Korean Job Discussion Forums

[sistersarah]

anyone ever get the magic straight? i'm wondering about how much they cost. i went to my usual salon today and they quoted me 120,000 to 150,000. that seemed a little high. can anyone recommend me a good, reasonably priced place in seoul?

[Ekuboko]

Sarah,
you must have visited an 'upmarket' salon, 'cos that sounds really expensive.
"Magics" can be as cheap as 35000, but perhaps that is neighbourhood salon rates!

I've had mine straightened twice by the small salon in my neighbourhood. The first time it was 50000 and the next time it was 70000. I don't know if that was because they had just moved downstairs and were trying to pay for the refurbishment, or because my hair was slightly longer than the first time. You need about 2-3 hours of your time to do it.

What you should ask about is what my salon called a "Magic roll perm" - which is the straight perm (yeah, sounds strange, I know), but it's supposed to be newer and better, because you can wash your hair and tie it up, etc the next day! This is great, cos you don't have to worry about your hair snapping or kinking, like with an original "magic".

Original "magics" still do require you to go days without washing your hair or tying it up or clipping it, so that the perm has time to set.

I don't live in Seoul, so I can't recommend any places, sorry.

[sistersarah]

yeah, i'm going to shop around.
thanks a lot for the info!

[little mixed girl]

when i was in korea in 2003 & 2004 i got my magic straight done in edae at a place called inpurum hair...or something like that.

but last yr when i went they were gone...up and disappeared!

so i went to another place in the same area.

they were a little more expensive, 150,000; but it turned out well.

from what my friends told me if you are shopping around, go to a place that has younger ppl (20s, 30s) doing the hair, rather than places with the ajumas.

i don't mind paying the 130,000~150,000 that i paied because in the US it's like $230-1,000.

let them feel around your hair a bit.
when i was on study abroad in 2004, a girl went to a "cheap" place and got hers done for man-won, but it wasn't done well and her hair went back to normal in a day or so.

if you can go to edae, it seems like they have a lot of hair places, and you can probably find a place that's good for you.

they put some "strengthening" stuff on my hair which probably raised the price, but my hair was fine in the end!

[i can do]

Yay magic straight! I just got it done on Tuesday. No blowdrying and no frizz now.

Check out Edae. The price varies a lot. Eunha wanted 198,00 for shoulder-length hair!

I went to Cheon Seong Hair Shop or Seong Cheon Hair Shop, Suk Cheon Hair Shop?. Sorry, guess I don't know the exact name. It's a big salon that's on the right side of the road leading up to the Ehwa gate. Maybe a little bit after Burger King but before Watson's?

For just magic straight, it cost 70,000 but they recommended 'volume straight' as well, which I think is supposed to make your hair more voluminous. They'll show you a picture of volume straight versus magic straight but it didn't look too different to me. Had I gotten the volume straight, it would have cost 130,000.

One girl spoke a bit of English and they were all really nice.

[dogbert]

$1000 for a perm?

[demianamar]

Shop around Ewa Women's University area. My friend got hers done there for 40,000 (after the price went up). Tonnes of salons and tonnes of young females getting their hair done. It really shouldn't cost you more then 50,000. I REALLY want to get mine done but I have fine hair and I'm afraid they'll make it look too flat. Let me know how it goes!

[sistersarah]

i shopped around and got the magic perm last week in edae at a place called kim mingyo hair.
it was only 60,000 and he really spent a lot of time on it (3 hrs) and did a good job.
before i found this place, though, i did get a lot of quotes for 150,000.

i'm so happy! no summer frizz!

to the last poster....if you have fine hair, i would reconsider. my hair is super thick - part of the reason i wanted the magic straight. my hair is a lot flatter now (but good because i have too much hair). maybe get a "setting perm"?

[princess]

Yes, I have one right now. I got it in March. I got one in June last year, too. They last ALMOST a year!!! They are very nice for my hair. Since my hair is big and thick, a magic straight perm has kept it from frizzing up in the summer. I swear, you barely have to brush your hair in the mornings. Not to mention, your hair feels like silk. I paid 100,000 for mine up in Uijeoungbu.

[Noureli]

Hi girls, I was wondering if you could help a fellow girl out. I live in Ulsan and I've heard about this perm back in Canada. I was just wondering if they do this thing in Ulsan and how do I go asking about it. Thanks for the info. I have thick and curly hair so it would be great if they could actually do it here.

[periwinkle]

I thought that magic straight totally trashes your hair. Is it worse than coloring it? Why is it so expensive? Are the chemicals more expensive than color?

[Ekuboko]

Magic straight is basically a perm, but instead of putting in rollers, they use straightening irons.

I've had two of these now and my hair is feeling fried and very dry, but I think that at least partly comes from having coloured it when my hairdresser at home recommended I not do so (and also despite having Asian hair, I will never trust a Korean hairdresser to cut it ever again, so it is in bad need of a trim).

I guess if it is more damaging than a curly perm, then it's because of the heat from the straightening irons if anything.

[ChimpumCallao]

[Ekuboko]

[kermo]

I wish I could recommend a product that cuts frizz effectively, but I haven't found anything that a) really works for me AND b) is widely available in Korea. However, I'm convinced that there is some kind of "balm" or "essence" out there for people unwilling to go under the iron.