Live True London Soho ✂ — Local services in London

I don’t even know where to start, I simply had the worst experience right from the start with this salon.

In May I purchased the 3+1 root tint package, I did my patch test in salon and I booked my first appointment online (you can’t book it in person if you purchase a package). They cancelled my appointment just 3 hours before (if the customer cancels with such short notice we’re requested to pay, but they can cancel without giving you a solution). The month after I book again a new appointment and guess what? They cancel less than 24h before. Root tints are usually booked before an event of any kind and it’s extremely frustrating to get it cancelled so last minute, they don’t even provide a real solution (like moving you to a different salon). So I contacted customer service because I wanted my money back as the service is extremely poor and I don’t want to deal with them anymore. They initially say they can’t offer me a refund and after A LOT of back and forth by email we met halfway: they will refund me the two cancelled appointments and I keep the two remaining. The also offered me a complimentary moisturising treatment for the trouble.

So I book a third appointment, I arrive at the salon and the ladies say the patch test I did was not for roots (????) and they can’t proceed. I thought it was a joke and I told them I wanted to sign a paper that I took the responsibility if anything goes wrong but they needed to do my root tint. The hairdresser that served me was a very nice person but she was not good at her job unfortunately. She barely washed off my tint (once home I stained a towel for good) and the complimentary “moisturising treatment” is a conditioner LOL. The washing bit was painful but anyway worth saying she almost blow dried my hair (as in, put more effort than just rough dry).

I finally book my last appointment, which was today. The hairdresser that is serving me is extremely nice and very good at her job - I’m thinking this time I might be happy! At the beginning she wants to discuss rough dry as I’ve got curly hair and I say that I’ve got my own products with me, if she could just use a diffuser for the rough dry that would be great. She says that it might take longer so she needs to check and that also if it takes longer there might be a charge, but I say no it’s fine if we only dry the roots and the rest can stay wet and the conversation ends there. The whole appointment goes very smooth, as I said she’s very good. I apply my products on wet hair and she proceeds with the diffuser. At some point I say yeah that’s fine we can stop even if hair is not completely dry (as I thought that’s what we agreed), only to get at the till and I’m told I need to pay £15 for the extra 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 because that took more time than a normal rough dry (which I assure you it did not). To me this is a joke and literally the whole experience was just a...

I rarely leave reviews, but I felt I had to share my experience.

I arrived on time for my appointment, but they didn’t actually start applying the highlights until an hour later – no apology, no drink offered while I waited, nothing. I had booked the package with a glass of Prosecco included, and even after mentioning it, it took over 20 minutes for the stylist to mix the colour and she returned empty-handed. When I asked about the Prosecco again, she blamed the receptionist and said she said it wasn’t included (even though I said it was? you would want to come back to me approaching what your colleague has said instead of dismissive me?). After a confusing and unprofessional back-and-forth between staff, I was eventually handed a mini bottle – but at that point the moment was gone. The whole idea is to enjoy it during the treatment, not as an afterthought.

As for the hair, I explained very clearly (even showed a photo) that I wanted a few soft caramel highlights. What I ended up with was a head of platinum blonde streaks. When I politely said this wasn’t what I asked for, the stylist responded, “Well, you were quite dark before.” Yes, that’s the point – I didn’t want to be blonde. But after four exhausting hours there, I didn’t have the energy to argue. I just wanted to leave!

The washing process was just as bad – the water temperature constantly fluctuated from boiling to freezing. I have a sensitive scalp, so this was really uncomfortable. I noticed a different stylist next to me asking her client about water temperature and offering water – clearly, it just depends who you get. My stylist, Glenesa, barely spoke to me throughout the entire appointment, making the atmosphere cold and impersonal.

To top it all off, they charged me an extra £34 for toner – something I assumed was part of the package price, as it usually is in most salons. Again, no transparency and no prior mention of this cost.

The salon itself felt chaotic and disorganised. There’s no proper reception area to wait, just two chairs NEXT ti the door, no clear system, and staff seemed to be running around confused. Most clients seemed to be new (likely from deals like myself), but instead of trying to make a good first impression, it felt like they just wanted to rush you through and move on to the next.

To be clear – my hair doesn’t look awful, and the technique was fine, but it’s completely different from what I asked for. Now I’m stuck deciding whether to fully dye it or keep doing highlights to maintain it, which I was trying to avoid at all costs in the first place.

Overall, it was a really poor experience – dismissive, disorganised, and overpriced. I won’t...

A Disappointing and Misleading Experience

I booked an appointment at this salon based on an advertised 50% off offer for a full head balayage, cut, and blow dry, which seemed like a great deal. However, the entire experience was extremely frustrating and felt misleading from start to finish.

I first attempted to attend a virtual consultation three separate times, and on each occasion, no one showed up. After being ignored, I had to reach out via Instagram DMs to finally get a response. I explained that I was unsure whether I wanted balayage or highlights and what the final price would be as per the reference pictures I wanted to provide as applied to my hair. I was reassured that it wouldn’t affect the price, I could decide on the day.

Following this guidance, I booked the appointment. However, when I arrived, I was presented with a quote of £300 — more than double the advertised offer. They told me this was because of the additional toners, treatment and root shadow I needed as per my reference pictures. This was the exact issue I tried to gain clarity on three times through the consultation (that’s what they’re for), which they told me It wouldn’t matter.

I was told that if I didn’t accept the new price, I would be charged the full price of the service as a no-show, despite not having received any service yet. This felt incredibly unfair and like I was being trapped into paying more than I had originally agreed to.

I disputed the price for over an hour, during which some staff members who were not even doing my hair started getting involved and were incredibly rude and dismissive and tried to tell me that i’m cheap and that people at this salon pay £700 for balayage and this is normal. My original stylist thereafter refused to do my hair after I raised concerns about the price, yet I was still being told I had to pay in full and contact customer service for a refund.

To be fair, the stylist who ended up doing my hair did a very good job, but the lack of communication, misleading pricing, and poor customer service completely overshadowed the experience. I also asked to speak to a manager during my visit and there wasn’t one. Reading other reviews afterward, I noticed this is a recurring issue, with many customers left without responses from...