When Phoebe Fernandez-Varquez opened Colors and Peach in 2018, she was the first to admit she didn’t have everything figured out. The salon industry was new territory, and she walked into it with more drive than experience.
“When we started Colors and Peach in 2018, we honestly had a very basic understanding of the salon industry,” she says. What followed was years of learning on the job — absorbing experience, observing what worked, and committing to continuous training until she had the foundation to build something with real direction.
That foundation only deepened the more she invested in her craft. She took haircutting courses, studied color theory, and stayed hands-on with technical work so she could guide her team with precision rather than just intuition. Then came Japan.
Through a partnership with a Japanese professional brand, Phoebe had the opportunity to visit salons and undergo training in Japan — an experience that shifted how she saw the entire business. She observed teams delivering service with a level of structure and care that went beyond technique. It was intentional. Measured. Built around the client’s entire experience, not just the outcome.
“Experiencing how these salons operate firsthand opened our eyes to a different level of intention and care,” she says. She came back with more than new skills. She came back with a new standard.
That standard became Kohana by Colors and Peach, a space built on Japanese head spa principles and ZUDO training, a method developed by Tatsuya Yamasaki that blends scalp care, therapeutic massage techniques, and deep relaxation into a single, structured experience. Where Colors and Peach gave Cebu a salon worth trusting, Kohana gave it somewhere to truly exhale.
For Phoebe, the mission behind it has always been simple. “For us, it has never just been about hair. It’s about how people feel while they’re with us.”
She measures that impact in mirror moments. “What inspired me most was seeing how a simple service can change how someone feels about themselves,” she says. “When a client looks at the mirror, and you see their confidence come back, you realize it’s not just about the hair.”
This is especially true for women. Phoebe is clear-eyed about what many of her clients are carrying when they walk in — work, family, the quiet accumulation of responsibilities that leaves little room for anything else. “Us women, we hold a lot of responsibilities… sometimes we forget to take care of ourselves,” she says. Kohana’s services are structured with this in mind. Each session is designed to give clients a set window of rest and care, even within a short visit. “That small moment of self-care can help someone reconnect with their confidence, their strength, and who they are.”
That care extends behind the chair, too. Every client moves through consultation, treatment, and post-care, with each step built for consistency. Phoebe doesn’t manage this from a distance. She trains alongside her team, studies the same techniques, and applies what she learns directly into the business. It’s the same approach she started with, just more refined.
Building it hasn’t always been easy. “There were a lot of difficulties, a lot of self-doubt,” she says. Managing a growing team while holding the line on quality meant constantly reviewing, adjusting, and improving — not stepping back. She stayed present in daily operations because that’s what the standard required.
What keeps her going is watching it pay off. “The most rewarding part is seeing the team grow with those standards,” she says, and just as much, seeing the smiles from clients who leave feeling like themselves again.
Her advice to anyone building something of their own reflects everything she’s lived through it. “Trust the process and not be afraid of the slow seasons.” Growth, she’s learned, doesn’t always move at the pace you want it to. But steady work, paired with clear direction, gets you somewhere real.
Kohana by Colors and Peach is proof of that. And if you’ve ever sat in one of their chairs and caught your own reflection at the end of a session, you already know it.
Photography Summer Demol