On a Monday afternoon in November, Moyo – on Charlotte Way, around the corner from the Odeon on Harcourt Street and a mere hop, skip and jump from the Bald Barista, one of the best coffee makers in Dublin – is blissfully quiet. I’m running late, having enjoyed lunch with the PR for Christian Louboutin (more on which later) a little too much, and I’m a bit frazzled as I come through the door.
It’s lucky, then, that Kevin Bodenham, the South African owner of Moyo who cut his teeth in Ireland’s first Aveda salon, Whetstone, before opening his own Aveda salon in 2008, is there to greet me, divest me of my coat and scarf and sit me down, assuring me, “there’s no rush at all – let me get you a coffee and you just relax”.
And relax I did, during the hour-long Botanical Scalp Therapy treatment (€80). The treatment is devised by the bods at Aveda, the cosmetics company whose products are designed and manufactured using mainly plant-based ingredients, to treat the hair holistically – starting at the scalp and working all the way down the root.
Kevin starts by asking me a few questions about my hair: Do I have any concerns? (No.) What’s the condition of my hair like? (Um . . . keratin-y?) Do I have any scalp conditions – dryness, oiliness? (Um . . . no?) I obviously pay very little attention to my head. Then Kevin gets to work, examining my scalp – which he says is fine, if a teeny bit on the oily side (like my face, then).
A tonic is applied to my scalp that comprises tea tree oil and mint, to freshen the scalp and remove any product build-up – starting with an aromatherapy inhalation (just like during a massage) and applied with an intensive and amazing head massage that works from the neck to the temples and all the way around the skull. This is rinsed off and a moisturising and strengthening combination is applied to my hair from the roots down – to heal the damage from colouring and to add strength to the hair shaft.
While this is doing its business, Kevin gives me a hand massage and tells me about his time at Whetstone, plans for Moyo (in coming weeks they’ll be adding a nail bar, Waxperts waxing and Aveda facials to their repertoire) and we talk about just how mad you’d have to be to leave a space shuttle with George Clooney in it.
Before I know it, it’s time to lather, rinse (repeat) and I’m blow-dried and sent on my merry way – totally and utterly relaxed thanks to the combination of an incredible head massage and the fact that Kevin is, hands down, one of the most relaxing people to spend time with I have ever encountered. Oh – and I have hair that feels cleaner and healthier than ever (my 15-week blow-dry left it very soft but feeling distinctly product-y).
The Aveda Botanical Scalp Treatment is €80. I was a guest of Moyo Hairdressing. moyo.ie
A previous version of this article referred to Moyo as “Ireland’s only Aveda salon”. To clarify: Whetstone was Ireland’s first Aveda salon and, to date, there are more than 20 Aveda salons in the Republic.
