It always seems to happen overnight, that feeling that your hair is suddenly too long and heavy, the colour dull and horrifyingly in need of a refresh. The urge for a transformative makeover is what drives many an It girl, social bee (and international tennis star) by word of mouth to Andy’s Salon, the go-to luxury hair haven In the heart of Wimbledon Village. Here, the friendliest team greet and seat you in comfort (the cushioned wash stations have foot rests and the head massages are worth the trip alone).
In all matters trichological, finesse is the buzzword. Andy and his team specialise in natural, face-flattering cuts, designed for long-term low maintenance yet easy to style up for a night out; the hair-spa moisturising and shine treatments are second to none. When it comes to colour, who isn’t looking for a miracle worker? Enter Elena, who takes her subtly forensic approach to highlights.
Working intuitively and with great care, she applies various shades from light through to your natural hair colour, finishing with six balayage strips to refresh the ends and create a natural sun-kissed swish. The result? You leave with a fabulous blowdry, healthy hair and long-lasting colour that will never ‘grow out’ in a telltale line. A visit to Andy’s is always a treat.
favourite Jo Hansford presides over two fabulous sites at Harvey Nichols: a blow-dry bar in the ground-floor beauty lounge; and a 3,200-square-foot space on the fourth floor to rival her Belgravia flagship. Renowned for her expertise in colour (she counts the new Queen Consort as a devotee) the salon not only offers hair makeovers but also treatments including waxing. Two private rooms ensure the utmost discretion for A-list clientele, while a state-of-the-art retail space from Kerastase Paris allows customers to ‘try on’ their new look and also refill their favourite products.
After an initial consultation with your stylist, you’ll be whisked over to the chic hair washing stations (we couldn’t help but admire the old magazine cover artworks on the wall), where Oway organic hair care products are used to spruce up your soon-to-be transformed locks. Next, peruse the pile of glossy mags over a glass of champagne as the team gets to work cutting, colouring and styling your hair into your desired look. Rather than unrealistically overdone, the emphasis here is on creating cuts that are easy for you to maintain at home, so you’ll not only look good when you leave, but every day afterwards too.
Request Pasquale: he’s the best. If you and your hair haven’t already discovered Beauty Club London, discover the hotspot where colour and cocktails combine. Tucked away behind Oxford Circus, this buzzing beauty mecca and one of the best hair salons in London specialises in hair extensions and colour services with a fully-stocked coffee/cocktail bar to boot.
For some of the , we recommend booking in with in-house balayage pro, . The ultimate in precision and speed, the colourist has a waiting list thanks to his natural-looking balayage blends. Specialists for , Louise Bailey and are the in-demand duo behind the best tapes in town to boost hair volume or length (or both).
A one-stop shop for beauty, we’re obsessed with the nail bar, Paint Nails, where you can sip on a margarita or mojito while you’re having your mani. The clue is in the name with this social set favourite, founded by Alex Brownsell and Lou Teasdale, and beloved by the likes of , Maisie Williams and FKA Twigs. With locations in Dalston, Brixton and Soho – plus its very first outpost across the pond in LA – put your tresses in the capable hands of a Bleach stylist to make your wildest hair colour dreams come true.
From icy platinum blonde to pastel streaks or bold, bubblegum shades, nothing is too outlandish. And with an impressive range of at-home colour and care on offer, you can mix up your style and achieve professional results at home, too. But the fabulous salon teams are a major incentive to visit in person: Jayne at the Berwick Street site is as lovely as she is skilful.
Situated on the second floor at smart townhouse department store Liberty, Taylor Taylor is the ideal location for a chic hair update while you’re in town. Start your pampering with a cocktail from the drinks menu (the bellini is the best) before having an indulgent hair wash and head massage using Lore Originals products, developed by the team in-house. The team of expert stylists will listen carefully to what you want, snipping and pruning until you are completely happy.
