Her story might be straight out of a telenovela. Being a girl born
to a Chinese family, Hilda Co Ong was never given preference even if she was an
only child. Growing up, she hoped her
fairytale marriage to her high school sweetheart, Jonah Tan Ong, in 1984 would bring her a happy ending but fate had other plans.
Her husband, Jonah, was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal cancer
(a cancerous tumor at the back of the nose toward the base of a skull) early in
the marriage and this prompted her to spend most of her time and energy tending
to her husband’s medical needs. For the
next five years, the hospital room became their second home. She gave so much of herself to the caring of
her husband that her own subsequent hospitalization and surgery (hysterectomy)
was welcomed as a vacation, a treat even. “In a way, I was thankful I got sick,
too. With somebody else taking care of
me, I was able to recharge and recuperate immediately and face the bigger
challenges that lie ahead,” reveals Hilda.
In 1990, Jonah finally succumbed to the Big C and left Hilda
to care for her two young children, Jhon Henson and Jeff Hanzen. From the indefinite leave she took from her
family’s business, she bounced back when asked to return to work. In time, she felt confined with routinary
nature of clerical and administrative work she tendered at her family’s
electrical supply business. “I knew I
was not growing there, career-wise. I
wanted to broaden my horizon so I started making plans on my own,” shares
Hilda. Armed with a strong will to keep
her family living comfortably, she left the family business and ventured on to a
business of her own.
Hilda’s efforts paid off when she opened Shapes Salon for
Men & Women in 1996 at the heart of Binondo. In the same year, Shapes’ sister branch was opened
in Banawe, Quezon City. The salons offered the usual services like
hair cutting, styling, perming, straightening and coloring but Hilda wanted to
go beyond the usual. “After studying and
perfecting the process, Shapes’ expertise was soon known due to our good hair rebonding
services,” proudly declares Hilda.
Shapes’ rebonding treatments can lasts for hours,
making sure that the customer’s hair will be straight, soft and shiny. “After the initial treatment, we give our
customers special shampoos and conditioners to take home with them. We also teach them the proper care needed for
treated hair. Then, we schedule the
client to comeback after a week so we can check if the hair needs follow-up
procedures.” If necessary, Shapes Salon
will also offer free hot-oil treatments as an additional service for customers.
“Customer satisfaction is very important to us. Their testimonials and referrals are our most
reliable advertising tool that surely brings us more customers,” stresses
Hilda. With this in mind, she does her
own product testing before offering new hair treatments and styling products in
her salon. “I want to test the products
first so I can make improvements before introducing the treatment to my
customers. Sometimes, I adjust the treatment
time or add another conditioning process to achieve the best results.”
“At Shapes Salon, we are also proud of our hair coloring
services. We are one of the few salons
around that does hair rebonding and coloring in one treatment,” says
Hilda. “Sometimes, customers come to us
with roots showing their natural hair color.
At their request, we can target color the roots so it will blend in with the
rest of the treated hair. This way, the
customer does not only save on cost but also on salon time, too.”
Indeed, Hilda has grown from life’s challenges. Her loving care to her dearly-departed
husband and family now transcends to her salon clients thus, they can be
assured of quality services at Shapes – a salon built from a woman’s caring
heart.
For hair treatments and hair styling, you can find Shapes
Salon for Men & Women at 911
Benavidez Street, Binodo, Manila
and at 753 Banawe Street
corner Sct. Alcaraz, Quezon City.
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