Get comfortable, dolls. This is about hair, and I’m incredibly long-winded when it comes to hair.

This weekend, I had the opportunity to head to the Hiro Haraguchi Salon for a Keratin treament to salvage my winter-ravaged locks, a rinse/gloss, and a blowout. The salon is gorge, it exudes the sophisticated minimalist Japanese aesthetic from every panel. I also had a hair consultation with the hair expert himself, Hiro Haraguchi. He’s very honest, which I absolutely respect. As a long-time beauty devotee, I know to have a thick skin when this happens. He informed me my admittedly too-light front pieces looked like… GREY HAIR. I gasped. He was sort of right. I wasn’t in love with my current colorist’s work, it was definitely lighter than I’d intended. The contrast with my darker blond hair was too severe. But I don’t think it was quite so extreme as to be construed as grey hair. But as I am the dream consumer (and a sucker for beauty), I gladly agreed to have fabulous colorist, Jane Margaret tone down the harsh ‘lights while making my hair one uniform color. Luckily for me, Jane is mildly psychic and didn’t give me what I’d asked for, which was a caramel hue. Caramel would have been too dark, though. It’s sort of a medium-light brown, apparently. It’s not that kind of party here at BBJ. If I’m not some semblance of a blond, I get severely depressed. Don’t ask, it’s a weird affliction. It always helps to bring a photo for that reason, dolls. When I said caramel, I meant honey. But Jane knew and whipped up a gloss that was the EXACT color I’d had in mind. I’d posit that Jane would be a phenomenal rock-paper-scissors player.

Before that, Ronnie, a doll of a stylist at the salon, gave me a keratin treatment to replenish proteins and nutrients lost to the elements, color, perms, drying, and straightening. The deep conditioning treatment takes 45 minutes and includes a mini head massage. (Keratin, in case you didn’t know, is the protein your hair is made of.) You can also get the shot as an add-on to any other salon treatment, and they’ll even provide you with take-home vials for maintenance to get you through the last beats of winter.

We have to pause here and talk about the fabulosity that is the hair washing station at the Hiro Haraguchi Salon. Jane asked if I was comfortable during my 3rd trip to the sink. “I’ve never been so comfortable in my life,” I answered. Each chair is a motorized COT. With a press of a button, you are instantly horizontal and are covered with a plush velour blanket while you have your hair washed. I mean, Hiro. What a fantastic idea. I always WANT to be in bed when I’m undergoing a salon wash. Now I can actually BE in one. In fact, when an additional treatment was suggested (the rinse/gloss) I almost SKIPPED back over to the sink.

Lastly, Ronnie blew out my newly recharged, glossily honeyed locks. My hair looks PHENOM and I am extremely happy with it. It’s a tad dark for me, but I like it as a pre-highlights base. Just a few. My hair is no longer brassy at the bottom (from grown out highlights) and the too-light front strands are tempered. I will schedule a partial highlights sesh with Jane within the next couple of weeks, so stay tuned.

The two salon locations:
Hiro Haraguchi Hair Salon, 41 East 57th Street, between Park and Madison Avenues, fourth floor (212-593-3030);
Hiro Haraguchi Hair Salon at Hotel Gansevoort, 18 Ninth Avenue, at 13th Street (212-660-6733 or hiroharaguchi.com

Photo credit: dailycandy.com