NIKKI BACAY & CO. SALON : A Great Makeover Destination When in Manila
By Niña Terol-Zialcita
When in Manila and in need of some perk-me-up pampering, hop over to Nikki Bacay & Co. Salon in Connecticut Street, Greenhills to give yourself and your looks a serious boost. Just a stone’s throw away from some of your favorite Greenhills shopping and dining haunts, Nikki Bacay & Co. Salon is a quiet enclave that does away with the glitz (and the noise) of other salons and instead offers a relaxing space where you can recharge and emerge looking ready to take Manila by storm. What’s even better, it uses only the best products from Schwarzkopf to give your hair the royal treatment.
For our girl bonding date, my mom and I blocked off our entire afternoon and traveled all the way from Parañaque to San Juan to give ourselves an all-out hair makeover. Frequent traveling and stress had done serious damage to my hair, leaving it oily on the scalp and dry on the tips. My hair color had also grown out at an uncomfortable length, making my hair look like it was suffering from an identity crisis. My mom, meanwhile, had all the signs of senior stress: gray hair, frizz all over, and a dry and heavy mane that probably made her look older than she really was. Our choice on Nikki Bacay & Co. Salon’s extensive hair care menu: cut, color, and treatment.
Upon our arrival at Nikki’s minimalist salon, we were greeted by Nikki’s staff and by Nikki himself, who is the Schwarzkopf Ambassador to the Philippines and is a favorite among the styled set. After introductions, we were whisked away for a deep-cleansing shampoo session. For this, Nikki used Schwarzkopf’s BC Bonacure Moisture Kick to restore moisture and balance to our stressed-out tresses. After the shampoo session, we were given a complimentary glass of iced tea to relax ourselves before our hair cut and color treatment. Since I had thick, heavy hair but still wanted to keep my hair long, I opted for a layered look that took the weight off my hair and also framed my face. Nikki also used precision-cutting to remove a lot of the weight off my mom’s hair and update her look.
For our hair color, Nikki chose Schwarzkopf’s Medium-Blond Beige Reflect from the Essensity line for me, and the lightest color in the Essensity range for my mom, who cannot use ammonia-based products because of her health. Essensity, we had learned, is 100% plant-based and organic, made from all-natural dyes. Nikki’s assistant stylists, Aljun Pedrigoza and Jovet Lopez, were very careful in handling my mom’s hair treatment process as her health condition poses a lot of limitations for her head movements. It is also quite normal for my mom to feel claustrophobic during salon sessions, but she felt totally relaxed at Nikki Bacay & Co. Salon.
After the hair coloring session—which we were totally satisfied with!—Nikki and his team proceeded to give us the treatment using Schwarzkopf’s BC Bonacure Repair Rescue. According to the Schwarzkopf website, BC Bonacure Repair Rescue offers the first “biomimetic” hair repair technology, which “repairs cells from within the hair but also recreates the hair surface.” Since biomimetic technology mimics the processes of nature, it not only repairs hair from the surface level but helps to rebuild hair from the inside-out.
Aside from this, Nikki and his team use micro-mist machines to lock the hair treatment in, penetrating the insides of hair cuticles to make the treatment last longer by around two weeks. The whole process was very relaxing, indeed, and I was happy to just read my favorite magazines while waiting for the procedure to be completed when my treatment specialist, Jovet, started massaging my neck and shoulders. WOW! THAT felt great, and when I asked if this was a standard procedure, he confirmed that at Nikki Bacay & Co. Salon, hair treatments come with a complimentary head, neck, and upper back massage. Talk about pampering!
The results of the afternoon’s treatments showed instantly: my hair felt softer and no longer looked dehydrated, while my mom’s tresses were significantly tamed, allowing her to tie her hair in a soft half-pony instead of keeping it bunned up to prevent stray hairs from escaping. Moreover, from the shampoo to the cutting and styling, to the coloring and treatment, each step of the process was ultra-comfortable and soothing at times, giving us the ideal salon experience for a long-overdue girls’ day out.
Postscript: At-Home Products that Bring the Salon In
After our cut, color, and treatment session at Nikki Bacay & Co. Salon, Nikki encouraged us to bring home Schwarzkopf’s Essensity line and try the Essensity Restoring Shampoo and the Essensity Sealing Lotion (conditioner). Both products are made with the organic essence of Goji Berry, which apparently have been used for over 6,000 years by herbalists in China, Tibet, and India, and are known for their anti-oxidant properties. Made especially for “damaged, colour treated hair”, Essensity seems to have aromatherapeutic properties, softening and moisturizing the hair while revitalizing the senses upon use. The Sealing Lotion, meanwhile, is the perfect conditioner for heavy hair because it seals in moisture without weighing hair down. From keeping my hair in a ponytail, I’ve gotten used to keeping my long hair down after starting to use both products.
The Verdict: Schwarzkopf and Nikki Bacay & Co. Salon – The Perfect Combination to Pamper and Rejuvenate Tired, Stressed-Out Hair
After having tried the treatments and continuously used the products at home, the sure verdict is that the combination of Schwarzkopf products and Nikki Bacay & Co. Salon services is perfect for stressed out souls in need of pampering and a look boost. For someone like me who needs to be constantly on-the-go and at performance level for events and speaking engagements, it is the perfect antedote to a tired old look. For someone like my mom who needs gentler, more natural treatments, it is the safest way to look good without compromising health. Who would have thought that you could get this kind of deal all in one salon? So When in Manila, and instead of busting your wallet shopping for novelty finds, invest in your hair at Nikki Bacay & Co. Salon and you’ll come out looking and feeling more confident and ready to take on the world!
Nikki Bacay Salon and Schwarzkopf: A Great Makeover Destination When in Manila
