Gangnam hair salon for natural loose waves: Heeol Hair

The weather has suddenly gotten so much cooler lately—I guess fall is on its way. And whenever fall comes around, I somehow feel like doing something new with my hair!

I’m normally the type to keep going to just one salon once I settle in. But the owner of the neighborhood salon I’d been going to for ages closed the business ㅠㅠ, so I hadn’t done anything with my hair for a while.

In the meantime, I’d been diligently curling my hair with an Airwrap, but on busy days when I couldn’t use it, or rainy days when my hair quickly fell flat, it looked so sad ㅠㅠ. So I finally decided to get a perm for the first time in ages! After searching hard for a salon near Sinnonhyeon Station that was good with hair, I visited Heeol Hair Gangnam Flagship Store. I loved my hair so much that I think I’m going to settle on Heeol Hair from now on!

Location and parking at Heeol Hair Gangnam Flagship Store

Heeol Hair Gangnam Flagship Store is located between Sinnonhyeon Station Exit 6 and Gangnam Station Exit 11. It sits on Gangnam’s main road, so it was easy to get to. If you’re driving, it’s useful to know that parking is available too.

• Parking fees are supported according to the service menu, for up to 4 hours.
• Daiso Gangnam Station branch parking lot: mechanical parking behind the building.
• Gangnam Jump Milano parking lot: Gangnam e-Square parking lot; the entrance is a little narrow.

Heeol Hair Gangnam Flagship Store is on the third floor of the building.

A salon that still had customers on a weekday afternoon

I took a half-day off on a weekday and visited at 2 p.m. Since it was such an in-between weekday afternoon time, I thought there wouldn’t be many customers, but I was surprised to see quite a few. As you’d expect from a salon known for doing great hair near Sinnonhyeon, it was busy even during the day.

Still, since I had made a reservation, I could get my treatment comfortably, haha. When things briefly quieted down, I quickly took some photos of the interior.

The whole salon had soft lighting and a warm-feeling interior. Plants placed here and there added a little atmosphere, and the overall mood was modern but comfortable—I really liked it.

Once you get your hair done, you’re usually sitting in a salon for at least two or three hours. So if the interior is pretty and the atmosphere is nice, even the waiting time feels better.

The chairs were plush too, so my butt hurt less even after sitting for a long time. I’m the type whose butt hurts even after watching a two-hour movie ㅠㅠ, so little things like this are actually important, haha.

Heeol Hair had lots of little details I liked.

The shampoo-room chair was especially comfortable. Every salon’s chairs are a little different, but my neck usually hurts so much whenever I get shampooed. At Heeol Hair, though, the shampoo chair was so comfortable that I fell asleep without realizing it while the neutralizing treatment was being done.

Consultation and process before the CS curl perm

I looked over the service price list, and I got a long-hair CS curl perm with Designer Arin.

If you get hair services regularly, I think Heeol Hair’s membership pass could be a good choice too! There were lots of extra points and discounts.

The photos below are from before the service. My last CS curl perm was in August last year, and after that I had only been getting trims. Before I knew it, the ends were quite damaged and my hair looked a little messy overall.

I decided on a CS curl perm this time, and Designer Arin at Heeol Hair Gangnam Flagship Store took care of it. Before we started, I showed her photos of the style I wanted!

Using those photos, she gave me a detailed consultation on how to approach the service based on the condition of my hair. She also cut a little length off the damaged ends for prettier curls, haha. Designer Arin spoke so gently and kindly during the consultation that I could tell her what I wanted without feeling any pressure!

They gave me a drink and snacks too. I had left lunch halfway through to make my salon appointment, so I was a little hungry ㅠ. I wolfed down the snacks as soon as I got them, but when I came back from the shampoo room after rinsing out the solution, they had refilled them... Don’t do this to me... If you give me food, I’ll eat every single bit of it!!

Hehe, but I ate them all anyway. Four bags of snacks, niiiice. Everyone was so kind...

After the solution, shampoo, and cut, they rolled my hair up. I do this every time I come to a salon, but it always makes me laugh for some reason. I kind of look like an alien...?

Designer Arin’s touch was never rough—she was really meticulous. There was barely any pulling, so I could get the service very comfortably, which I loved. She carefully checked throughout to see whether I was uncomfortable or whether anything felt hot. It felt like I was being properly looked after.

They did the neutralizing step in the shampoo room with a cute duck. The chair was so comfortable that I fell fast asleep.

The result: natural, loose waves

As Designer Arin dried my hair, she also showed me how to style the CS curl perm nicely. It was even better because the Dyson dryer didn’t make my scalp feel hot.

I always get nervous at this moment for no reason. Did the perm turn out as well as I hoped? It’s hard to tell until your hair is completely dry.

And the result!!!!!!!! I’m SO satisfied. I seriously love it! My hair came out exactly like the style I wanted, and the moment it was dry and I swept it forward, I blurted out, “Oh, it’s pretty!” haha.

It had exactly the natural, loose-wave look I wanted, so I was completely satisfied.

The photos below show before and after I went into the salon. My hair turned out so pretty that I was absolutely thrilled.

The photo on the lower left is the back of my hair at Starbucks on Monday. You can see how messy the ends looked when I didn’t style it separately with an Airwrap, right? The photo on the right was taken after I left the salon and headed straight to COEX Aquarium. Aren’t the naturally falling waves so pretty? (Please say they are! Hahaha)

I got a CS curl perm from Designer Arin at Heeol Hair Gangnam Flagship Store. She was thorough from the consultation through the service and understood the feeling I wanted so well, so I was really satisfied. I think I’ll visit Designer Arin again the next time I get a perm or want to change my hairstyle!