Thick curly hair layered perm + cut in Songpa, Seoul: Goun Ilsang Hair

I'm Rosana, and I love travel, everyday life, and languages!

Today I'm writing up my one-on-one layered perm + cut with the director at Goun Ilsang Hair, a hair salon in Songpa, Seoul :)

It's been a whopping 6 months since I last did anything with my hair... Every day flew by so hectically that I never got around to visiting a salon, and I just kept dyeing my roots — but this time I finally worked up the courage to get my hair done!

Goun Ilsang Hair Songpa Helio City Branch: hours and location

• ⏰ Hours: Weekdays 10:00–19:30 / Sat & Sun 10:00–18:30 (closed Sundays)
• 📍 Location: 1F, Unit 1, 4-25 Songpa-daero 37-gil, Songpa-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• ☑️ Note: Public parking lot at Helio commercial complex, next to Corner Hotel

The director runs the place alone and handles every client one-on-one, so booking ahead is absolutely required!

Even to the naked eye, my hair looked genuinely chaotic haha. My hair's characteristics are... coarse strands, a LOT of volume, and curly — argh!!

What's the first-visit offer?

[First-visit offer] 40% off perm, dye, and cut! Don't miss this first-visit-only deal! *Same offer applies even if you request a specific stylist — 40% off full perm/dye/care / 10% off root dye / 10% off full cut *Excludes Elroy and set-discount menus *50% off with first-visit prepaid package

Goun Ilsang Hair is currently running this first-visit offer, so if you need a haircut, I'd recommend visiting right away!

Thick hair, starting with the cut

First, to lighten all this thick hair and set up the layered perm properly, we started with the cut!

The perm hadn't even started yet, but just the cut alone made my hair look a bit more put-together — magic!

I was tired from getting there and the weather was hot, so I was a little nervous about the whole process, but the director's warm tea and a few snacks helped melt away the fatigue :)

Applying the solution and shampooing

Before starting the layered perm and root straightening in earnest, the solution was applied and I waited for a bit.

Then came the shampoo, and there was a pretty painting hanging at the shampoo station :) Posters and artwork were scattered throughout, café music was playing, and it honestly felt like I was at a café rather than a salon :) It was such a calm, quiet atmosphere that I kept dozing off haha. That's how relaxed and cozy this Songpa hair salon feels :)

When I first walked in, I thought it was a small salon, but I had no idea there was more space inside!!

Once the solution treatment was done, they shampooed and dried my hair! It was so light with so much less volume that I was genuinely happy :) If you have a lot of hair volume, I'd recommend even just the layered cut at Goun Ilsang Hair!

Starting the layered perm

Now for the main event — the layered perm! The director at Goun Ilsang Hair carefully checked whether the curls were setting properly and whether the machine was working right! You know those videos where foreign influencers and TikTokers visit Korea, get this machine done, and totally freak out because the curl turns out way stronger than expected? Haha, honestly, seeing my own curls set in, I panicked a little too haha...

Washing it out again

But once it was washed out — ta-da! The weird bulging curls disappeared and my hair came out looking calm and settled, phew, what a relief... And best of all, washing and drying it barely took any time at all, which made me so happy...

The director at this Songpa branch of Goun Ilsang Hair carefully blow-dried my hair while showing me how to style it myself! The layered perm shape kept emerging more and more, which was such a real relief, haha.

Before and after: cut + layered perm

Here's the before-and-after shot after the cut + layered perm! The volume is noticeably reduced and all the damaged ends were cut away, leaving it looking so much cleaner :)

More than anything, my hair is just so light now... I never realized I could go around with hair feeling this light :) The director told me to always blow-dry from back to front, and to make sure I apply hair oil at the very end :) Having one-on-one attention the whole way through made for such a calm, unhurried layered perm experience :)