmacy you'll see a wood-toned door with the Muse Hair Salon sign. There's also a purple banner set up in front of the entrance, so just look for that.

Inside Muse Hair Salon: the space and the waiting area

Inside Muse Hair Salon, there's a row of arched gold-framed mirrors against white walls, plus a separate director's room sectioned off with wood partitions. Inside that room I saw scalp care equipment — turns out they do scalp and skin care alongside hair.

While waiting, they offer drinks — there's a coffee machine, ice maker, and water purifier set up on one side, so you can get an iced drink. I got orange juice, along with a small wooden plate of snacks and candy. In front of the mirrors there were signs for a membership event and something about amniotic stem cell culture fluid — if you're curious, you can just ask when you visit.

Why a men's iron perm lasts longer than volume magic

According to the director at Muse Hair Salon, for someone like me whose crown flattens easily, volume magic loses its root volume quickly so it doesn't last long. An iron perm, on the other hand, sets the volume from the root, so it lasts much longer than volume magic and is easier to style in the morning. He gave me a pretty long consultation before the treatment, and that's when I realized why my volume magic always reverted after about a month and a half.

Iron perm on the fringe and crown, volume magic on the sides

This part I was most satisfied with. At other salons, a men's iron perm usually means curling the entire head with just the iron machine, which adds unnecessarily heavy volume everywhere. That makes the hair look puffed up and unnatural — a bit too much for my face shape.

The director at Muse Hair Salon used different machines on different sections. For areas that really needed volume, like the fringe and crown, he used the iron perm machine to add clear volume, while for areas that needed only a light touch, like the sides, he used the volume magic machine to set it gently. On the sides, he layered heat-protection paper before working on it — he said this keeps the sides from puffing out and lets the hair fall in a way that fits the face shape.

It sounded like a small detail when he explained it, but the result was completely different. The sides stayed calm and close to the head while only the top had natural lift — exactly what a well-styled head of hair should look like.

The finished hair, and how the next morning's styling went

From the front, my fringe flows naturally toward my forehead while the crown volume stays alive; from the side, the hair is short and neat; and from the back, it's rounded nicely to follow the shape of my head. The moment I looked in the mirror I thought, 'This is the hair I wanted.'

The next morning, even with just a rough blow-dry, the volume stayed exactly as it was. With volume magic I used to have to force it up with wax, but now I just need to fix it with my hands — which has definitely cut down my morning time.

Who a men's iron perm at Muse Hair Salon suits

• Men whose crown flattens easily or whose fringe keeps falling, making morning styling take forever
• Anyone who's tried volume magic before and felt it flattened too quickly to last
• Anyone who got an iron perm elsewhere and found the volume way too much
• Office workers around Sangam-dong or DMC looking for a hair salon that's easy to drop by during lunch or after work

Muse Hair Salon: location, hours and booking

• Salon name: Muse Hair Salon (MUSE hairsalon)
• Location: 396 World Cup buk-ro, Nuriggum Square B1, Mapo-gu, Seoul (near the Digital Pavilion elevator, close to Exit 3)
• Nearest station: Digital Media City Station
• Hours: Weekdays 10:00–20:30 / Weekends 10:00–19:30 (subject to change, check Naver Place before visiting)
• This treatment: Men's iron perm (iron perm and volume magic machines used on different sections)
• Notable: Word-of-mouth business in Sangam-dong for over 10 years, recently expanded to a bigger space in the same building, also offers scalp and skin care
• Booking: Recommended to book by phone before visiting

If you're looking for a hair salon in Sangam-dong that's good at men's iron perms, I'd recommend Muse Hair Salon. I'm planning to go back here next time too.