Overview
The best part of a trip to the hair salon is often the wash. For ten glorious minutes, the hairdresser works the shampoo and other potions into your scalp and melts all the week's worries (and clogged follicles) until the outside world feels very far away. And if you're lucky, they'll throw in a head and neck massage too. Imagine that stretching out over a full hour — no wonder Japanese head spas are having a moment.
While luxe salons and day spas in Australia have incorporated fun scalp treatments into their repertoire, head spas dedicated to the must-try Japanese ritual are few and far between. With a full suite of scalp-focused treatments incorporating age-old Japanese techniques, Sydney-born Tokyo Headspa is one of them.
It's founded by Nozomi Oshima, who first opened shop at Salon Lane, a Lower North Shore warehouse turned co-working hub for hair and beauty professionals. From there, she teamed up with Salon Lane founders Lance Kalish and Jared Keen to grow the brand. Today, it's got five standalone salons across Sydney and Brisbane — and has just opened a flagship Melbourne spa in Armadale last week.
Think of Tokyo Headspa as the closest thing to a head spa in Japan, where Oshima lived in her teenage years. Having reaped the benefits first-hand, she knew that they would appeal to Aussies chasing wellness experiences and set about replicating the experience. "After every session, my hair felt impossibly soft and my mind deeply relaxed," she says.
On High Street, the shop's zen-inspired interior of natural timbers and earthy textures begins to calm the mind before any treatment begins. Guests slip into their pick of traditional Japanese yukatas before being guided into treatment rooms named after well-loved suburbs in Tokyo, where even the treatment beds are imported directly from Nippon. Treatments incorporate products from cult Japanese haircare label Beets, which are available for purchase. At the end of your self-care sesh, there's no rush. Slowly sip on herbal tea in the lounge areas or at a DIY hairstyling bar that's equipped with all the tools you need for a blow-out.
The idea is that your scalp leaves in better spirits than when it came in, so all seven treatments start with a scalp health check. Each treatment combines different techniques to reach whatever you need at the moment. Facial reflexology and upper body massages unknot all the tension you've been carrying, while the trending waterfall-like head baths lull your mind into tranquillity (or even a nap) as gentle streams of warm water crown your forehead. If you want lusher and healthier locks, there's something designed for you, too. And if you really want to treat yourself, the 2.5-hour Amaterasu option combines all of the above, plus a detoxifying kombucha treatment and sea salt scrub to reset the scalp.
Images: Dan Castano