I don't know if anyone else does this, but I've never really got settled into using the same hairdressers. I've never been somewhere that I was completely happy with and so always swapped around a bit which is all good fun, but it's even better when your hairdresser actually knows your hair, and you can have a good chinwag and feel completely comfortable. I've had my fair share of poor salon experiences, not necessarily that i'd had a bad hair cut, but the atmosphere and staff and all the other elements that make up the general experience just weren't good. So after all that, when I heard that Saks (which as far as I understand is a franchise, its kind of a chain, but each branch is run by an individual who's paid and organised to set it up) were coming to Exeter I was very intrigued!
I followed the progress of the salon opening on Twitter and Facebook and decided to take advantage of their first cut and blow-dry for £25 offer. This was all the way back in February. I am guilty of neglecting my hair. I'm stubborn and no matter how many people tell me it will grow faster the more you cut it, i don't believe it. So i didn't go back until last week!
I decided to jump on the ombre/dip-dye bandwagon and have a cheeky trim at the same time.
I booked my colour with Hayley (their dip-dye genius!) and my cut was with Tash (equally genius!) I turned up on Friday at 2pm when Ellie greeted me at reception, took my coat and shopping bags and hung them up for me then directed me upstairs.
I sat down in the little seating area, just off the salon floor and was instantly offered a cup of tea or coffee, which is lovely! So many salons don't do this when it's such a simple thing that can completely change the experience. Hayley came over and we went to sit down and discuss my colour.
We decided on (i think!) half head of two colour highlights, concentrating it on the ends, and then she'd put a high lift tint, mixed with a bit of something else in hairdresser language, on the very ends of the top layers of my hair to bring it to a coppery tone so the gradient of the colour wasn't too harsh.
I had a lovely chat with Hayley and Lucy (again, I think!) and it was like talking to friends. Not the usual 'are you going on holiday this year?', 'hows work?", but you could tell there was a really good atmosphere between everyone who works there, i heard many tales of bananas and doing each others hair!
It ended up taking aaagggesss to lift the colour on my hair, this has happened before and i think it's just my barnet being a bit stubborn but after a long time under the heat i went over to the sinks. This is one of my favourite bits! I sat down in the massage chairs. Yes, massage chairs. You can adjust the intensity and even have your feet lifted up so you're reclined all the way. It was the perfect way to relax and do absolutely nothing on my day off, other than have a wonderful head massage!
They then put a special treatment on my hair and i sat back down with the latest copy of Elle and a miniature cafetiere while i waited for it to work its magic.
At about 5:15 (yes my hair is that stubborn!) Tash came over and we started on my cut. I've had so many scissor happy hairdressers that don't understand how much I'm trying to grow my hair so I explained to her that I knew it was really damaged but please could she take the minimum off and sat and watched from behind my hand! Not literally but you get the picture.
To cut a long story short, Tash was amazing! She took off enough for it to not look frazzled but not so much that i felt all my scalp massaging, hair growth tablets and laying off the end of my bed (gravity, right?) had gone to waste.
Tash and Hayley joined forced to rough dry my hair, then Tash blow-dried it round a brush so it was all bouncy and shiny and lovely! Normally I've asked to have it blow-dried straight but it ends up slicked down to my head so this was a nice change.
I remember a certain salon- naming no names- I had booked in for highlights, a cut and rough dry. When it came to the drying, she asked how i wanted it done, which i thought odd as I'd only booked a rough dry. So i asked if she could do it fairly straight for me to which she replied 'well you're only booked in for a rough dry so I'm going to have to do it like that'… what?!?
But anyway, I think we finally finished up at about 6pm, when the salon closes (sorry guys!) and went downstairs where I had another lovely chat with Ellie, Tash and Hayley while i picked up my coat and bags. I paid £102 for my hair, and that was with a £10 off voucher and was actually less than i was supposed to pay, but thats a whole 'nother story! Yes, its expensive, there's no doubt about that! But i've paid more for a horrible experience where i was so unhappy with the results… Hi Toni & Guy ;)… and as i've said before, i believe you get what you pay for. I had an amazing colour,
wonderful cut,
lovely head massage,
lovely massaging chairs,
fabulous blowdry,
genuinely interesting conversation,
sat in their beautiful salon,
a huge cup of tea,
a huge cup of coffee,
2 biscuits…
and walked away with numerous 'recommend a friend for 25% off' cards, a loyalty card which I'm kicking myself for not having on me now- blogging on the go- but the everytime you go, you get it stamped, and at certain stages receive little discounts and treats with a minimum spend, an excellent new blogger to follow and a huge smile on my face!
I honestly can't remember the last time I walked out of the hairdressers and wasn't rushing to get home and wash and style it myself. I wanted to go out and show it off and tell people all about it!
Thank you so much Ellie, Hayley, Tash and everyone at Saks for making my little visit so wonderful and memorable :) needless to say, i'll be going back.
Pay them a visit, you won't regret it! xxx
Oh, and this is my hair the morning after, i stupidly forgot to take a photo when i came out!
