Vasantha laments at the trend of straightening which kills the naturalness of the hair, thinning it with chemicals and allowing for very little natural movement, and transposing hair colours and global hairstyles which don’t suit the complexion or needs o
With over three decades of experience in the beauty industry, Vasantha De Silva of Salon Kess discusses all things hair-related
When Vasantha De Silva speaks about hair he speaks of it in curiously concrete terms, incongruent to its wispy quality and elevating its gravity. While describing haircuts in place of words such as‘tame’, ‘comb’, ‘smooth’ and ‘brush’, words like ‘structures’, ‘buildings’, ‘create’ and ‘build’ take its place in his vocabulary instead. When in conversation, he compares the wrong texturing hair to that of breaking a wrong wall when building a house.
One could speculate that this architectural approach to hair are lingering remnants of his early days studying mechanical engineering. This might be a far reach – he’s been in the beauty industry for the past 35 years and his much-loathed days of studying mechanical engineering are now a speck in the horizon– but even he acknowledges the unconscious influence it has had over his work.
It’s early in the morning and while Salon Kess is yet to open its doors, its staff move around getting ready for the day ahead. We’re seated on the upper floor inside the plush salon in Colombo 7 and Vasantha is foregrounded against the city’s skyline which forms the backdrop to the salon. A penchant for lapsing into droll, dramatic declarations, Vasantha becomes more thoughtful and ruminative when discussing all things hair-related. Vasantha has been in the business of making people beautiful for the past 35 years. He ventured into the industry when it wasn’t a very bankable career (“My family freaked out”), gaining experience overseas and cautiously returning to Sri Lanka to test the local waters. It’s a career gamble which has paid off. Salon Kess has grown to be a formidable player in Sri Lanka’s hair industry, amassing a small but fiercely faithful clientele spanning celebrities, socialites, sporting personalities and wellknown names in Colombo. The haircuts don’t come cheap for Sri