Perfect Blonde Highlights in Singapore from Expat Hair Studio

Scared to venture out to the salon after a few horrifying hair experiences? Sassy Mama’s founder has gone green and grey, but loves the blonde highlights she gets at Expat Hair Studio

Are you searching for the ultimate hairdresser in Singapore who can deliver perfect blonde highlights? And not just for the first visit, but consistently keep your hair colour looking gorgeous, time after time? Well… having been through a long search, and kissing a lot of frogs, I finally found my prince(ss) at Expat Hair Studio, and the fact that I’m willing to schlep all the way from Bukit Timah to the East Coast every 8-10 weeks is a testament to my devotion.

I’ve been green, I’ve been yellow and most memorably I’ve been turned completely grey (and not in a trendy way) at the hands of some of Singapore’s most highly recommended salons, and have learned the hard lesson that what might work for a friend, doesn’t necessarily work for me. By the time I finally tried Expat Hair Studio, my hair was badly damaged from over-processing, and I had lost faith that the holy grail of perfect blonde highlights even existed on the little red dot.

Kat, one of Expat Hair Studio’s two lovely owners, sees people like me every day, who have undergone hair colour disasters. She patiently explained that the process of curing a blonde gone bad isn’t necessarily an instant fix, but a process over several months, to get your colour (and condition) to where it should be. This meant placing my trust in her and her team, and despite her warning, even after the first visit I already felt much happier.

It helps that the environment at Expat Hair Studio is just so pleasant. There’s easy street parking in their Joo Chiat neighbourhood, the receptionists are friendly and efficient, the salon is cozy and clean, and they do a lovely coffee from their Jura machine with a chocolate on the side, which never fails to perk me up! The salon assistants are also well trained in the art of the perfect (never painful) head massage.

Expat Hair Studio also balances what you think you want, with what you need. In searching for the perfect blonde, I had asked previous stylists to go lighter and lighter with my hair colour, trying to find a shade that worked with my very pale English skin. Kat instinctively knew that what I was looking for was a very cool, ashy blonde, and so worked with both bleach and toner combinations to find exactly the right shade for me, and once we had found it, the highlights actually blended far better with my natural hair colour, making root regrowth less noticeable.

Expat Hair Studio understands the importance of having a long-term plan for your hair colour, taking into account your lifestyle. Over the past 18 months I’ve been able (through Kat’s careful managing) to go from needing touch-ups every six weeks and regular full-head highlights, to stretching out the frequency of touch-ups to every eight to ten weeks, and only needing a full head of highlights every four to six months, which means less time in the hairdresser’s chair for me, and money saved too!

A longer-term approach to your hair colour does means putting aside the wish to experience dramatic changes on a whim! Because I now love my colour, I’m less inclined to suddenly demand a PMS-induced peroxide crop, but on those occasions where I do have the urge switch things up, Kat has plenty of tricks up her sleeve for temporary changes, from pink or purple tips to curls to temporary hair extensions.

Expat Hair Studio will also advise you on how to maintain your colour between visits, and I’ve become a true believer in the power of a good purple shampoo (Expat Hair Studio stock the Kevin Murphy range) to keep the dreaded brassiness away.

Of course, Expat Hair Studio doesn’t only do blondes – I’ve sat and happily watched amazing colour transformations for redheads and brunettes in their salon. You can take a look at their Facebook page to see some of the jaw-dropping ‘before and afters’ (often involving beautiful balayage or hand-painted highlights). While I’m a Kat devotee, their whole salon team is fabulous, and Kat and Jacky’s eagle eyes oversee their more junior stylists.

So if you’re still searching for your ‘happily ever after’ when it comes to hair colour, call and make an appointment. You might not walk out looking quite like Rapunzel, but I promise you will have found your new fairy godmothers!

Expat Hair Studio, 422 Joo Chiat Road, Singapore, 427642, Tel: (+65) 6444 7929, www.expathairstudio.com