If you thought hair salons are where you go to get a cut, colour or perm, get set for some new fringe benefits.

Now you can enjoy having your scalp massaged in luxury spa treatments by trained professionals as well.

Hair spas are the new buzzword, says French haircare brand L'Oreal Kerastase.

THAT HEADY FEELING

Pampering can go to your head - literally. The Kerabiotic Ritual combines the charms of a head and shoulders massage with the benefits of scientific innovations - in this case the use of specially harvested micro-organisms called bioflorine. It was in a posh, leafy Bangkok district that I had my first Kerabiotic Ritual. My Thai therapist began by rubbing a specially concocted oil and something called Micro-peel into my scalp to exfoliate and purify it. Between cascading washes of warm water and the therapist's strong fingers working their way around my head and shoulders, I entered into a state of bliss. The treatment ended with her massaging a concentrate with 10 per cent bioflorine into my scalp to nourish and soothe it. When I left the spa - hair styled into a chic, straight bob - my head felt much lighter and shoulders more relaxed with all tensions soothed away. Back in Singapore at Cinq salon at Telok Ayer Street, Rosie, the salon's therapist, examined my scalp and hair with a Kerastase machine before giving me a two-hour nourishing rub-down. While my Thai therapist had lulled me into a web of contentment, Rosie sent me drifting off into a deep Zen calm with her firm, able hands.

The Asean managing director for L'Oreal professional products division, Jean-Philippe Charrier, told Urban at a press conference in Bangkok in June: 'The hair salon of the future will be an institute where you treat your hair like how you treat your skin.'

Guess what? The future is here. Kerastase has partnered at least 15 high-end salons here, including Backstage Hair Salon at Orchard Hotel Shopping Arcade and Salon Le Point at The Regent Singapore, to transform their premises into hair spas.

Hair and scalp spa treatments have already proven a hit with Singaporeans seeking more than a snip and perm.

June Ng, 49, owner of J's Salon at Scotts Road, said: 'A lot of our spa customers are professionals like lawyers and businesswomen. I've had doctors come in to have a hair spa after a 10-hour operation.'

Although she started offering hair spa treatments in 2003, it wasn't until 2006 that she worked with Kerastase to create two dedicated spa suites. The result was a $150,000 luxury spa section with a clean and slick look dominated by white tones, a signature look of Kerastase. The spa sees eight to 10 customers every day.

Another salon which echoes Kerastase's vision of hair spas becoming the norm here is Cinq in Telok Ayer Street.

Cinq's owner, actress Andrea De Cruz, 34, said: 'Many in Singapore have treatments but it's simply slap-on treatment, steam your hair and wait. When you do your treatment with the rest of the crowd, you can't expect a relaxing time.'

What she did instead was to sink $100,000 into carving out a section of her salon and converting it into a private hair and scalp spa.

Kerastase's product manager Darren Ho, 29, said: 'Hair salons will become a misnomer as they will start offering facial and body treatments as well, providing their customers with a complete beauty experience.'

To that end, L'Oreal is launching Keraskin, a professional skincare line which will be offered only in certain hair salons in October.

It has also launched a new scalp care range called Biotic, claiming that it is the first to harness the properties of a micro-organism called bioflorine to rebalance the scalp and re-activate its natural defences.

Bioflorine, a thermal micro-organism naturally found in springs, was discovered and developed by L'Oreal's research labs in Paris. It is said to work by restoring the scalp's natural barrier function against bacteria and environmental nasties. It also 'purifies' imbalanced scalps, helping them to guard against the effects of stress, pollution and the sun's burning rays.

Kerastase has also developed a year-long training programme here to train massage therapists and salon owners in scalp massage techniques and the spa application of its products.

The new Biotic range comes in doses adapted for both spa treatments and home use. For home users, the range has shampoos ($38) for dry and oily scalps that can be used in alternation with regular shampoos. You can also apply a treatment concentrate, Concentre Bio-Recharge ($65), on a weekly basis.

If salons are more your thing, you can indulge in a Biotic scalp treatment, called the Kerabiotic Ritual, at most Kerastase salons for an average of $120 per treatment. (see right column)

Lavishing locks this way sounds just where salons should be heading. Indeed, as J's Salon's Ng said: 'When office workers get stressed, the shoulders, head and neck are the first places to be affected. These people don't just need a haircut and perm. They need to be pampered.'

L'Oreal Kerastase has 10 Kerastase hampers worth $400 each to give away. The 10 lucky readers picked will also receive a free Kerabiotic Ritual experience at Cinq. E-mail your name, NRIC, contact number and address to kerastase@sg.loreal.com by noon on Aug 14. Indicate Urban/Kerastase in the subject header. L'Oreal will notify winners by e-mail or post.

Biotic's homecare products are available at all Kerastase authorised salons. For inquiries, please call 6738-3113.

This article was first published in Urban, The Straits Times on Aug 7, 2008.