Along 9th Street in Cubao is a place called The Beauty Cafe.
When you walk in, it looks like a cozy little nook with tables and chairs, a sofa with throw pillows and a wall with waterfalls. The food is great and the grilled ensaymada is pure delight (especially when paired with hot cocoa, I'm told). The people are friendly too.
For many people it's just another food place, a good alternative to the coffee shops that tend to be crowded and noisy.
But that's not all.
To me, it now holds the distinction of being the place where I had my most drastic transformation just yet. That's where the "beauty" part of the place's name comes in.
The place is owned and operated by Tony Galvez.
Yes, this Tony Galvez,
(Picture from https://pbs.twimg.com/)
You see, I'm not the best judge of hair styles for myself. Case in point:
This was me in May 2015 -- with my long hair which I usually tied in a ponytail. Boring, right?
Every few years, after letting my hair grow, I get it cut really short, and donate the hair to charity -- to be made into wigs for people whose sickness tend to leave them bald. I've done it three times already, and it feels good to know that my hair is giving confidence to a little girl with cancer. This year, I found an ad on FB announcing that donations for alopecia (bald spots) victims need hair that's at least 8 inches long (While the ones for cancer victims is a minimum of 10 inches). I need to look for that ad again though... (If you know about a local group that accepts 8-inch hair donations, please let me know).
Anyway, my bestfriend, Penny Tan, recently had her hair done by no other than Tony Galvez at-- you guessed it-- The Beauty Cafe. She has naturally wavy hair and she has them treated every now and then. She raved about this place so I thought it was time to make a person with alopecia happy.
When I got to the cafe, Tony himself approached us and asked me what I wanted to do with my hair. I told him I'd like to donate it so I'd like my hair cut very short. He approved of it and added that I needed hair color as well.
COLOR?!? -- my mind screamed. My hair is what stylists would call "virgin" -- untouched by coloring and perming chemicals.
Tony ushered me to the back room - a fully-furnished salon. In the middle was this salon chair facing three fully-lit fullbody mirrors. He put me on one of the chairs on the side first while he gave his assistants instructions. I distinctly remember him saying "sculpting" and "colorize" several times. I asked him what color he had in mind for me but all he said was that they will match it with my skin tone.
Hokayyy...
Tony tied my hair with a rubber band and made the first cut, and suddenly my head felt much lighter.
He explained that it's easier to wash shorter hair and then ushered me off to have my hair washed. Then he made me sit in that throne-like chair I described earlier (the one with three huge mirrors). His assistant rolled a 3-layered tool stand close to us and proceeded to wrap me up for the rest of the cutting.
While Tony was in the zone snipping away on my tresses, I couldn't help but smile. He was very particular about which tools to use. That, to me, is a true sign of an artist. If you want the best work to be done, you better use the right tools. If you are to make a living out of it, you better invest on the good ones. I got that from my dad, and I am passing it on to my daughter.
At one point, his assistant asked him if she could plug "it". I thought it was the blower. Boy, was I wrong! It was the shaver! The last time my scalp felt a shaver was when I was shaved bald as a toddler -- based on the belief that if you shave a baby's head, the hair will grow thicker. While the thing was whirring behind me, I could swear I had this fearful look on my face, and my mind was repeating the words, "Please do not shave higher. Please do not shave higher. Oh please do not shave higher!" Suffice it to say, I now have shorter hair than many guys I know.
His assistant then asked him if she could prepare the color. To this Tony replied firmly, "No, I will mix it myself." Then he disappeared to the back. While he was there, his assistant brushed off the cut hair while explaining that Tony likes to mix his own colors. I was impressed -- that would assure return clients, as long as they're happy, and they usually are with him.
Tony came out with a bowl of white glop. With my limited experience in hair color, I knew that this would mean that my hair would be colored lighter than my natural one. In fact, the glop looked like the bleaching solution used recently on my daughter's hair. It made me nervous.
Am I ready for this drastic a change? What if I were being prepped to be blonde? OH Lord in heaven, please let it not be blonde!
When I was searching for hair color for my daughter, the packages all said the solution must be left on the hair for 20-30 minutes. While waiting for the color to set in, I would sometimes try to see through the glop. At 10 minutes in, I could see my hair was turning brown. I didn't know how long they were going to leave the solution on my hair so I tried my best to relax. I mean, what can I do by then, right? I might as well accept that I was going to have light hair.
Thankfully, after 15 minutes, Tony came in and said, "That's ok now," and I was ushered back to the shampoo station. Let me rave here about that shampoo station -- the chair has controls to lift the seat and pull back the back rest! It was so cool!
Anyway, the chemicals were making my scalp itch already so the shampoo treatment was welcomed. It took a lot of self-control on my part not to take a peek at the color of my hair while it was being shampooed. Then my hair was brusquely towel-dried. I say brusquely because there wasn't anything anymore that made the towel drag that it was literally flying all over my head.
When the assistant took the towel off ,my head, my hair was almost dry and it was light brown -- like the hair you find on corn.
Now, I can't help but touch my hair, just to make sure I still have some on my head -- it's that light. I touch the back more often though. I guess I am not used to having a shaven nape, and not being able to pull the hair at the back of my head is unnerving. But then again, that's all I need to do with my hair now -- touch it, muss it up and my hair is set for the day.
And all I can say is: THANK YOU TONY GALVEZ!!!
ADDENDUM:
I found the contact info of the Foundation for the hair donation! I saw a Facebook ad for their event for August 29 (Saturday) -- a Mass hair cutting and concert:
Our partner JCI MANILEÑA will celebrate with U! their Short Hair We Care campaign with Cut to Care, Hair to Share: Mass Hair Cutting and Musicare: A Sunset Acoustic Session. The event will feature artists who support Alopecia Philippines. See you at Splice Resto Bar at The Portal Greenfield District in Mandaluyong on August 29, 3PM. Tickets only Php 500 with 2 drinks. Message us at 0917 8874278. Please support and SHARE.
Look, a number! I sent them a text message and they responded right away. So I am hand delivering my hair to their office at: 2610 Raffles Center, F Ortigas Road, Ortigas Center in Pasig -- so close to the office!
