Original A opens in Paddington

Atlantis Hair’s famous Regent Street salon hub has become Original A, relocating to a larger space at 388 Oxford Street, Paddington. Atlantis hair has built up a cult following as a result of their unique approach to stress free hair solutions attracting a wide range of clientele including celebrities, beauty media, models and many more who have followed the salon’s move. Professional Beauty’s Nina Richards decided to visit the new salon and try the CCT hair colour.

Original A has a New York inspired industrial look

Designed by Matthew Nadilo, Original A salon offers a relaxed, approachable, intelligent, cool and down-to-earth vibe for Atlantis Hair’s loyal clients. The interior is contemporary with a New York inspired industrial look. The unique 140 square meter space showcases a colour consultation and lounge area, trendy café style bar, funky graffiti bathrooms, O&M bottle wall features and beautiful retail space. “Our salon’s aesthetics blends in with our understated cool yet, raw and clean O&M philosophy,” says Alan Buki, co-owner of Original A.

Being an Original Mineral (O&M) concept salon the staff are keen to educate clients on the benefits of the brand’s CCT (Clean Colour Technology) permanent hair colour range, which is 100 per cent ammonia, resorcinol and PPD free, and the at-home “free from” wet and styling ranges. CCT is said to deliver clean, lustrous blondes, bright fashion shades and lasting, vibrant colours. The brand believes that no client should be exposed to unnecessary chemicals and no hairdresser should have to constantly work with them. O&M’s formulating chemists look to remove harsh chemicals wherever possible while including natural extracts and active minerals to deliver real benefits.

Original A’s trendy bar area

When it comes to O&M hair colour, Wayne Lewis, O&M’s Technical Director and Original A’s Colour Director, is high in demand. As one of Australia’s top colourists, Wayne is revered amongst his peers and faithful clients for his remarkable flair for creating beautiful hair through his exceptional knowledge of colour mixing and skill in application which has seen him produce some stunning natural and fashion-inspired looks.

Wayne also specialises in colour matching skin to hair tones, with a particularly strong aptitude for developing and achieving the perfect blonde hues. Wayne has refined his skills across the years through his ongoing involvement in local and international fashion and industry events. Wayne has also appeared as a guest judge for the FHM Fashion and Grooming Awards and the New Woman Beauty Awards. Wayne’s experience also extends to film and television and he has also delved into the world of international and Australian editorial, working on shoots for Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, NW, Who Weekly, Body & Soul, Girlfriend, New Woman and The Australian. Over the years, Wayne has also had the opportunity to meet and style celebrities including Miranda Kerr, Emma Booth, Claudia Schiffer, Kylie Minogue, Toni Collette, Miranda Otto, Amber Valletta and Shalom Harlow.

Despite Wayne hinting that red would suit my skin tone, I was keen to try O&M’s blonde colour and asked Wayne about the formula, “We are still able to create the lightest of blondes in both powder and tint forms,” he said. “Our colour range contains our exclusive active mineral complex of Illite, Kaolin and Montorillonite that’s blended with sunflower seed wax and sweet almond oil to aid in the nourishment of scalp and hair. Our mineral colour is available in 99 lustrous permanent shades that can achieve up to five levels of lightening, 100 per cent grey coverage and smell pleasant. At Original A we are well-known for our blondes and our gentle colouring systems.”

O&M’s blonde hair model shot

I went for both highlights and lowlights to give my hair a natural and more ash blonde look. With a lot of warmth in both my natural and existing hair colour it was an opportunity to put CCT hair colour to the test. I have to say I am really pleased with the results and left the salon with beautiful, natural colour and shine. The blonde highlights are the exact tone I wanted and my hair does not feel dry or damaged as it has after highlights in the past.

I don’t think there is anything more satisfying for an O&M colourist than to prove the sceptics wrong about how great the colour pay-off is. As Wayne says, it is often about educating clients who really have to try it to believe it. But one thing’s for certain, once you’ve tried a more natural approach it’s hard to go back to using anything else as undoubtedly the salon’s loyal clients feel.

The graffiti bathrooms

Original A’s clients are chemically conscious and understandably concerned about the amounts of harsh chemicals used in every day cosmetics and hair care products. Pregnancy, illness and skin sensitivity has also led many to seek out products with a lower chemical compound. O&M have succeeded in creating a professional product with fewer chemicals bridging the gap between luxury and natural. But the products are not the only reason clients choose Original A, the relaxed and friendly vibe and top service in a luxurious setting gets their votes too.

Visit www.atlantishair.com to find out more.

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