Hard water torturing your hair? Make a date to wash your hair at The Spot in Seal Beach

PHOTO by ROSHEILA ROBLES

There are those who will tell you that washing your hair every day is bad—as in awful. No good. Evil. These same people (like hairstylist and salon owner Sandi Sandman—best name ever, right?) will recommend that you only wash your hair three times a week, four at the maximum.

But what if you have hair that begins to fall flat after, say, 8 hours, transforming by hour 16 into a slick, stringy mess? And beyond this, what if showering—for all its benefits, like cleanliness and, uh, wetness—only leaves you feeling worse? You know: a scratchy, flaky scalp and tangled mess of thinning, dull hair?

The bad news is you have hard water—all of Long Beach does, according to the Long Beach Water Department—and what’s worse, the limescale deposits left behind by hard water could be clogging your pipes, ruining your water heater and messing with your pots and pans as you read this. The good news is you have options: a home water softener for your appliances (read more about them on the Long Beach Water Department’s website at lbwater.org), and a Davines hair treatment at Sandi’s Seal Beach full service hair salon, The Spot, to help remove the residue that hides on your hair strands after shampooing in hard water.

“Pretty much everyone in Southern California needs a hair treatment,” says Sandi, who became a stylist 23 years ago after enrolling in beauty school on her birthday. And it’s not just the hard water: perms, color jobs, hair product—not to mention your favorite pastime, smoking—can all leave your hair looking (and feeling) not so hot.

But what, exactly, is a hair treatment? I’ll admit being confused by the term at first, evidently having buried any memories of the ubiquitous VO5 Hot Oil Treatment commercials from my teenage years—and just being oblivious to the word “Treatment” on my bottle of Burt’s Bees Avocado Butter Pre-Shampoo Treatment.

I suppose I just never thought to go to a salon for anything other than a trim.

I’ve since learned that it’s a blanket term—including everything from homemade canola-oil based treatments to VO5 to The Spot’s $50 treatments—and that all treatments share a common goal: healthy, strong hair.

All you need to know, though, is that the Davines hair treatments at The Spot are simply the best way to pamper yourself. The end.

Davines (”The Aveda of Italy,” as it’s been called) is an organic product line fairly exclusive to The Spot—outside Seal Beach, it’s down to Huntington Beach or up to Beverly Hills to find a salon that carries the line. After a brief consultation at the beginning of my visit, stylist Jessica Russo (who joins Sandi and stylist Gina Yanulaytis to round out the cute, cozy salon) decided on the fine-hair-friendly Energizing Treatment with Vitamin Activist Shampoo and Vitamin Activist Gel.

A shampoo (with incredible head/neck massage) was first; next came the gel, applied directly to my scalp. It tingled and enveloped me in its fragrance—essential oils of eucalyptus and lavender mingling with my hair follicles to bring me to the brink of light-headed relaxation.

But the best part was still a few minutes off, when Jessica (whose rave reviews on Yelp.com—Sandi, Gina, too—are an unbelievable must-read) delivered a thorough blow out. For the first time in my life—honestly—my normally do-nothing hair looked like a Pantene commercial: shine, body, beauty. It looked clean—no more hard water build up, no more limp strands. I didn’t stop touching my hair for two days, going so far as to ask everyone from friends to coworkers to smell it.

Of course, this means I didn’t wash my hair for two days, either, but when it came time to shower—I caved, sorry girls—I was in good hands, too: Sandi had sent me home with Davines Natural Tech De Stress Muesli and Yogurt Shampoo and Creme Yogurt Conditioner. Basically? It’s a hair orgasm in a bottle.

“Our studio is for people who want change,” says Sandi. I have to agree: I never knew my hair could look so good, or how happy it would make me once it did. And at $50, it’s the perfect gift for siblings and moms—just book an appointment for yourself, too.

THE SPOT 600 PACIFIC COAST HWY | STE 106 | SEAL BEACH 90740 | 562.594.9100 | THESPOTISTHEPLACE.COM | MAKEUP SERVICES, SOY-BASED WAXING AND PARTY STYLING ARE ALSO AVAILABLE

Tags: hair therapy, hard water, salon, seal beach, the spot