My Shu Uemura Art of Hair ceremony at Hush salon
I love getting my hair done–my mom used to blame on it on the Leo in me, though really, what girl doesn’t love going to the salon?–but dread the inevitable neck cricks and tender scalp I’ll get first while being shampooed in one of those uncomfortable chairs and then while having my tangles combed through. Some salons are more attentive than others, but I’ve simply resigned myself to gritting my teeth and pushing through the pain of the shampoo bowl. I assumed for years that everybody was like me, but have since learned that I have a peculiarly sensitive The Princess and the Pea scalp and neck: two seconds in the shampoo chair and I’m biting my lip, contorting my shoulders, and wondering if I should speak up for the third time about requesting less pressure, or simply grin and bear it. Hey, no pain, no gain, right?
Then I went to Hush Up salon in Manhattan Beach and had a life changing Shu Uemura Art of Hair Ceremony treatment. The clouds parted. Angels floated about strumming harps. Bluebirds chirped. It was either seriously magical or they put something illegal in my tea.
Owner Ric Arrigoni started the first Hush salon in Manhattan Beach over 15 years ago, then expanded down the street with Hush Hush salon. This year saw the opening of a third space, Hush Up, and it was there I had my orgasmic Shu Uemura Art of Hair Ceremony treatment. This salon means business: they’re the proud owners of one of only four super-duper fancy shampoo chairs in the world, tricked out with more bells and whistles (and costing more) than my 1995 Camry; meanwhile, Hush was the first salon to introduce Kerastase products into the South Bay, and are now one of only 80 salons in the country to carry Shu Uemura Art of Hair products.
A little background on Shu Uemura Art of Hair. Shu (he was a real person!) took hair supremely seriously, treating it like art. His mantra reflects this beauty passion: “Never stop thinking, improving, innovating. Creating something that is universally beautiful, that is art.” I’m, of course, in love with Shu’s famous cleansing oils (more on those another time), but had never personally experienced the haircare line, which debuted in 2007, just before Mr. Uemura passed away.
All of the products in the line are of the absolute highest quality, featuring divine ingredients such as argan oil, camellia oil, musk rose oil, and the famous Depsea water, full of nutrients and drawn 200 meters beneath the coast of Japan, from the trenches. I used to think Kerastase was the height of hair sophistication…but once I was gifted Shu Uemura hair products and took them home with me, I tripped over myself changing my mind. I’ve never used more glamorous hair products in my life.
But back to Hush Up salon, where stylist Erica Tomizuka performed the Art of Hair Ceremony on me. The ceremony began with a warm towel and a cup of green tea; a mask was placed over my eyes to drown out light, and a pre-loaded iPod blocked out any noise in the salon to lull me into a trance. Next, my scalp and hair were moisturized, massaged and clarified. Step three was a nourishing treatment based on the hair’s individual needs, combining the Depsea base with one of 5 Absolu oils. (I was given the Prime Plenish oil, to help strengthen my heat-and-color damaged strands.) Finally, the 30 minute treatment ended with an extended scalp massage that put me to sleep and left me putty in the high-tech chair. No neck crick. No tender scalp. Simply the absolute best shampoo and scalp massage of my life. (Did I drool all over that mortgage-crushing chair? You’d better believe it!)
If you have the chance to splurge, the Art of Hair Ceremony is worth it. Currently, only 6 salons throughout the country have been chosen to debut the Ceremony, but it’s expanding to 100 salons in October. A 30 minute treatment costs $75; while I was lucky enough to experience the service gratis, I’ll be returning as a paying customer very soon! Visit www.shuuemuraartofhair-usa.com for salon locations.
Tags: Erika Tomizuka, Hush Hush salon, Hush salon, Hush Up salon, Ric Arrigoni, Shu Uemura Art of Hair
4 Responses to “My Shu Uemura Art of Hair ceremony at Hush salon”
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July 9th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
I LOVE Shu Uemura stuff!
Yay! Manhattan Beach! So close to me!
July 10th, 2009 at 8:28 pm
I’m so glad I’m not the only one who usually grins and bears it at the salon. It helps to remind the stylist (every time, even if I’m a regular) that I have such a wimpy scalp. Wonder if it’s a blonde thing.
Glad you had such a great experience!
July 11th, 2009 at 5:02 pm
This does sound wonderful. B2V which is closer in LA has what I thought was the best thing ever. A shampoo bowl with a raised head rest in it! No neck crick.
July 11th, 2009 at 8:15 pm
Oh my gosh, I HAVE to go there. I also hate getting the neck cramps when I get my hair shampooed. I always felt like something was wrong with me because all my friends RAVE about getting their hair shampooed. But for me, it’s like pure torture and I sort of lie there with a fake smile on my face and hope that it’s over quickly. Of course one time I guess I looked uncomfortable because the gay guy who was doing my hair looked down and went, “You okay? You look constipated.” Gee. Thanks.