Hi. Does anyone know of a good affordable stylist in london that really understands curly hair? I went to one in shoreditch recently and she gave me a good cut and put a Mizani treatment on my hair, butt he whole thing cost £75!!! For a hair cut! Im a student, so just cant afford it. Also, although it was quite a good cut, I’d asked her to make it the same all the way around, she still left it longer at the back. Needless to say, I wont be going back.

curlylocks - 02 October 2009 04:55 PM

Hi. Does anyone know of a good affordable stylist in london that really understands curly hair? I went to one in shoreditch recently and she gave me a good cut and put a Mizani treatment on my hair, butt he whole thing cost £75!!! For a hair cut! Im a student, so just cant afford it. Also, although it was quite a good cut, I’d asked her to make it the same all the way around, she still left it longer at the back. Needless to say, I wont be going back.

Hi curlylocks

I go to Unruly Studios in Portobello Road west London and see Michael, the director for my cut and Christopher the technical director for my colour. They love curly hair at Unruly - Michael and Claudio are both great at cutting and styling curly hair. It is the only salon I have come across that is aware of the difference between straight hair and curly hair - in that curly hair needs to be treated differently. They don’t use towels on curly hair and they apply products to dripping wet hair. They have a special chair (like a dentist chair) for diffuse drying so you can lie back properly in comfort! Michael usually cuts hair wet but he has also cut mine dry. They are a forward thinking salon that want to perfect their techniques with curly hair and are improving all the time.

It is not cheap but neither is it expensive for London - certainly not as expensive as the salon you went to in Shoreditch. I have pasted the link to their site below - their price list is on the site.

http://www.unrulystudio.com/index.php

Something to note - most of the products used in the salon would not be considered ‘CG’ so you would need to take your own if you are sulphate and ‘cone free. I take my own stuff with me - they have no problem with that.

HTH

Thanks Crystaltips, thats really helpful. I dont mind if its a bit expensive, I just dont like to be suprised with a hefty bill! I had heard of that salon, but didnt know anyone who had been. Ill definately give it a try now!x

Omgsh! Thank you soooooooooo much CrystalTips and Curlylocks!!!! I’ve been looking for curly expert hairdressers!!! :D :D

P.S. This is my 1st time on British Curlies & my 1st post! Wooohoo!

JungleHead - 17 November 2009 09:18 PM

Omgsh! Thank you soooooooooo much Administrator and New British Curlies Star!!! I’ve been looking for curly expert hairdressers!!! :D :D

P.S. This is my 1st time on British Curlies & my 1st post! Wooohoo!

Hi there JungleHead - welcome to British Curlies! So pleased we could help you in your quest to find a stylist. If you do go to Unruly Studios (or any other salon), please post up your review here. TIA! 

I’ve been to both the salons mentioned here - Unruly & ID in Shoreditch.

I know Unruly has a lot of good feedback online for Michael being great with curly hair, but no better than anyone else to be honest.

The one is Shoreditch was much better, been there a couple of times - but just all SO expensive!!

Curly Lox - 02 December 2009 12:46 PM

I’ve been to both the salons mentioned here - Unruly & ID in Shoreditch.

I know Unruly has a lot of good feedback online for Michael being great with curly hair, but no better than anyone else to be honest.

The one is Shoreditch was much better, been there a couple of times - but just all SO expensive!!

Hi there Curly Lox

Would be great if you could post up a full review of each salon - TIA! 

Ok, just for you CrystalTips (I used to get called that as well, I remember the cartoon - except my hair isn’t purple!)

Unruly - Hairdresser (Michael) Portobello Road, London

Basically I was hunting on the internet a few years ago and came across Michael as apparently he seemed to be a God when it came to curly hair - so I thought I’d give him a go.  He never really discussed ways to look after my hair, cut it wet (I think he may have used Tigi curls rock to style (it was quite a few years back now!). The only thing he did different was dry my hair lying down (yes…really!). He laid the chair out flat and dried it with a difusser, can’t really see any difference with that than compared to me flipping forward. A standard cut really, so nothing impressive - I think it was around £50/£60.

ID - Hairdresser (Kelly) Shoreditch, London

Kelly has curly hair herself, so that’s always a positive to begin with! They do Afro/European/Mixed-race hair (as they put it!), so all the basis are pretty much covered. I’ve been there a few times now and both times had high-lights done which turned out nice. I actually mentioned to her that I usually used Mixed Chicks, which is something she was keen to try out herself. I can’t remember which products she used on my hair, but again she cut my hair wet.

