Coloring Your Hair? Proof That You Can’t Trust Just Any Salon

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I walked into Laurent Falcon and the first thing that Max said was “Why do you make these challenges for me?”

Let me rewind a few years. The first time I met Max was when he used to work at Blow+Bar and I called him up at night after I had botched a coloring job on the advice of a friend who told me any salon in Beijing can do balayage coloring if you can speak Chinese. Spoiler alert: they can't!

First time I botched it

The "after" look

This time, thinking that I could trust the guy who has been giving me the exact haircut I wanted for the past three years, I asked him to chop off my long locks and give me this look:

Five(ish) hours later I left with an incorrectly done bleach job that damaged my hair way more than it needed to and disappointment in my heart. But at least the cut was cute…

So, once again, I called up Max for a hair emergency.

See, after multiple trials and errors when it comes to hair salons in Beijing, I’ve come to this conclusion: You can try a cheap place for a cut provided that you can communicate what you want clearly – either verbally or with photo examples. But when it comes to coloring, you’ve got to go to someone experienced.

I know that for many a makeover at Laurent Falcon is definitely a splurge. Their prices are far from being cheap. But when it comes to coloring … especially when it involves stripping color off, leave it to the professionals with actual experience instead of ending up as a guinea pig for a young hairdresser with the best intentions but no know-how.

It might be more expensive than your local hair salon, but at least you’ll walk out with exactly what you wanted.

For the best color:

From my multiple unfortunate personal experiences, while coloring might seem like an easy thing that anyone with some training can do, pulling it off properly is not. If you’re looking for the balayage look, Laurent Falcon is the place to go.

Find it:
Laurent Falcon
2F, 48 Linagmaqiao Lu, Chaoyang District (Above Hello Mart)
朝阳区亮马桥路48号2楼
Tel: [phone]

However, if you’re just looking for a place to get a good haircut, check out one of the many 3AM salons.

Best deal for wash and blow:

3AM has multiple locations in Beijing. When you purchase a RMB 2,000 membership card one of the perks is that you get free wash and blows as often as you like!

Find it:
3AM Hair Salon
(6206), 2F Building 6 Sanlitun SOHO, 8 Gongti Bei Lu, Chaoyang District
朝阳区工体北路8号三里屯SOHO6号楼2层6206
Tel: [phone]

If you’ve got recommendations for colorists, be sure to leave their contact information and your experience in the comment section below.

Images: Mina Yan

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