Five men and a salon called Elevation

Owned by a group of men who were childhood friends, Elevation Salon began its business in November 2007 first bearing the name Philippe’s Salon.

The friends are Jesus Romero-Salas, Angelo Olondriz, Carlos Araneta Jr., Chris Chilip, and Manuel de Jesus.

The name change last September was part of a marketing strategy adopted by the group to open the door to several stylists in the salon instead of the previous scheme which depended on only one main stylist.

According to Katrina Romero-Salas, Operations Manager, the location of the hair salon was ideal when they started due to its proximity to the residents of the neighboring high-end villages like Dasmariñas Village, Forbes Park, Urdaneta, San Lorenzo and Magallanes.

“We opened the salon because we felt there was no other salon that was a destination salon hidden in the heart of Makati. The men behind this enterprise have their own businesses and they invested because we felt there was something we can contribute to the industry in terms of services,” Salas says.

And what was then a simple warehouse along Pasong Tamo has now grown into one of the most successful and popular businesses in the area.

“The privacy and hidden area proved to be a destination salon and ever since then, we have had hundreds of regular clients that value the privacy of the location,” Romero-Salas notes.

Instead of going into malls to get their hair done, people living near the vicinity or close to the villages would have to worry no more of traveling far to go to a first-class salon.

“We put up a high-end salon with a variety of technical services with the knowledge and expertise to handle both Asian and Caucasian hair,” says Romero-Salas. “Through our craft, we have retained and continued to build a client base of both local residents and expats.”

Named after a U2 smash hit song, Elevation provides high end salon services where customers’ satisfaction is considered as the most important goal and where hairdressing is deemed a philosophy.

Cost of haircut depends with the stylist – for local senior stylists, a haircut cost is P700, for international stylists, it’s a range of P1,500 to about P1,800.

Cost of hair and makeup is about P2,500 and P7,500 for airbrush makeup.

The interior and the exterior of the salon is already a sight to behold, boasting of an industrial look of red walls and columns outside and a very spacious and welcoming atmosphere inside.

“The floor area was designed with the concept of making each client as comfortable as possible with some sort of privacy therefore the spaces between each styling section are far apart. Each station has mirrors that drop from the ceiling to increase the illusion of space and this is paired with floating wooden counters. The chairs are also soft and comfortable for ultimate satisfaction,” Romero-Salas says.

But there’s more than just good looks with this salon, as Elevation takes pride in the quality of services it offers to its patrons. As the name of the salon implies,  Elevation takes its services which includes hair cutting, coloring, treatments, and a variety of other salon services into a whole new different dimension.

Romero-Salas notes that all the Elevation’s staff are equipped with the proper education, training, knowledge, and expertise with regard to all their salon services, making each and every client as satisfied as possible as well as setting them apart from the rest of salons out there.

“We believe that the best salon service comes from stylists who find happiness in giving their best for their customers,” Romero-Salas says.

“Add that to the genuine happy disposition of the staff, our clients always feel welcome and happy when they enter and when they leave the salon. Consistent to our philosophy is ‘sincere hairdressing,’” she adds.

Besides its fashionable and elegant shampoo area and coloring areas, Elevation truly elevates among the rest with its VIP room where customers can enjoy the salon services in a cozy private room. The VIP room features floating glass panels with water flowing for ultimate relaxation. Here, customers can also listen to their own preferred music and bring their iPod to connect to the docking system.   They also provide our clients with iPads, Samsung Galaxy Tablets, and Portable Play Stations.

“We have increased the basic maintenance services such as waxing and threading. Our thread, made of 100 percent cotton, is made especially for facial threading and we import this from UK. The tools we use for nail services are all encased in sterilization pouches that are opened in the presence of each client so that they know these tools are not only hygienic but also sterilized,” Romero-Salas says regarding other special services that Elevation provides.

Elevation also offers new services such as different kinds of Keratin Complex Treatments and hair extensions, as well as provides excellent makeup artists that are by appointment basis.

“There is no other salon you should go to but Elevation because we know how to care, cut and color Asian and Caucasian hair,” Romero-Salas notes.