Inside the beauty salon — not just skin deep

Styling area at T2 Hairdressing Salon. (Courtesy of T2 Hairdressing Salon)

Prominent hairdresser Johny Mallato had an out-of-the box idea in designing his salon, T2 Hairdressing Salon by Talents Johny Mallato.

Next to the entrance to his salon, located at the first floor of the Gunawarman 30 building on Jl. Gunawarman in South Jakarta, a guest will find an exceptional reception desk, which resembles a giant white tooth.

“The tooth reflects the early years of my life long before I became a hairdresser,” said Johny, who started his career as a shampoo boy in his hometown in Makassar, South Sulawesi, back in 1984.

The hairdressing area comprises three sections with different ambiances that mirror Johny’s life journey. Next to the reception desk, the eye-catchy love mirrors with bright red trim quickly steal the attention. This area represents Johny’s teens.

The styling area of the 100-square-meter salon is decorated with super-high and super-wide black-rimmed mirrors, making the overall room look brighter and larger.

Some edge is added through the unfinished brick wall, roughly painted in white.

The most appealing part has to be the wash area, which symbolizes Johny’s 28-year career in beautifying women across the globe.

A corner that mirrors Johny’s teenhood at T2 Hairdressing Salon. (JP/Triwik Kurniasari)

Our eyes feast on dozens of colorful portraits of Johny himself — images of his masterpieces, taken either from magazine fashion spreads, fashion parades and other events; as well as excerpts of stories about Johny from local and international publications.

The posters are all over the ceiling and walls, seemingly enveloping the wash area, which is equipped with four light brown comfy benches.

You can have your hair washed, letting your eyes rest on the ceiling, getting yourself into Johny’s world, tracing back his career, admiring his imaginative creations.

Among the images include portraits from when he took part in a Rudy Hadisuwarno seminar, the year when he launched his first-ever salon Talents Hairdressing in 1994 and a number of international hair shows in Beijing, Tokyo and Paris in which he participated.

Behind the wash area, there is another styling room, which caters to those who want a more private atmosphere.

This room, also serves as makeup room, is furnished with leather suitcases arranged stylishly around the area. The high mirrors are actually giant suitcases that can be folded when they are not in use.

“The suitcases are not just decorations, I use them to keep my hairdressing tools,” said Johny, who hunted as far as Yogyakarta to get the suitcases.

The salon, jointly run with businesswoman Lola Siahaan, pretty much depicts something modern but vintage with a bit of classic.

While T2 Hairdressing reveals the owner’s personal journey, House of Lusense, situated at the corner of South Jakarta’s Jl. KH Ahmad Dahlan, features a modern-minimalist one-stop shopping beauty place for its clientele.

“I took the inspiration from a small boutique, designed in all-white décor, in New York when I traveled to the Big Apple four years ago,” said Lutfiah Ibrahim Saleh, the House of Lusense owner.

House of Lusense’s private styling area. (Courtesy of House of Lusense)

Having owned the property for around 15 years, Lutfiah, a former fashion model, later came up with the idea of making the most of the building by turning it into a beauty salon.

The hairstyling area and nail art area, both on the first floor, are in pure white. Matching curtains cover the huge windows in the nail art area, giving an intimate feel.

Lutfiah, who studied architecture at the Indonesian Institute of Technology, fuses white with a dash of purple on the rug and some touches of black on the seats.

The waiting room, which separates the cutting and nail area, is decorated in black with purple chaises longues.

The powder room is fashionably equipped with two grand gold-rimmed mirrors and a pair of purple chairs.

On the second floor, Lutfiah provides a comfy lounge, furnished with a palette of rich purple on high chairs and dusty pink on the sofas and cushions.

“Why do I apply lots of purple? It’s not that I like purple, but I just want to add something hip into the interior. And purple is like the trendiest color this year,” says Lutfiah.

The chandeliers — made of acrylic in a pinkish gradation tone — give a more dramatic nuance.

Round ornament patterns, inspired by the same application she once saw at the Diagonale Bar in South Jakarta’s Plaza Senayan shopping center, are seen on the wall and the windows.

The second floor also serves as a beauty clinic and spa, designed in white with a dab of black on some furnishings.

• T2 Hairdressing Salon by Talents Johny Mallato
Jl. Gunawarman 30, South Jakarta
Ph: +622172792593 

• House of Lusense
Jl. KH. Ahmad Dahlan No. 45, South Jakarta
Ph: +622172800333