I normally get my hair blow dried straight when I get it cut, mainly because hairdressers never seem to know how to dry curly hair and it looks like I’ve been dragged through a hedge backwards time I’ve got home…I got her to dry mine straight, just for a change really.
Again very expensive, around £50/£60 - double that for the highlights though! I’ve even told my curly haired brother he needs to go there as he also has hair issues!

The best so far was probably my last cut with Carlos Flores who I found on this very site! What he doesn’t know about curly hair isn’t worth knowing! He made me feel at complete ease (I’m sure for at lot of us getting our hair cut is a traumatic experience!) and gave me loads of useful tips on the do’s and don’t of curly hair (He’s CG all the way and used DevaCurl stuff and did a co-wash). I think he comes to the UK about 3 times a year as he’s based in NY. He also advised I didn’t get it cut again for at least 8 months - which was refreshing to hear!

Thanks v much for your reviews, Curly Lox. London prices are high, I agree. When I’m over on nc.com and see them all moaning about the price of hair care/stuff in the US, I think sheesh - you have no idea! LOL

Hiya

I’d just like to say that I’ve been using Unruly this year and have found them really good and pretty good value - £45 a cut with Anthony.
I’ve read so many things about bad hair cuts, but I’ve always come out of Unruly with a huge smile.
Anthony really listens to what I want and although he cuts wet, he’s very aware of what my curls are going to do.  I’ll be going back.
My biggest problem is the teck into London to get it done, but I don’t trust the hair dressers in my town.
Thinking about getting my boyfriend trained up to cut it instead! 

Whereabouts in London are you? I’m SE and it’s taken me ages to find a half decent hairdresser! I’ve always had a phobia as no one seems to be able to cut curly hair right or style it! I considered trying unruly but it’s the other side of town though I did recommend it to someone who found it ok. They use Tigi Curls Rock which I used until going CG.

Cherryblue - 30 December 2009 09:42 PM

Whereabouts in London are you? I’m SE and it’s taken me ages to find a half decent hairdresser! I’ve always had a phobia as no one seems to be able to cut curly hair right or style it! I considered trying unruly but it’s the other side of town though I did recommend it to someone who found it ok. They use Tigi Curls Rock which I used until going CG.

I now go to a place who are Turkish and Greek mostly and can handle my frizz and my other half’s!

Hi Cherryblue - I’m SE also, which salon do you go to?

I’m not even in London - I live near Guildford.
I do keep thinking of trying somewhere closer, but too scared!  And after all one of my straight haired friends said - if you’re getting a good hair cut for under £50 best to stay there!

I had my first cut at Unruly Studios last summer, and similarly as everyone else decided to give them a try after reading so many good reviews about them. My stylist was Dhiran, who was okay. I didn’t feel the staff who worked at Unruly were as friendly or energetic as the reviews made them out to be. After Dhiran assessed my hair, he went through what I wanted to have done. My hair was a little complicated at the time as I was still transitioning so I had two different textures. My new growth at the roots was very curly and towards the middle my hair was completely straight from where it had been previously straight permed.
At the time, I wasn’t ready for the BC so I just asked him for a trim. I don’t know what it was about the place but I didn’t feel entirely comfortable there, so I don’t think I’ll go there again.

I’m actually considering giving the one in shoreditch a try. I have mixed-race curls so its a plus that they also do Afro hair types there. My new growth is a lot longer now so I plan to get the BC pretty soon.

Thought I’d give an update after visiting the salon in Shoreditch.

I can say, it was definately a much better experience than at Unruly Studios. All the staff were really friendly and chatty.
My stylist was Jenny who was absolutely brilliant. I was completely at ease there and you have the stylist’s full attention. I had initially planned on getting the BC but Jenny suggested I take off a few inches less just to see how I felt about it. I’m actually relieved I didn’t BC now and think I’ll probably give it another 6-12 months before I do so.

I was a bit concerned beforehand that they may not use CG products (i.e. no silicones/sulfates) and that I would leave with very dried-out hair as I did when I visited Unruly but it turned out to be the opposite. My hair was very soft and moisterised.  The only downside, is that I still won’t be able to wear my hair out until I cut off the rest of my permed ends. The condition and overall shape of my hair is a lot better than before.

I can honestly say that this is the best salon I’ve come across and is by far, my favourite.

Do you have the details of this salon please? Am tempted to try it as have recently gone back to cutting my own hair again! Unruly is a bit too far for me and am not certain I want to risk it.