The Pond Hair London — Local services in London

TL;DR: Do NOT go here if you have even slightly textured hair or want a cut that isn't just a trim with a little bit of layering. I never write reviews, and especially not bad ones, but after going here, I look like a Karen, so I guess this is me stepping into my new identity. I am really surprised that this place has such high reviews. My experience here was uncomfortable from start to finish. I booked my appointment online; however, when I came, the stylists didn't know what service I had booked. I found this odd, but it didn't really bother me. The cut was the problem. I got the impression early on that the hairdresser was not very experienced or skilled. When I told her what I wanted, it felt like it went in one ear and out the other. She took a picture of what I wanted on her phone, and then did not look at it at all over the next two hours (the cut went on for an hour longer than it should have). She started off just trimming the hair and doing some light layers, which didn't look bad but was not what I asked for. Then she dried my hair, and essentially started cutting my hair at random. I have wavy hair that gets frizzy when dried with a hairdryer - it sticks in every direction - but despite this, she kept going. It was at this point I realised she didn't know what she was doing. She pretty much did the same haircut all over again, but shorter and more uneven, and then she started cutting layers at random, focusing mostly on one side of my head. On this side, some of the layers are now two inches long, while on the other side, none of them are. On the side she neglected, she also didn't notice that she'd left a chunk of hair two inches longer than the rest. At that point, I just didn't want her to touch my hair anymore and went home and cut it off myself. Unsurprisingly, my hair looks nothing like the picture I showed, and unfortunately for me, I have never felt uglier. Now, maybe this hairdresser was only an apprentice (the cut was 63 gbp), but I was never informed of that, and she had zero supervision for the entire two hours I was there. Needless to say, I will never go back here - and if you are considering this salon, I recommend finding...

Edting this in resonse to the answer from the salon that even better showcases their approch: rude, incosiderate, robotic and completely missing the points I made. I will quote your staff member again : " There are many salons in London. You dont have to come here". This was in response to my surprise at the £73 price tag for a 1 cm trim. You sould be ashamed of yourself trying to wiggle out and put "context" beyond it rather than simply extending an apology for your extreme rudeness. I've been living in this area for several years. You are an absolute disgrace to the community.

Absolutely SHOCKING experience. I walked in to politely ask for a trim, just 1cm off a single section of hair. First, the staff member told me to book online, despite having the booking system open in front of him. Then he quoted me £73, saying the cheapest stylist “isn’t available.” When I expressed surprise at the price, he looked at me and said: “There are a lot of salons in London. You don’t have to come here.” Word for word.

I live in this community, and every other shop or business I walk into treats locals with respect and warmth, they want to build relationships. This was the complete opposite. Cold, arrogant and dismissive.

Pond Hair markets itself as a Japanese salon but there was nothing remotely welcoming or respectful about how I was treated. If you’re going to capitalise on Japanese branding, at least uphold the values of the culture that come with it. And maybe, just maybe offer a basic trim service rather than pushing people into overpriced appointments.

I’ll be making sure everyone I know avoids this place. A truly awful experience and...

I could only assume they are so good that most of their customers are long-term clients. As a want be new client, I was so confused by the whole online system and the correct way to arrange a cut + colour that I emailed them a few times (because there are no other ways to reach them). However, I didnt get any clarity from their answers and the online system was so difficult to navigate that I end up feeling frustrated and booked elsewhere.

Given the number of hairdressers around the area, I trust they must do a fantastic job with their existing customers to stay in business because my experience suggests they are not interested in winning...