Yeoksam Station hair salon for a tight root-to-tip hippie perm: Owlly

I'd been looking for a salon lately because I wanted a real change of hairstyle, a bit of a mood refresh too. The style I'd always wanted to try was the bouncy, playful "hippie perm"! I searched hard for a place that does those tight but lovely curls well, and ended up at Owlly Yeoksam Branch (이플헤어 역삼본점), near Yeoksam Station. To cut to the chase: I came away 200% satisfied, and here's my honest review in detail!

How do you get to Owlly Yeoksam Branch?

Owlly Yeoksam Branch is close to a bus stop, so it's easy to reach by public transport, and it's on the 2nd floor of a building with Nolbu Budae Jjigae (놀부부대찌개, army stew restaurant) on the 1st floor. I took the bus this time. Access to public transport matters more than you'd think when going to a salon, right? It was just a short walk from where I got off.

I didn't go by subway myself, but on the map it looks very close to Yeoksam Station on Line 2, so I think anyone coming by subway can get there easily too.

The route is super easy! Walk along the main road, duck into a side street, and you'll see the building with Nolbu Budae Jjigae on the 1st floor. The 2nd floor is Owlly. It's right at the start of the alley, so there's no getting lost, and even though it's on the 2nd floor, the building has an elevator, so I got in comfortably without climbing stairs on tired legs. I love thoughtful touches like that!

What are the interior and seating like?

Inside Owlly Yeoksam Branch there are roughly 9 seats, and on a weekday it was quiet and pleasant. When you get out of the elevator on the 2nd floor, a clean, modern entrance greets you. It was just the right size for focused care.

I made time on a weekday, and I really liked that it wasn't packed and bustling like a weekend. At big salons it can sometimes feel hectic, with too many customers and busy staff, but here I could get my treatment comfortably in a calm, relaxed atmosphere. Since I had booked, I was shown straight to my seat without a long wait, which was another good point!

How does the consultation before a hippie perm go?

Before the hippie perm, the designer at Owlly Yeoksam Branch checked my hair's damage level and strength by touching it directly. After I changed into a gown and sat down, the designer in charge of my hair came over and gave me a thorough consultation.

When I said I wanted a hippie perm, they didn't just launch into it. First they felt my current hair condition and diagnosed it carefully. After checking how damaged it was and how strong the hair was, we talked in depth about exactly what kind of look I wanted.

I said I wanted a full, voluminous, properly frizzy-curly hippie perm from the roots, and the designer understood exactly what I needed and kindly explained the approach and the rod size. My trust in the designer's expertise shot up before we'd even started.

Hippie perm process and time (heat perm and neutralizing)

The hippie perm at Owlly Yeoksam Branch was a heat perm, and it took about 2 hours 30 minutes from consultation to the final shampoo. You could feel the designer's skill in how carefully they rolled my hair around the rods, strand by strand. I was touched by how often they checked whether my scalp felt too hot or pulled.

After the heat treatment came the neutralizing step so the perm would set well, and they handled it neatly so the solution didn't drip.

The designer works fast and kept looking after me along the way, so for a perm the time flew by and I wasn't bored at all.

How did the hippie perm turn out?

The hippie perm at Owlly Yeoksam Branch came out just as I wanted, with tight, springy curls from the roots to the ends. When it was all done and I came back from rinsing, I could see bouncy curls alive even in my wet hair!

Back at my seat while my hair was being dried, I just loved what I saw in the mirror. It came out far prettier than I'd expected before the treatment, and I was cheering inside.

How to dry a hippie perm: home-care tips

The home care my designer taught me: shake-dry only the scalp area lightly, then apply plenty of curl cream or essence to the curls below and let them air dry. After the treatment they gave me very careful advice on home care and drying tricks. Moisture is the lifeblood of a hippie perm, right? They explained how to care for it so it stays pretty for a long time in a way that really sank in, so I feel confident styling it on my own at home.

Is the price at Owlly Yeoksam Branch reasonable?

From the writer's point of view, Owlly Yeoksam Branch felt more reasonably priced and cheaper than typical big franchise salons. With such kind service and hair I'm completely happy with, the price being gentle too made me fall for it all over again. At a famous big franchise salon, you have to brace yourself for your wallet getting emptied just for a perm on long hair, right?

But Owlly Yeoksam Branch is far more reasonably priced for the quality of the result, so you get value for money too. I got pretty hair and saved money, which felt great.

Would I go back?

The hippie perm I got at Owlly Yeoksam Branch is honestly my favorite hair I've had in a long while! The perm didn't droop and came out nice and frizzy-curly just as I wanted, so I'll be recommending it all over town to friends who need their hair done.

If you're looking for a hair salon near Yeoksam Station that's easy to find and has value, skill and service all together, I strongly recommend visiting Owlly Yeoksam Branch!