Would you clean your hotel room before the maid came?

Should I wash my hair before coming to the Salon?

We don't want to be gross or anything but we love dirty hair. Ok, there is a cut off point of  how many days you can go without shampooing, but you should NEVER (except one instance!) shampoo your hair before you come to the salon.

Coming for your colour done? Always come with dry hair (Professional Tip!) it saves time if you want to be out on time, and means that it won't need to be blow dried before hand!  Dirty hair (second...even third day hair is ok) makes it easier for the technician to place foils.  Oils secreted by your hair also form a type of protection against possible irritation by the colour!

With a haircut...Well having a dry cut is like going to McDonalds for a Salad.  You want the burger but you've cheated yourself out of it, and it costs exactly the same!  You have come to the professionals and it costs no more or less to sit back in our shiatsu massage chairs, and feel the stress of every day life melt away with every knot that is kneaded out of your back by the chair. Pair that with the KILLER head ritual that is done during your shampoo and you will wonder why you cheated yourself out of this experience for so long!

But you should come with your hair styled the way you normally wear it.  Makes it easier for the Stylists to see what you do with your hair, and see what kind of effort and/or style you put in yourself.

Hair Up and Curling appointments should always be washed and dried the day before, then just left.  No styling products...no oils...just your hair. Okay...Maybe a volumising cream such as Forme Fatale or Lift Vertige from Kerastase but nothing else!  It gives a great base for doing hair up and curling, and if we need to change the texture for any reason then we can always do that in the chair :)

And that exception when you should wash your hair....Chlorine.  Always wash your hair after being in a swimming pool...Chlorine reacts with colour, and the results can be...how shall we say...Interesting?  Also if you have put any lightening products such as SUN-IN or other type of thing, let your stylist know!  The results of that with foils and lifting agents can be very serious!

So if you haven't washed your hair when you visit us...Don't worry, it's going to happen anyway.  It's like cleaning the hotel room before the maid comes!

Thank Blog it's Friday! Blow Dry Blues?

Saran hair is a beautiful thing a photo by *Saffy* on Flickr.

Ok so we have all had it.

You get to that point before your next hair appointment, and you just wake up, and do everything as normal when POW! Your hair feels, looks, and acts as though it has been replaced with the hair of Satan.

It's fly away, it's lumpy, it won't curl in the right place, or lie flat where it's supposed to. So what do you do? Back in the day, I used to start with a little water, put it on, lay it flat or curl it out and wait for it to dry... Into exactly the same position it was in before.

Secondly comes the product attack. We start with gels, seeing if we can somehow push it down, just to watch it... slowly... rise back up. As if in slow motion pushing up a hairy middle finger at you in the mirror.

Thirdly comes the all out surrender of washing your hair, and trying to make it work again, and again, and again.... And we arrive back at the start.

Well ladies, i'm a gent, and I can't begin to imagine the horror of having a bad hair day when my hair is over 6 inches long, so for you girls with meters of it... I salute you. However I came up with a solution and it worked for me and my short curly locks, so for you guys it's a sure fire thing. It's a three pronged attack, and it is amazingly simple.

Step 1. Switch on your Computer

Step 2. Sit in their chair

Step 3. Watch Camilla show you how to do it!

Here she is with hints and tips on how to blowdry your own hair....Thank Blog It's Friday!

Thank blog it's Friday!

What are you going to do with your hair?  You had the slick pony last weekend, and the thought of sitting there with a pair of curling tongs and hairspray, with Neighbours in the background brings on thoughts of suicide. Plus, you haven't washed your hair for the three days... What the hell are you going to do???

QUIFF IT!

It's a brilliant idea... I know!!  The great thing about the quiff is they can be as rough and textured, or as smooth and sleek as you like, they always look great!

We've seen them on the Red Carpet from the likes of Cat Deeley

As you can see here with her sporting a lovely textured quiff, it doesn't have to be perfect for it to look good, in some cases the rougher it's put up the better it looks.

image courtesy of glamourmagazine.co.uk

I know what you're thinking... ''I've got short hair I can't do that'' Well NEVER say never, Rihanna with her short hair managed to put it up into a stylish quiff. 

image courtesy of mariclaire.co.uk

Now unlike Rihanna, we know that you don't have a team of sixteen stylists there to do your make up and hair before you go out, or wake up in the morning (Wouldn't that be great?)  so here is our wonderful Camilla again to show you how to do it at home... I know... You can thank me later...

The 'F' Word - Thank Blog it's Friday!

We're talking about Friday!

Now the video blog has become so popular,  we have given it a dedicated title..... 'Thank Blog it's Friday!'


We will give you little video blogs to inspire you to look and feel fabulous.  If you would like to learn how to give yourself fantastic hair quickly, or if you are looking for some inspiration for the next style that you want to have, we are here to help!


We will be taking styles from the salons latest collections, and drawing experience from our team of Stylists to keep you in touch with everything from Catwalk Hair to Individual style.


Whatever you want, let us know and we will try our best to get it on the blog for you.  Whether it's a 'how to' or a type of style that you want to see on somebody, or simply some recommendations of products that are best for you,  we are fully interactive and happy to show you why we are so passionate about what we do.


A request, from a young lady Shelley, was how to do the 'flicks' in the hair that you see some stunning ladies on the red carpet with, a bit of old school Glamour made famous again by Celebs like Eva Longoria, can really transform you from sleek and chic to flicked and frisky.

Ask... & Thy will be done!  Now we didn't want to just blog how to do the flicks,we wanted to ACTUALLY show her, so we got her here to the Salon and used her in the blog she asked for...Cool huh!!


