Edward interviewed about Korean waves on Yahoo news

K-pop hair takes to the (Mermaid) waves

By Elizabeth Soh | Singapore Showbiz – Fri, May 3, 2013 5:32 PM SGT

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"Mermaid" Waves are the K-pop summer hair trend for 2013 seen on Goo Hara and IU(Internet screengrabs)

If you're a K-pop fan and have always harboured a secret desire to be a mermaid, this summer's K-wave hair trend is just right for you.

"Mool-gyul", or mermaid hair, is literally making waves on the K-pop scene, with idol stars like Kara's Goo Hara and girl-next-door IU adopting the sexy and free style for the hot, hot days of summer.

We spoke to Korean hair guru Edward Kim, who runs Dusol Hair Salon at Raffles City (formerly known as Spa Scene salon) to find out more about Korean hair trends and what you need to do to get those star-worthy locks.

The 32-year-old creative director first came to Singapore in 2010 to introduce Korean hair styles and trends following the growing popularity of the Hallyu wave, and has decided that he has no intention of leaving any time soon.

"I really like wanton noodles, chicken rice, and mixed rice," he says with a laugh.

Korean hairstylist Edward J Kim runs the uber-trendy Spa Scene at Raffles City (Yahoo! Photos/ Elizabeth Soh)

Shine, Health, and Volume

The first, and most important ingredient to have K-pop worthy hair is shine and health, says Kim.

"In Korea, shiny and healthy is very important. No good hairstylist will perm your hair if your hair is very bleached or damaged," said Kim, who refuses to perm customer's hair if he feels that it is too dry or brittle and is not afraid to incur their wrath.

"It's a waste of money if I perm the hair. It will just break."

According to Kim, South Korean hair textures are very different from Singaporean hair.

"Singaporean hair texture tends to be flat and thin, but Korean hair is already thicker and looks like it has more volume. Singaporean ladies want that Korean look of 'natural volume'," said Kim, who added that 8 out of 10 of his customers are Singaporean.

This look of 'natural volume' is achieved through two steps: volume rebonding, which adds sleek straightness but lots of weight to the top part of the head, and then a setting perm, which gives the ends of your hair a tonged, natural look rather than the deep fried tight, springy curls which many local salons favour.

Korean girls also keep their hair colour natural, preferring dark browns, natural browns, or even extra-dark black.

Summer Trends 2013?

The notoriously trendy Koreans change their 'key point', or key looks every season - so what is, literally, hot, this coming summer? Kim says its mermaid hair for women, and a 'spin volume' perm for men.

Mermaid Hair, unlike conventional perms, have a loose, wavy and slightly bohemian look and have been appearing on style icons like SNSD, Lee Da Hae, and Miss A's Suzy.

However, says Kim, it is a hairstyle which can go very very wrong if not managed properly.

Firstly it's difficult to maintain and would require about 30 minutes of styling before you leave the house to achieve the just-right effect of wind-blown, wavy hair and if you get lazy and leave it to dry on its own, you're likely to end up looking like the bottom end of the broom.

For men, the hair 'key point' style is 'spin volume', which is a perm that is wavy on the top, and kept long at the sides to give its wearer a debonair, slightly metrosexual look. It's a hairstyle favoured by "Face and Body of a God" idol Kim Hyun Joong and more recently, the popular actor Lee Seung Gi.

Lee Seung Gi's

If you thought that most Singaporeans would not be adventurous enough to attempt these heavy-duty hairstyles - you thought wrong.

"My male customers also ask and try the perms a lot, and they can carry it off," says Kim, who shared that about 30 per cent of those who come in to get their hair done are men.

"Most Singaporean women are very adventurous with their hair and will take my recommendations," said Kim, who counts Big Bang's G-Dragon and Brown Eyed Girl Ga-In as his style inspirations.

"The most requested hairstyles are - make me look like Song Hye Gyo, or SNSD (Girls' Generation)."

His salon, Dusol, was set up in collaboration with mega-production company SIDUS HQ and will soon be fronted by celebrity ambassadors like Jang Hyuk, B-boy Jay Park, and actor Kim Woo Bin.

They also style for local Korean entertainment company ALPHA Ent, which manages Korean-Singaporean girl group SKARF.

If you don't think you're interested in entering such a committed relationship with your hair (and blow dryer), some other very common and popular Korean hairstyles include the .. wait for it, "S-curl", "C-curl", "Glam Perm", and "Root Perm".

An "S-curl" perm is essentially a bottom heavy hairstyle involving fat, round springy curls and not unlike the "Glam Perm", which adds lots of body to the hair around your face, framing it and making your features softer.

"S curls" are wavy, loose and natural large curls, nothing like the tight perms you see in many Singapore salons …

The "C-curl" is a more girly version of a perm which simply curls in large bobs at the ends, while the "Root Perm", his own creation, adds volume to the roots of your hair on the top of your hair to create - again - volume.

This perms are easy to manage - just a simple blow dry and a quick rub-in of serum or cream help to set the look instantly.

However, these hairstyles don't come cheap - Glam Perms cost about $398 (including treatment) and involve you sitting in a chair for at least 3 hours while the Volume Spin Perm for men costs from $120-$150 depending on the hair length and takes 2 hours.

We recommend that you try out Kim's styling before making a decision - for $50, he will set your hair, Korean style, in the design of any of the mentioned curls and waves.

And if you're lucky, you might even spot some major K-pop celebrities while you're there - G-Dragon famously walked in asking Kim to help dress his hair (he didn't, he thought it was already perfect), and superstar boyband TVXQ's dance instructor, who is a celebrity in his own right in Seoul, has had Kim style his locks before.

See our slideshow of celebrities sporting 2013's Summer Hair looks here

Watch Kim's video on the Mool-Gyul perm here:

Korean Hairstylist Edward Kim's mool gyul perm(물결펌)