Trending Now: Head Spa

While scrolling through Instagram and TikTok, or exploring Pinterest and YouTube, chances are you’ve come across ultra-sensorial videos of women and men indulging in what seem to be the most luxurious shampoos of their lives. A haze of Blue Lagoon-like steam enveloping the scalp, impressive mountains of lathered tresses, transportive head massages to rival any five-star spa, and futuristic-looking jet streams raining down all lend to the otherworldly experience of the head spa treatment. 

With origins in Japanese culture (and a longtime standard practice across Asia), the head spa has recently become popular in the West, virally trending across social platforms. The multi-step process typically features a deep clean, detox, treatments, and a massage to nourish the scalp and hair, and can last anywhere from one to three hours. A signature of this treatment is the level of customization for the individual guest.

“We have adapted our head spa process specifically for the U.S. beauty market by incorporating elements that resonate with American clients,” says Yukie Natori, founder of Yukie Natori Salon & Spa. “We focus on creating a more personalized experience through thorough consultations to address individual hair and scalp needs, [and have] integrated popular local ingredients and techniques that appeal to our clientele, ensuring that our treatments are both effective and relatable.”

Ritsuko Borges, founder of the Head Spa at MASA.KANAI, notes that there aren’t many dedicated scalp products in Japan, much less ones that target different concerns. The same products are used on every single guest as scalp issues are not as prevalent as in the U.S. “In the States, however, the variety of scalp problems is more apparent and there are more customers concerned about different problems. And so, we don’t rely on pre-packaged scalp products,” she says. “We use a combination of products, equipment and Japanese botanical ingredients that are hand-blended to best address the individual issues at hand.”

Here, discover three head spa salons that have given rise to the stateside popularity of this old but new beauty treatment.  

• Location: New York, NY 
• Established: 2010 
• Lines Carried: Josiane Laure, Milbon 
• Equipment Lines: Takara Belmont YUME Head Spa Shampoo Unit, Takara Belmont Micro Mist Processor, 300x magnification trichoscope 

As the head spa OG and the originator of the term, Yukie Natori has been offering her unique head spa method for the past 25 years in her three-floor eponymous salon. Though trained in Japan, Natori follows the principles of French hairdresser and brand founder Josiane Laure, resulting in an original protocol that combines phytotherapy, aromatherapy, acupuncture, and Eastern massage modalities. Her comprehensive eight-step treatment aims to deliver a rejuvenating experience that promotes both scalp health and overall relaxation. 

The 75-minute, high-grade treatment process entails an analysis of the scalp and hair with a microscope that magnifies up to 300 times, massage, steam therapy, steam mask, deep cleanse, custom treatment, hot towel service, and an optional blow-dry. Purported benefits range from immediate to long term, such as detoxification, improved scalp health, hair regrowth, increased circulation, eye strain and stress-related tension relief, and enhanced quality of sleep.

Services start at $195. 

• Location: New York, NY 
• Established: 2018 
• Lines Carried: Milbon, Oway. Mirei Labo 
• Equipment Lines: Full Reclining Yume Chair, Ultra Sonic Mist, Toshinyoku Hair Bath 

If you search for “head spa” online, you’re sure to come across the Head Spa at MASA.KANAI in the top results. Recognized as one of the premier salons offering the service, the high demand is reflected in the four-month waiting list. “The Head Spa we provide at MASA.KANAI is extremely unique as the approach we utilize is a methodology that I personally developed over the last 25 years,” says founder and licensed trichologist Ritsuko Borges, who trained in Japan before moving to New York. “As opposed to being just another scalp treatment, I took the concept and evolved it to become a complete holistic wellness experience.”

Each treatment is tailored to each guest starting with an in-depth consultation that involves microscopic analysis of the scalp and hair. “We perform these consultations regardless of whether the guest is a first-timer or has been with us before, as the scalp is constantly changing and what was discussed in the past may not necessarily be what is needed for the current visit,” says Borges. The guest will then undergo an intensive deep cleansing to detox and cleanse the scalp, and then a relaxing massage to stimulate blood flow and promote healthy hair growth.

Services start at $300. 

• Location: Pasadena, CA; Beverly Hills, CA; Newport Beach, CA 
• Established: 2018 
• Lines Carried: L’Oréal Professionnel, Milbon 
• Equipment Lines: Dyson, Hot Tools, Takara Belmont 

Sayuri Tsuchitani founded Head Spa EN during the pandemic as a way to holistically cope with her own mental health and depression. Before immigrating to the states, Tsuchitani regularly experienced head spa services in Japan, and attributed her happier state and nonexistent scalp issues to the practice. With a deeply ingrained sense of omotenashi—the Japanese philosophy of wholehearted hospitality rooted in selfless, mindful service—she would come to establish three locations steeped in the concept.

Tsuchitani’s goal is to bring together Eastern traditions with Western techniques to promote the health of scalp and hair, but also deep sleep, stress relief, and overall emotional well-being through a holistic wellness experience. Offering services like Japanese Headspa, Deep Scalp Cleaning, and Shirodhara, every Head Spa EN service features a consultation, shampoo, steam massage, treatment and optional blow-dry. Clients typically report results like healthy scalp, hair growth and relaxation,” says Tsuchitani. “They tend to be happier than when they walked in.”

Services range between $110-$350. 

Next Up: Scalp Care and the Skinification of Hair 2.0

Header image credit: Instagram/@masakanai_headspa