Last week I had the pleasure of meeting with Alma G. — the beauty and brains behind Alma Salon in New York City. I was initially drawn to Alma and her salon because of her specialty with damaged hair. As a hair straightner-addict with color-treated hair, I know my hair could use some special treatment and that Alma Salon was the place to go.
The salon had a spa-esque feel to it and really lent itself to a relaxing visit. I immediately started my visit with an amazing scalp massage with Alma’s special Agave hair treatment.
“The Agave Hair Treatment is like food for hair,” Alma, whose celebrity clientele includes, Jennifer Missoni, Keri Russell, Rachel Roy and Rosario Dawson, explained. “It draws moisture to your locks and removes build up, adds polish, strength and shine back into the hair which is caused by over processed color or chemicals. I recommend using it once or twice a week. It is available at my salon and my clients love it!”
While her special Mediterranean formula hair treatment ($50 and will last up to 2 weeks) is not available to purchase outside of her salon, Alma has tips for those who are outside of the NY-area and can’t visit the salon (but who have damaged hair that desperately needs replenishing).
“The secret is to find a great conditioner or mask,” she says. There are so many conditioners on the shelf that are high and moderately priced! The secret is to find one that contains protein. Or you can make your own at home: mix an egg with a teaspoon of olive oil (warm it up). Mix it into your hair. Let it sit for 15 minutes and you’re’ done! It is not expensive and you can do this three times per week.”
For those who might feel uncomfortable putting food in their hair, Alma has drugstore suggestions too. “The Neutrogena Triple Moisture Deep Recovery, you can find it for about $6.99. And a great high end hair mask is the Kerastase Oleo Relax Anti-Frizz Smoothing Hair Mask which retails for about $50.00.”
Alma, who also gave me a beautiful trim, ridding me of a ton of my dead ends, recommended that those of us with damaged hair especially should be getting a trim every 6-8 weeks.
“Your hair is the most abused part of your body. When you have healthy ends your hair will be thicker and look healthier. A lot of people buy professional tools but are not always aware of the “Don’ts.” A professional blow dryer should not cook the hair. It should be held at least six inches away from your hair. A professional flat iron should only be used to finish your look after blow-drying. It should not be used to fully strengthen your hair,” she says of ways to keep your hair from getting fried and therefore keeping it stronger and healthier.
One other thing that I really appreciated from Alma was that she took my suggestions/concerns into consideration. I really hate having my hair cut, as I like it really long. Often I find my stylists will want to chop off every bit of damaged hair, which leaves me with painfully short hair and upset with the experience. Alma gave me a beautiful trim (as you can see in our photo together!) and suggested I continue to get it trimmed more regularly than I have in the past to keep it healthy but still long. For the first time ever, I was actually willing to get another cut soon, instead of putting it off as long as possible!
Alma Salon is located at 38 East 21st Street NY, NY. For more information visit almasalon.com