You know this thing people do when they start computing pricey items vis a vis their lifestyle vices or fancy addiction, like, "I-could’ve-bought-shoes-with-that-money?" That’s what happened to me over the weekend when I nearly decided to blow the budget and spoil myself silly.

On a friend’s recommendation, I finally tried Renovatuer Treatment from Carita, a hair nourishing treatment that respects color-treated hair. The service comes with a seal of exclusivity from only five accredited salons in Metro Manila carrying the treatment—Basement Salon at the Power Plant Mall, Emphasis at Rockwell, Studio 546 at Shangri La, Backstage Salon at Mantrade Hall and E Salon Spa and Studio at Quezon City, where I went.

Off to a grimy start, I accidentally stepped into a puddle of grease. Luckily one of the salon owners, Edison Ong, was generous enough to offer a complimentary foot spa, with a scrub and pedicure. Before I knew it, I was also getting a third streak of highlights from Richard Molina, colorist extraordinaire, who was kind enough to share tips about hair-color treatments while he meticulously worked on my already colored-treated hair. Of my thick hair, he said, "closer streaks like half-inch apart create the illusion of thinness as opposed to sporadic applications that volumize." Also, certain highlights can make or break the look of a person. As a tip, " it is important to let your colorist know your concerns. An honest opinion helps better in the long run, than a trendy color that won’t fit into your personality or needs."

Finally, the 45-minute Carita treatment began with a boost of wheat proteins and Ceramides Pro-vitamin B5 from the Carita Radiance Shampoo for Color-treated Hair, followed by a generous coating of Radiance Mask to seal in the color—thanks to the oil extract of sunflower seeds that wrap and gloss the hair. Then my hair was Glad-wrapped to activate the uniquely formulated triple action complex, binding together the anti-lime properties that smoothen the scales of the hair fiber (from sugarcane, apple and citrus fruit), hair structure renovator (from zinc, copper and magnesium) and the deep conditioning powers of wheat protein and silicone.

A few minutes of ionic blow-drying later, my hair felt surprisingly much lighter, softer and luminous as opposed to shiny. I was told the magic should last for about a month, and more, if regularly treated with the 200-milliliter home maintenance duo available at the salon. I would have gone for it, being summer and all, like an obedient patient following Rx from the hair doctor, but then, it involved letting go of a wad of shoe-money!

While I do sound scrimping on the maintenance treatment at home, maybe others might want to try the Carita After-Sun Radiance Shampoo and Mask to battle the damages of excessive chlorine, salt and UV exposure. Although these products are undoubtedly pricier than their counterparts, perhaps fellow shoe-people who are interested but are undecided to fork up the dough can make an excuse out of the fact that Jimmy Choos are not priority-buy this season anyway!

Check out E Salon Spa and Studio. If it weren’t for the new age music upstairs or the hip house music on the ground floor, I wouldn’t have thought I was in the salon. It felt like home service, they were invisible, yet not. Those who’ve had hairstylists coming to their homes know this kind of treatment. Iced or hot tea, coffee, wine and even beer can freely flow during a visit. Not that it mattered much but little things such as these can work wonders for miserable souls looking for a temporary way out of their stress. If anything, personally, ice cream would have done it for me, but then again, fuzzy tuchang for a topping? I think not.

For a five-month-old house of beauty, E is easily gaining ground as one of the precision-haircut and color-treatment go-tos. The secret—power hairstylists, veterans of 20 years, are working here with a handful of hopefuls. At P700 per haircut, it’s incredibly cheap for a problem-specific hair fix. Say, frame or de-frame the face, fuss or no-fuss seasonal cut or an edgier punk-rock hair sculpt, they’d take the dare within reason. After all, they are hair doctors who want to help, and oftentimes soundboards, too. That’s priceless!

Rich Molina, a reputable teacher of hair color, is the chief color technician here, imagine that! He’s very easy to talk to, and is humble enough to shampoo and wash your hair, when assistants aren’t around, just so you won’t wait. I think, that’s an ideal salon right there, sort of a life-pocket, to catch you on your bad hair days—functional and decorative, too—though it comes with a bit of a price tag. Then again, what doesn’t these days?