Don't forget...if there's something you want to see, then simply drop us some feedback in the comment box, or find us on Facebook with the link on the left, and we will get right back to you!


 Enjoy :)

Cheryl Cole... to bob or not to bob?... that is the question

After only just coming to terms with the fact that Katy Perry dipped herself in poor girls ginger juice, I open a web page and lo and behold...

Yes that's right... Cheryl Cole has chopped her hair off.  Let me tell you I am not jealous of the poor stylist (Lisa Laudat) that had to battle with her barnet, and be personally responsible for putting a new hairstyle on one of the nations most photographed Celebs.


But the Colourist Amie Wilson quoted it as the "smokey eyes of hair".  What I am shocked at is, how suddenly Cheryl has gone from a woman with 50 heads of hair to this 'inbetweenie' bob.  From this photo above it looks like it has loads of texture and a stunning shape, but when you see it from another angle ...

You get the full effect of the cut.  Now this will be week two that I have chucked my bag down in the Salon kitchen and literally shaken a stylist like a man possessed.  Let me tell you they don't react well to being man handled at 8am on a Tuesday morning.   This time Kristina was in the firing line, and she had barely tucked into her morning breakfast coffee, before I had her dragged by the hand behind me like some kind of human wedding trail. 


'Oh.'  Said Kristina after she had dusted herself down and stopped herself from choking on her breakfast that I'd catapulted her from.


'It's not really here nor there is it?'   Exactly my thoughts.... I mean... this woman is a National ICON.  What on earth is she doing?  I heard a young guest say that it looks like she has had her head trapped in a lift?


Obviously dragging Kristina away from her morning coffee did not do Cheryl's new style any favours... after stepping back she said " I'm confused.com..... husband... no husband... long hair... short hair, the girl just doesn't know what to do!"


After returning Kristina to the saucer of milk she had left in the kitchen, we discussed the new look as a team.  Obviously some social activity and a couple of more coffees, gave Kristina a new insight.  "It makes her look older... and it's very safe... pretty uninspiring really"


A-symmetric is nothing new, and I must admit, personally, I am very torn about this style.  The texture and the movement look really dynamic.  However from the front it looks like someones going for the bob and she's screamed "STOP!" before they had a chance to sort it out.  It's too long to be funky, but not long enough to be something more traditional.  But you've got to give the girl credit for having the guts and trying something new. 


The colour is just ageing on her, she appears to have lost that 'glow' that she once had, and now seems a little lack luster.  We're not saying it's a bad colour... it's just not for her. 


BUT it's popular opinion that wins out.  So what do you think?  Should she dig those extensions out or stay with?

If Carlsberg did Party hair, it would probably look like this

Every body has had it... You're in work, it's 4:30 and you get the phone call from your friend... "Don't forget we're going to that party tonight!"  You go home, put the ice cream that you were looking forward to for your night in back in the freezer, and leave the DVD for another night.  You look in the mirror and what stares back at you?  Some limp haired lay about that looks like they've been forced through a trouser press without the heat on, and you only have 45 minutes to change yourself into a high street honey and make the ex boyfriend realise, you're the best thing since Disneyland.

Oila!  Here we have Camilla demonstrating how to get party hair in five minutes with just ONE product.  Yes one product only!  Now go get 'em tiger!

Guess what! O M G ... K P!

KP's new hair...

What's up with this picture!


Now we all know Katy Perry for her dark hair which brings out her incredibly coloured eyes....

So...imagine my surprise when i discovered she has turned into a red head!  Working as the Guest Manager within Tommy's Hair Company it is my duty to stay abreast of all things hair related and i thought i had Katy sussed for flying the flag for the rich darker tones that some people... no matter what... will not get away with, you know who you are people!!! If Katy was hoping to get some stylists attention with the change of colour... I think she has got it!

I couldn't stop thinking about Katy's new look on my walk to the salon. I burst in the salon door and without even saying good morning grabbed Camilla our Top Stylist and shoved the picture in her face; "Whatcha think about that?" Always the professional Camilla took a step back regained her composure and said; "No coffee for you today Gavyn?" Slightly embarrassed that i had been rumbled i asked Camilla for her opinion in a more calm and collective manner, which she was delighted to give; ''I feel she is following the 'ombre' style that is really popular at the moment with other celebs like Jennifer Aniston.  It's definitely more of a 'girl next door' look rather than the darker bold impact colour we're used to her wearing. Is that ok for you Gavyn?" and off she waltzed looking extremely pleased with her good deed for the morning.

I should have left it there but i kept looking at KP's picture throughout the day trying to work out my feelings. First of all let's just say from experience (and i'm sure anyone with a teenage child will have gone through this tragedy at some point), getting rid of black from your hair is no easy task... it takes time! Using techniques and methods to try and best protect the condition of the hair without losing the healthy bounce and lustre that Katy's hair especially is known for, could not have been a simple task.

So i'm left wondering if this is an 'in-between' colour on a journey to something completely different, or is the red here to stay? After an enjoyable day within the salon talking to our stylists and guests i think i have decided on my feelings. I believe that your hair should reflect your personality and be indicative of what you want to put out there about yourself for everyone to see. Oh and lets not forget the importance of skintone when it comes to colour. In my opinion KP's colour should be bold and bright to go with her high energy positive singing and performance style. For me this colour washes her out and looks pretty boring.... I'm afraid to say Katy pastels simply aren't for you!

But what do you think... Teenage Dream or Grown-up Nightmare?



















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