If it’s a new look you are after, then Mike Mahoney is your man, with the creative senior stylist being a dab hand with a pair of scissors as well as a pleasure to chat too. This is the kind of hair transformation where you will leave looking like yourself, just better. Which only makes the central London location even better - you’ll want to show off your locks ASAP.
Occupying all five-floors of a converted townhouse on Pont Street, the smart Belgravia set flock here to have Neville Tucker’s team tend to their tresses. Colourist Susana (sporting a Balmain apron) expertly blends your colour in the ‘dispensing department’ which is fashioned like a traditional chemist. The result is a flawless hue and locks that have never been in better condition thanks to Olaplex’s bond-building technology.
You are then delivered into the safe hands of Jack Merrick-Thirlway who makes thoughtful suggestions (there is no pandering to clients who want something unrealistic or unsuitable here) and transforms your hair in a blur of snips. Emerge renewed, with a spring in your step and a bounce in your hair. The impossibly convenient Aldo Coppola on Sloane Avenue is a buzzy hive of Italians – both stylists and clients, who are greeted like old friends.
Those in the know come here for shatush, the lightening treatment pioneered by the salon’s legendary founder Aldo Coppola back in the 70s. It colours hair without damaging it, giving a natural, sun-kissed result, which is topped off by the application of the salon’s all-purpose, all-natural, possibly magical herb infusion. The recipe is bespoke for each client, with a mix of herbs and oils (coconut, olive) and gives hair a healthy, natural glow.
Ask for art director Michael – he’s a true artist – and you’ll leave looking like you’ve spent a month in Sardinia. FOUR London’s new Mayfair salon on Duke Street (a stone’s throw from the hustle and bustle of Oxford Street and Selfridges) is an oasis of calm despite the whirr of hairdryers and the buzz of well-heeled clientele chatting with their knowledgeable stylists and colourists. Art Deco mirrors, branded handbag covers to protect from cuttings, and products in golden trays atop marble counters add to the polished feel.
Senior stylist Helen, who’s been part of the FOUR London family for over 10 years, is a master with the scissors and gives thoughtful suggestions for styling your new do, while Bianca, also a FOUR London veteran, is the go-to colourist for low-maintenance hues. It’s no wonder that the likes of Yasmin Le Bon and Nigella Lawson trust the team here with their tresses. They’ve outposts in Selfridges and Kensington, but the Marylebone flagship - the UK’s largest salon - is still going strong.
Colourists here take their time; and they listen. Conversations veer from what you want long-term from your blonde, or brunette, or auburn, to how to make it immediately fresher. Yes, your hair is rather fabulous when you leave the salon – but colourists are also fastidious about how it looks six weeks down the line (they believe in carrying as much of your natural hue through as possible to avoid the dreaded regrowth – it means less in the way of maintenance and fading).
Do try their Love Your Highlights treatment, a thick conditioning treatment that’s left for 10 minutes beneath the heat to nourish hair and make highlights brighter. Forty years after the original salon launched, Nicola Clarke has taken the reins at John Frieda on Margaret Street – and it’s a marvelous place (polished concrete, exposed piping and soft leather chairs). Stylists here are skilled, the juniors at the backwash do a hedonistic head massage; but Clarke’s known for her colour (Gwyneth, and Kate are all on her speed dial) – so it’s colour you’ll want to come for.
From expensive-looking highlights to beachy balayage to fearless colour changes (blue, flame-coloured, lilac) the sky’s the limit, and the results are consistently flawless. Strong coffee, multitasking workstations and stylish reading material make this a cut above your average salon experience. ‘The problem with blondes is that it’s very easy to spot mistakes,’ says associate colourist, Jason Hogan at Josh Wood Colour.
For those who have past colour crimes that need correcting, know that magic gets performed in the garden-like studio of this famous Notting Hill salon. As you sit among the glorious greenery, subtle shading is used on the roots and then a gloss to blend it all through. The idea is for colour that will last and fuse with your natural shade so that as it grows out, it doesn’t all go down-hill.
