The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

The Cairo neighbourhood of Maadi may not have as many hair
salons and spas as in Mohandiseen or Dokki; but it does have a few quality
options. Long-term Maadi residents all have their favourite hair salon to
which they are completely loyal, and this reviewer feels particularly fond of
Hamada Coiffeur.

Located on the very quiet Road Six in Maadi, Hamada Coiffeur
is a basement-level hair salon with two entrances through its glass front. When you enter, you will be bombarded with shelves of
Victoria Secret creams, designer perfumes, Kerastase and L’Oreal Professional
hair creams, as well as a few racks of clothes or jewellery, depending on which
endeavour of the month Hamada has recently launched to make more money.

Lines of black leather chairs face individual mirrors at the
front with more than enough trained staff to man each chair, while hair washing
chairs are located around the right corner facing a small LCD screen next to a
shelf of hair dye creams. Highlights or retouching
roots costs 250LE, while a full hair dye costs 350LE regardless of the hair dye
brand used.

A separate women’s-only section is accessed via a door,
where more seats and mirrors are available for eyebrow tweezing, threading and
pedicure/manicure treatments (50LE for both, or 35LE and 25LE respectively).

The salon also has a small spa section run by Madam Maha, where you can indulge
in facials (around 150LE) or even a Moroccan bath (120LE), which was a
little too rough for this reviewer’s liking. The spa has its own showers and a tiled
Moroccan steam room, as well as lockers and robes for your use. Madam Maha is
available every day except for Fridays, but it’s best to book an appointment in
advance to make sure that she’s there.

The star of the show is Hamada himself, a flamboyant and
chatty character usually dressed in black, who will tell you all about his time
in Texas and flirt a little unnecessarily. Charm aside, Hamada gives really good haircuts
(70LE), especially with fine hair or short hair styles. Frequent visitors will
be welcomed like old family, and he will banter on about gossip, his own
tribulations and give you expert advice on your personal life as well as your
haircut, should you allow him. If this annoys you, ignore it and he will soon
get the hint.

The only issue with Hamada is that he sometimes ignores your
specific demands for what you’re looking for in a haircut, saying ‘No, no, I
have something better in mind for you.’ Irritatingly, he’s almost always right:
you may not end up with your exact, desired haircut, but you do walk away with
a cut that suits your face shape as well as your natural hair texture.

Blow-drying (50LE) and hair colouring are just as
satisfactory, where highlights here are actually as subtle as they should be,
creating a natural look if that’s what you’re looking for.

Hamada also offers bridal packages that are considerably
cheap compared to the competition in Maadi and other better-known spas. For a
moderate fee, you receive a morning of pedicures, manicures, hair washing and
styling, as well as a free hair consultation beforehand, followed up by Hamada
himself visiting your room on your wedding day to fix up your hair.

Open all day with more than enough staff to handle a full salon, Hamada is a trusted and cheap hair salon for many residents in Maadi.