For something that's really not much more than overgrown protein, Filipinos sure do spend a lot of time, effort and money on their so-called crowning glory.

A look at the supermarket and grocery shelves laden with all types of hair care products'shampoos, conditioners, styling gels, treatments, dyes, brushes, curlers and all sorts of ornaments - gives a fairly good picture. And these are just for home use and personal care.

Filipinos spend even more on hair services in salons - from basic trims, to styled cuts and treatments, to the more complicated hair rebonding and extensions that take a considerable chunk out of students' allowances and employees' take home pay.

These days, it seems no one can escape the hair craze - it's only a question of how far and how much one is willing to go.

And all these make for a thriving billion-peso industry, dedicated solely to making sure that every day is a good hair day.

Salons (formerly known as 'parlors') take a considerable slice of that sector. Piandre is one salon chain that has built its enviable 20-year career on the Filipinos' passion for hair. Founder Linda Francisco counts hair cut, colour and treatments as the chain's most sought after services, with hair straightening and hair extensions fast gaining in popularity.

Some 20 years and nine branches after she put up her first salon, Francisco affirms that Filipinos really do have a special relationship with their hair, and are willing to go to great lengths to keep it clean and healthy.

'Filipinos really care for their hair, and they expect only the highest levels of quality in treatments to maintain not only beautiful but healthy hair. I think it is only Filipino women who come daily to salons for blow dry and make up services,' Francisco shares.

But while there may indeed be a new market for salons and barber shops today, investing in a salon may not be right for everyone, according to Cherry Reyes, the creative and managing director of the high-end Essensuals Toni and Guy salon, which counts top celebrities and politicians among its clientele.

The ideal scenario, Reyes continues, would be for salon owners to be stylists themselves, so they would know how to run the business thoroughly and take over should their resident stylists leave.

Most stylists, Reyes warns, usually take their clients with them when they leave. It's also difficult to get good stylists since competition is high among salons and training costs considerable time and money.

But she does need top-quality stylists to help her run the salon, she acknowledges, which is why she invests in regular training to keep up a good supply of these always-needed staff.

'We lose some of our stylists to the competition because they are pirated by other salon owners who know that we give good training,' Reyes explains, 'so we just have to keep on training to make sure we have enough people.'

She also counts on the training and marketing support from her principal, Toni and Guy, based in London.

Reyes said there are advantages to having a name like Toni and Guy behind a salon, and local investors can enjoy the same benefits by investing in franchises of known salon brands. With a bigger system behind them, investors don't have to worry about training and marketing since these can be provided by the franchisor - for a fee, of course.

Established brand names like David's, Reyes Haircutters, Jun Encarnacion and F Salon also assure instant recall, and will almost ensure a steady stream of clients to the salon.

A salon franchise is not cheap, however.

The eight-year-old Reyes Haircutters, one of the fastest growing salon chains with over 200 branches around the country, requires an investment package of from 1.4 pesos to 2.4 million pesos (US$33,448 to $57,340). The franchise comes with a support package that includes training, supply of salon needs and marketing support,

The franchise period is five years, but Reyes Haircutters claims that the investor can recover his investment in as short as a year.

Edd Fuentes, who just opened his Reyes Haircutters franchise on Boracay Island, is on his way.

Fuentes said his salon opened just last April and already, people are lining up outside its door to have their hair done. Revenues are triple his expectations, he added.

He could only attribute it to the Filipinos' heightened sense of style, and the fact that everybody wants value for their money, even if they go on over their head.