No joins, no jarring, just colour you look like you’ve always had, even weeks after you have it done. See? Magic. You’ve had a bad dye job, or you’ve just spent two weeks basking on a beach.
Or maybe your dryer/styling wand/straightener has been used too much lately. Whatever the reason, your hair is unhappy. Dry, brittle, faded – it doesn’t swoosh so much as point downwards, like an unloved potted plant.
Go and see Sally. She’s smiley and friendly and bullshit-free, and knows exactly how to make it all better (and gives you good coffee and pots of popcorn while you wait – big tick). Those faded ends are brightened up, the odd grey is swiftly dealt with and a few pretty colour variations are painted around your face to give everything a bit of an oomph.
You leave with hair like you used to have: full, bright, shiny and with one hell of a swoosh. Swedish colour wizard Christel Barron-Hough opened Stil in 2016, a minimalist jewel box of a salon, and Notting Hill is all the better for it. Potty not just about colour, but all things healthy, they'll pour you a glass of Blk (an alkaline, fulvic-trace-mineral-infused spring water - yes, we are being serious), before conducting an in-depth, get-to-know-you 30-minute consultation.
Ask for Lumière Lights, which is a softer version of balayage and gives a hair a silvery, elfin glaze. Demand is so high that they've just opened a swishy sister salon in Chelsea. The message at the wonderfully uncomplicated Glasshouse is simple - plants are where it's at.
Which means ammonia- and paraben-free dyes, products in recyclable packaging and the greenest, meanest matcha lattes. Though that's not to say the results are in any way wishy-washy: white-blonde, traffic-light-red, powder-pink and lilac washes are all yours for the asking, and will leave hair smelling like a giant Parma violet. We know all about make-up contouring and its ability to whip up razor-sharp cheekbones, but now Charles Worthington brings us hair contouring.
A novelty? Maybe. Does it actually work? Yes. Art director Marc Trinder is the go-to guy for subtle highlighting that slims and shapes the face.
First there's a 'face fitting', to decide which sections of hair to colour. Now don't get upset if you don't have the desired oval shape, or if you think you're a heart but are actually a square. Just trust that Marc's flattering hand will leave you liking your face more than ever - even after three hours of staring at it in the mirror.
Some salons are intimidating, but Seed, with prices that won't make your eyes water and antlers on the walls, isn't one of them. Reassuringly, regulars all have something in common: natural, healthy-looking, even-your-own-mother-wouldn't-guess-it-wasn't-your-own colour. So, hair-dye virgins, be brave: trust your colourist because not only will they comb, section and paint with gusto, but the end result will fill you with uncontainable joy and confidence.
As will that free glass of fizz that they hand you upon arrival. There are further outposts in Kensington and Clapham. There are many things you want to achieve when you dye your hair.
Like making it look as though you've spent a week on Harbour Island. Or hiding the fact that you're no longer 16. But hair that looks full of life while giving your skin a glow? Obviously.
So try the micro-balayage at Gielly Green, where the dye is painted on freeform, focusing more on the underside (the results are soft and natural). Or the new Colour Detox Treatment, a vegan-based mask that rids the hair of city pollution, hard water and mineral buildup (iron, calcium, chlorine). It makes blonde hair less brassy, and brunettes newly bright (it’s also available at the new Four Seasons Ten Trinity Square salon).
Then the compliments start. Have you been away? Your skin is great! Why are you looking so happy, anyway? You're happy because you've got good hair. There's a bit of a French thing going on over at 77, which looks like the sort of hip, uncluttered Parisian apartment you'd find in the Marais - music streamed from South of France radio stations and an excellent wine list add to the feel.
Founder and owner Loic (expect an accent that'll make you weak at the knees) is full of techniques learnt in his native Marseilles, and his signature balayage will leave your hair looking not streaky, not stripy, but lighter and brighter - sort of like it's just been on a nice jaunt to St Tropez. His advice? 'If your colour looks expensive, the rest of you will follow.' Tucked away in an idyllic cul-de-sac in the heart of West London's Chelsea, GA Salon offers a peaceful, chic space to enjoy their natural treatments, far from the hustle and bustle of the nearby King’s Road.
