Shades Hair Studio Primrose Hill — Local services in London

I will give a very honest review here. I don’t often leave reviews.

I booked an appointment over the phone to get a balayage, haircut and blowdry. I’ve only had balayage once before and the process is quite new to me. I followed the account on Instagram and was sent a message to let me know that I’d receive a 10% discount as a new customer which was very nice.

I arrived to my appointment and the manager was very friendly. I had an appointment with Sara and she quickly came over to introduce herself. I showed a few photos to Sara so she has an idea of what I’d like, she offered some pointers and went straight into it. The whole process was advertised as £85 but Sara told Me that it would be an extra £20 if she thinks that I would need to use a toner. No problem.

The salon was quite clean and quiet. Sara then washed off the hair dye, put on the toner as she said I would need it and then followed it with a haircut. She didn’t cut a lot as I told her I only wanted a trim and she respected that. Everything seemed fine, no complaints at all. When I went to pay, I completely forgot about the 10% discount and it wasn’t mentioned to me either. It’s not a big deal but maybe they could make a note to remind themselves as well of new customers.

When I finally washed and styled my hair myself at home I noticed a few things that weren’t that great. The color wasn’t the best and In some areas it didn’t feel like it blended that well with my hair color. The cut - I part my hair in the middle and I only realized when I styled my hair myself that one side is significantly shorter than the other. It’s not a big issue but you can tell at times - especially when I straighten my hair.

To conclude, its a perfectly ok salon. You’ll get what you ask for but may not be the absolute best. I may go back for a color but will be more specific.

Edit in response to Salons comment I did actually tell them what I was getting done via instagram dm and I received a response that I’d still qualify for the 10% discount.

Also - its not that theres nothing ‘great’. Just that the cut was uneven in the...

Ruined wedding hair, refund refused

I went for a late evening appointment with Nico in Primrose Hill to correct the three different blonde tones I had to one ashy colour. Initially I was pleased with results, but it was with presence of daylight the following morning I realised the bright neon salon lights had disguised the fact my hair had simply been covered in bleach followed by a toner that was so uneven I now have colours ranging from orange, purple, yellow and even black in my hair.

I brought this to Nico’s attention and showed him photos which prompted him to invite me back for a correction using further lightening. My usual colourist who i was unable to book on this occasion saw photos and told me the last thing I need is more lightening in my hair as it would cause irreparable damage.

Having politely declined Nico’s offer because of this, he told me I will not be refunded as I’m refusing his offer to redo my hair.

I was having this done for my wedding and I can’t afford to get it done again without a refund. I’m totally devastated by their lack of professionalism and from reading their patronising stock responses to negative reviews I highly doubt this will prompt them to do anything about it.

Blondes - avoid this place like the plague. They clearly have no idea what they’re doing and you won’t see your...

I visited Shades after seeing the great reviews and hearing a friend's recommendation.

I came in to get an older balayage covered/colour corrected with a toner & get my hair cut.

👍 The staff was nice. 👍 The colour came out good and lasted quite well. 👍 The services were priced at a fair price point.

👎 The hair cut was probably one of the worst I've ever had. I mentioned that I don't like harsh layers and somehow I ended up walking out with super choppy, layered hair and very uneven ends. 👎 There were longer wait times between the different stages of my appointment since the stylist was busy doing somebody else's hair and kept going back and forth between customers. Because of this my appointment ended up taking twice as long as it usually would take.

I traveled abroad a few days later which is why I couldn't go back to get the cut corrected. The picture was taken a just few days after my appointment. Hopefully this was a one off since so many of the reviews...