Chocolate in my hair & other mane events

I admit...I’ve got a thing for chocolate. I eat it–and how!–drink it, eat it some more...and now I’ve even got it on my hair. Mmmm... delicious!

I just couldn’t resist the invitation to try the Chocolate Head treatment at the Toni&Guy salon (6750 Ayala Avenue). Applied together with the Peppermint Hair Mask it was a tantalizing ordeal; the smell alone was really–pardon the pun–heady, and the cooling soothing feel of peppermint did wonders to get rid of the stress of having to squeeze into a really tight parking space (hey, it’s Ayala Center on a weekday afternoon, you know).

Toni&Guy is a very hip salon, and a very busy one too. Aside from several women who looked like regulars–they were greeted by name and the attendants knew exactly what was to be done–the staff was busy with the models for the society Bulgari to-do that evening at the neighboring Makati Shangri-La ballroom.

The music provided a strong backbeat, and the salon’s deep blue tones and striking textures (the handiwork of partner architect Gil Coscolluela, which got the thumbs up from the salon’s principals from London) confirm that this is a place with a Look, not your run-of-the-mill beauty parlor.

We chat with managing partner and techical director Cherry Reyes, the equally-winning half of winning basketball coach Chot Reyes, who were mainly responsible for securing the Philippine franchise of the internationally successful salon.

Cherry had been involved in the hairdressing industry for 15 years, a good number of that as head of a franchise of a local salon. In 2000 she went to London to study at the famed Toni & Guy Academy in New Oxford Street, where many of the established local hairdressers go for training. She was quite impressed with the academy’s professionalism, philosophy and vision and, encouraged by husband Chot, decided to apply for a franchise for the Philippines.

It was not a simple procedure. There were interviews and trade tests, specifically a difficult and arduous one before founder Toni Mascolo’s son Christian, founder of the T&G second generation salon Essensuals. Finally afranchise was granted to Cherry in 2001.

Setting up the salon following strict guidelines from the London principals was not an easy–orcheap–task. Chot and Cherry put together a team of investors that could contribute not just financial assets but other values to Essensuals Toni&Guy Manila Inc. They are Anton Gonzales of Planet Sports (local franchisee of Nike Stadium and Athlete’s Foot), beautiful person Susan Reyes (also founder of Home Inc., a hospice center), Cristina Cone (wife of fellow basketball coach Tim Cone), television host Gaby Concepcion and architect Gil Coscolluela.

The investors didn’t have to but the creative team of hairdressers that Cherry recruited all hied off to London for intensive training at the T&G Academy.

"Color (treatments) is the signature of Toni&Guy," Cherry shares, "but we also train in all aspects of hairdressing, like cuttng, perm, styling."

And the training isn’t a one-time thing either. Stylists return regularly to the academy for refresher courses, to hone their skills and keep abreast of the latest trends and techniques. Next month, Cherry together with creative director Nelson Cruz (who was a finalist in the T&G International Salon Image of the Year competition), technical director Ali Tiongson and top stylist Ziggy Hermosura will go for advanced training classes, as well as attend the Hair World International Expo in Milan, Italy, an event held once every four years.

The local salon has set up a micro version of the T&G Academy called Training Days, which offers up-coming and practising stylists intensive, hands-on basic and advanced cutting classes. "It’s part of our commitment to the next generation of stylists," says Cherry, "professionals who live and brathe fashion with a passion."