The salon’s philosophy is centred on zero chemicals and additives, where transformative natural ingredients reign supreme. Their team of senior stylists and art directors are charming, attentive, and exceptionally talented, with years of experience. Be sure to ask for Rosanna, whose expertise and charm are unparalleled.
You'll leave with hair you didn't know you needed: perfectly clean, cut, moisturised, and irresistibly blow-dried. With delicious coffee and a vibrant atmosphere, you won’t want to go home. Luckily, the location is just a stone's throw from Stanleys and the Builders Arms, the perfect high-society spots to show off your new look.
.. You know those wispy bits? The ones around your hairline, those baby hairs that tend to get forgotten about in the excitement of T-bars, half-heads and the like? Well, fine and flimsy and free-spirited as they may be, they are also key to prolonging that glorious, glowing, post-holiday halo of bright blonde.
Devised by colourist, stylist and all-round hair whizz Sophie Grant, the hairline lift gently lightens these tendrils by a couple of shades to frame your face with a pretty golden haze. It's brilliant news for those held hostage to highlights, or very useful for simply eking out your colour in between more in-depth appointments (a blessed relief for those who know the trials of having to spend hours rattling with foils ). Owner Richard took over this place a few years ago, turning it from a chintzy neighbourhood salon into an elegant space where stylists could work between shoots.
Its success is down to his obsessive attention to detail (ask him about the Little Greene blue-grey paint on the walls), and he's just as meticulous when it comes to the colour that goes up top. Yes, he freestyle paints with gusto, but he can still do the full-head-of-foils thing too. He's so laidback that clients text him to book, which is never a hassle - Richard lives next to the salon and finds it hard to say no.
Samantha's salon is a riot: popcorn spills from golden pineapples and you'll have a cocktail in your hand before you can say Mermaid Martini (a candy floss-prosecco hybrid that'll give you a sugar rush as high as your hair). Her signature balayage is the envy of every girl, while the semi-permanent washes (try bubblegum pink) are the stuff of teenage dreams. Don't miss Sidney the bulldog, who is so sociable that he has his own Instagram account ( ).
This Clapton salon has style: US postal boxes hide sockets and old shutters cordon off styling stations. And the same can be said of the colourists - like Harriet Muldoon, who takes your tired old hair and returns it to you looking brighter, shinier and distinctly less mousy. Her newest trick is the 'sun bun': hair is coiled into a doughnut then streaked with rainbow-coloured dyes.
The result? Pretty, pastel-y and sun-bleached - basically, beach-ready. Hari's specialises in highlights for people who just don't have the patience for highlights. The newly launched T-bar is a quick-fix optical illusion; a blast of summer tint on the most visible areas of your hair - the central parting and a sweep around your face.
Which means a delicately balanced combination of high and lowlights, bright enough to cheer hair up between the full-head appointments, but considered enough that it shouts ' ', not 'just back from the salon'. Throw in an Olaplex treatment - a combination of almond and aloe oils, plus vitamins C and A, that does its damned best to make the colouring process as kind as possible - and you can be in and out in just over an hour. You know you’re in good company when the Duchess of Cornwall, Nigella Lawson and Sophie Dahl are all rumoured to have frequented the same salon as you.
That’s the case for Jo Hansford, the Mayfair stalwart that has endured for over two decades, who is known for her dab hand with colour and tint. After a consultation, your colourist will get to work transforming your locks, with the thoroughly indulgent wash and condition to look forward to afterwards (plus a Kerastase treatment and head massage, naturally). There’s a warm, friendly atmosphere, with a lot of care taken to make the client happy (whether that’s popping out for a coffee, or giving honest advice on what suits), so it’s no surprise that several of the stylists have been here for years.
Emerging hours later with a bouncy blow-dry - the kind that begs to be shown off - it’s clear why Hansford has such a good reputation amongst the glamorous and the good..
