There are some hair salons that feel like a quick in and out job – a corporate setting, a chain, a place to wile away a quick 45-minute cut and blow dry before diving back into the day. And then there are savvy salons like OSO Hair Salon, in Vancouver, which feel more like an anticipated and comforting trip home, to a safe haven, where quality time with family can be savoured.
A savvy family-run business
Oso is unlike any other salon I have been to. A family-run business yet boasting 50 years of combined professional experience, it is a strange and welcome mix of professionalism with a humble homely air. The staff are more than welcoming, the conversation colloquial and familiar, whilst the quality rivals that of the high-end chains. If you are living in Vancouver, this is the salon to make your staple.
Founded over a decade ago, the salon resides in downtown Vancouver and offers everything from haircuts, colour, and styling for all genders, as well as balayage, ombre, keratin treatments, bleaching and toning, extensions and special event hairstyling. They also extend beyond hair to offer collagen lip masks and eyebrow waxing and threading.
Impressively, OSO Hair Salon only uses La Biosthetique products, a haircare line for colouring and styling products. Specializing in treating dandruff, hair loss, and psoriasis, the brand is entirely natural and organic, free of parabens, silicones, preservatives, perfumes and colours. As such, itβs certified by Ecocert and adds to OSO Hair Salon its eco-friendly credentials.
Having recently had a trim, I visited one Saturday afternoon for a hair gloss treatment β something Iβd never actually had before. With the Vancouver rain incessantly pouring outside, it was a welcome respite for me to enter the comforting shelter of the warmly lit salon.
Spacious and modern, the kind staff greeted me with welcoming arms (despite my being early) and brought me the most delicious cup of fancy tea to me in my salon chair. My stylist was the wonderful Mila, a gorgeous soul who nourished me with the most authentic and heart-warming conversation I had had all week as she took care of my hair.
Gently guiding me with savvy advice for better hair care, whilst respecting my wishes to preserve the length, she began the treatment. It involved a series of gloss conditioners that she applied from the roots to the tips and left on to be absorbed by the hair, before rinsing out and repeating.
It didnβt take long at all and was surprisingly relaxing. She assured me that whilst one treatment wouldnβt last forever nor make a 180-degree difference, it would certainly add health and vitality to my hair, as well as a spectacular shine. The effect would last for 6 weeks, and she recommended coming back for a repeat treatment later in the year.
Unsure of what to expect, I watched her blow dry my hair with great trepidation. The gloss and shine were, however, clear within seconds of my hair drying. It was luminous β a glorious halo of shining golden hair. It looked incredible.
After drying, Mila stepped away to let her savvy colleague curl it (I had been eyeing her ability to curl another customerβs hair with great envy), and within 15 rapid minutes, I quite literally resembled a modern-day Goldilocks. My hair had never looked so vibrant, healthy, rich, and luscious.
Five weeks later as I write this, my hair is still shining and the texture remains soft, supple, and flowing. Iβm seriously impressed with how long this treatment has lasted and I will definitely be returning for a top-up. Priced at less than $100, this is a well-worthy investment for hair-love treatment a few times a year. Itβs without a doubt I will be getting my repeat treatment at OSO.
OSO Hair Salon
28 Homer Street
Vancouver
BC V6B 2V6
Canada
