“A de-stress hair spa” declares Vivek Tamang after studying my hair texture. I am at the newly opened Lakme Salon at Race Course.
The interiors are a swanky black-and-pink and the staff is cordial. One of them quickly serves me a cup of steaming hot chai . As I sip it, Vivek gives a dry scalp massage and says with a smile, “This is to let the scalp know that the spa is about to begin.” The massage also opens the hair cuticle, which helps the hair to soak up the nourishing cream. “The de-stress spa is particularly good for frizzy hair. It enhances, nourishes, and controls dryness,” says Vivek.
After shampooing, he mixes a smooth concentrate with serum and applies it carefully on every strand and follows it up with a relaxing head massage. I doze off and wake up in time for the steaming.
The massage works on pressure points that leaves you refreshed and also opens up the pores on the scalp, which improves blood circulation. My fully-nourished hair is now allowed to cool down to room temperature, washed, dried and now sizzles in a new super-soft avatar. While a smooth concentrate works well on frizzy and unmanageable hair, there are repair concentrates to tackle damaged hair, and others to get sheen for coloured hair.
Arun Menon and Preetha Arun, franchise owners of Lakme Salon, say theirs is the only one that caters exclusively to women. “Most parlours are unisex. Here, it’s an exclusive zone for women and customers can walk in any time,” says Arun who has worked with many big brands in the cosmetics industry in Africa before moving to Coimbatore. “Though we have a number of services for the student crowd like advanced facial, non-ammonia hair colouring and more, we follow the basic norms of no-chemical treatment on children below 18. Most facials are organic. As a part of the exclusive bridal make-up, we also have advanced treatments for skin. It is not just about beauty but about looking good in a healthy way. All the beauticians are trained at Lakme Academy in Chennai and Bangalore. ”
Arun recommends a pedicure to get a feel of the place. Over a cup green tea this time, I soak my feet in warm water mixed with mineral salt and allow the beautician to take over. She scrubs off the dead cells, files my nails, applies cuticle cream, and gives a relaxing massage to my legs.
My feet looks clean and soft and the nails shimmer in sparkling blue as I make my way out of the salon.
Lakme Salon is located at Vee Jay Centre (ground floor) next to Raheja tower, Race Course Road.
Call 0422-6556553/ 4518181.
Open from 10.00 a.m. to 8.00 p.m. on all days
