January 5, 2018

There’s been a stir in the local beauty scene of late, with the opening of Rossano Ferretti’s eponymous hair spa at Fullerton Hotel.

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Rossano is perhaps best known for famously charging $2,000 for a haircut—a service that he reserves nowadays, for acts of charity, demonstrations and friends. While he focuses his energy on the education and awareness of future generations in hair and beauty, his trademark style of treating and cutting hair, “il metodo” or, “the Method”, keeps him and his jet-set team of hairdressers busy around the world.

“The Method” is a technique born out of Rossano’s dissatisfaction with always seeing where a pair of scissors “hits the hair”, during a haircut, and its claim to fame is using a bespoke method that “follows and respects the natural nuances” of each individual’s hair. This means that no two haircuts are the same, uniquely tailored to bring out the best in a person’s hair, from the curly and frizzy to the silky and pin-straight.

But as they say: the proof of the pudding is in the eating. Even with an international tribe of devotees and clients including familiar stars and members of royalty such as Jennifer Lawrence, Angelina Jolie and even the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, it’s hard to pass judgement and know if his haircuts, which cost from between $375 to $510 for the ladies (men: $145 to $260), are worth the expense and risk of a switch from the familiar.

Rossano tells me that the only way to understand his hair philosophy is to have a haircut with them. I’ve only had my haircut by my go-to hairdresser for over a decade now, but he graciously offers me the Rossano Ferretti experience, at the hands of one of his ‘Masters of the Method’, Christian Seraphini. One of two master stylists to be based here, Christian has 14 years of experience in “the Method” and spent 7 years helming the Rossano Ferretti Hairspa in Beverly Hills. So a day after our interview, I return to get my hair chopped off.

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I allow Christian a free hand with my full head of hair, which I’ve kept long and unlayered with a blunt China doll fringe for the past 3 years. It’s my preferred solution for dealing with the heavy strands of a thick mane prone to flat dullness in Singapore’s heat and humidity. My haircut’s dramatically harsh lines and distinct geometry is everything that goes against the ethos of “the Method”, which espouses natural movement and an ‘invisible’ cut featuring free-flowing, non-linear lines without distinct demarcation. I’m curious to see if it will be quite as revolutionary as it’s been made out to be.

Christian lifts, drops, twirls and draws the length of my hair away from me, working with a light and rapid scissoring movement that is somehow reminiscent of an expert violinist drawing at the strings of his instrument. He moves around, even requesting that I stand up at one point of the process, and his touch is so light that it sometimes seems as though he’s snipping at the air, except that masses of shorn hair have swiftly built up on the floor around us.

A sheen of perspiration has built on Christian’s brow when he finally presents me with the results after an hour of his time. There’s no doubt at all that it’s a pleasingly beautiful cut. Light, cloudy wisps of hair now frame my face delicately, and most unusually, my hair has a softness and lightness that I’ve never felt before. But I’d been expecting a revelatory experience—like those spectacular reveals on makeover TV shows—where one is suddenly remade into a new person with freshly revealed cheekbones or enlarged doe eyes. What stares back in the mirror however, unrelenting and most unprepossessingly, is the face I’ve always known. It’s a pretty look, but nothing I feel I haven’t seen before, especially given my long-time Japanese hairdresser’s personal predilection for layers and texturising. I must confess… I feel rather underwhelmed.

Rossano, who apart from a short conversation at the start of my consultation, has sat quietly behind us all this time, imperceptible aside from the penetratingly keen eye he keeps on the proceedings, resting his chin thoughtfully in hand. He looks searchingly in my face, and not at my hair when he asks how I like my new hairdo—and I feel his gaze hone in on me like an x-ray.

But I have yet to discover the magic of my new haircut.

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In the weeks following my session and through multiple washings, I find myself increasingly, and unexpectedly pleased with my new hair. I’d complained of struggling with flat and lifeless hair, especially at the crown, and much to my surprise, my new locks are full-bodied yet weightless, and easy to manage.

Just as I was told by Christian, I didn’t have to do anything to make my hair look good. It falls easily into gently tousled, organic waves which move naturally with me as I walk and go about my day, and I’ve even ventured to stop blow drying my hair on occasion. Far from falling flat, my hair seems to bounce right back into an effusive and lively shape, and I cannot stop myself from running my fingers through its lightness.

Gradually, I’ve only come to fully appreciate the difference between my new and old haircut, after seeing before-and-after photographs of myself. I never noticed how much my old hairdo dominated my face and essence. There’s a weighty stiffness to me that is strikingly missing in the latter photograph, and what initially left me underwhelmed—is now a haircut that offers a gentle and subtle enhancement of my existing features.

Instead of working to reshape or redefine my look, Christian’s work draws out my essence in a way that my old haircut was never designed to. I see a definite spark in my eye and a liveliness to my face that’s been unveiled—and whether it stems from my newfound confidence and delight in my hair, or the expert technique of “the Method”, I can’t quite tell. But perhaps therein lies the true secret to Rossano’s “Method”: It’s not so much about how good it makes you look, but just how good it makes you feel.