The team and I have such a passion for hair colour. Having worked on many TV makeover shows, I’ve always found the one thing that totally changes how someone looks is their hair and in particular, their hair colour! It’s pretty much the most transformative thing we can do to our appearance.
But I don’t just preach about the power of hair colour, I recently changed my own colour to a strawberry blonde shade and I look completely different. Some people still don’t recognise me when I bump into them.
So we thought…
Why not create a new kind of colour specialist salon? And if we did, what would it be like? Exactly what would people want from an exclusive colour salon? There were so many things to consider.
We started by surveying hundreds of people who regularly have their hair coloured, asking questions such as: how often do you professionally colour your hair? And, if you could blow-dry your own hair for a lower price rather than have a hairdresser do it, would you? We asked colour clients about the things they love when getting their colour done and the things they hate.
One of the main things that our feedback showed us was that a lot of people need their colour done more frequently than their haircut. People with longer hair in particular often have their hair cut just once or twice a year, but they have their colour done 6 – 12 times a year depending on the type of colour they have. It really was a real eye opener and led us to create our new colour concept salon. We couldn’t be more excited for the launch. It’s taken over two years getting it to this point. It’s so exciting!
We did our research
To help you understand our salon concept, it’s best for me to take you through the whole journey we took to create it.
I spent a lot of time researching hair colour salons and discovered that one of the major problems with booking an appointment seemed to be availability. People’s main needs tended to include wanting beautiful hair colour, needing it done as soon as possible and feeling completely assured that the colourist is an expert/knowing they can trust them.
When I did my research, I found booking in appointment was the most frustrating thing I’ve ever had to do. I have called so many salons that specialise in colour and was often told that I needed to come in beforehand for a consultation or that they only had certain types of colour available on certain days. But worst of all, often no one could tell me how much it was all going to cost me.
My aim in explaining all this is not to criticise traditional salons, I was simply searching for ways to make your experience easier and quicker whilst ensuring you have the very best hair colour possible.
Here’s what we’ve done differently
Our Expertise
Colour is an extremely technical service, it takes knowledge and experience to become a great colourist. We know the salon experience as a whole is important but that doesn’t mean anything if the finished colour isn’t perfect. For myself, having been voted London Hairdresser of the Year and the UK’s Top Hair Colourist, I realise the importance of only having highly trained people on my team. You need people who have the knowledge to let you know what you can have as well as having the confidence to tell you what you can’t have. There is a saying ‘the customer is always right’ but with colour, this is not always true. When someone asks for something that is damaging to their hair or simply unachievable, you really do need an expert who can give you honest and genuine advice.
Our Booking Process
Our first decision was to make the booking process much easier. To do this we created a website that would be easy to use and excellent at explaining the services that we provide. We wanted to show potential clients as much information as possible through text, video and images, so they understood exactly what they’d be getting.
Our Team
Every one of our colourists has the highest expertise in colour and every colourist is standardised to our method of colouring, which means they are all priced the same. This makes it easy for customers to understand how much a service will cost. We wanted the pricing of colour to be straightforward and transparent.
Our Pricing
Our aim is to make our prices clear and transparent. We know you don’t like unexpected surprises when you come to your settle your bill. We have a simple Colour Menu, where every colour is clearly priced. With most of our colours, your toner is already included in the price. If you don’t want to have a professional blow-dry afterwards, you have complimentary use of our Self Dry and Blast Zones.
Our Kaleidoscope Club
If you are a regular Colour Addict, we’ve designed our Kaleidoscope Club which will give you unlimited Colour for a fixed monthly Direct Debit. I can’t tell you how many people have asked me for this. You simply pay a fixed monthly amount and you really can come in and have your colour done as often as you want. We have three different “membership” levels depending on the types of colour you usually like to have. Check out our Kaleidoscope page for more information.
Our Training
We have developed some of the best colour systems to ensure a real consistency in how your colour is done. All our team, even the most experienced colourists, all go through our in-depth Skyler London training program. Each service we do has it’s own step by step delivery process. From a Roots touch up to a complete colour change, they are all done in the unique Skyler London way.
Our Reveal Zone
At the end of your colour service, we have a 360 degree mirror so you can see your colour from all angles. We also have a special light source which can vary from warm to cool showing exactly what your colour will look like either in daylight or in warm office lights. It’s important to understand how the light we are in affects our overall colour. We’ll sometimes use this during your consultation too if we think it will be helpful.
Our Chill Out Zone
Once your colour has been applied you can go to our Chill Out zone, where you can help yourself to drinks and magazines, or just sit and chill rather than looking at the mirror during your development time – something that many people found to be the most uncomfortable part of having hair colour done.
Our Products
We work in close partnership with L’oréal Professional. We have access to their latest product innovations often months or even years before some of our competitors. Myself and our team are frequently involved in testing new colour innovations helping to influence the types of colours that will be coming on to the market in the years to come.
Online Booking
For most people, once they have established the service they want to have, our online booking system is quick and simple. After you have set up an account, you will be able to log on and make, see and change your appointments. You will be able to see your full booking history. You will be able to see any rewards that you have on your account. There is even a link to easily book the service you had on your last visit.
Our Backwash
We know that this is often an area of criticism in many salons, especially when having colour removed. So we’ve ensured that our Colour Removal zone has the most comfortable backwash basins. Fully reclining luxury beds with strategically placed head and neck supports for ultimate comfort. It can take a while to remove colour properly, so we felt this area was extremely important.
Our Styling Options
Once your colour is finished, what then? We have three options depending on your specific needs.
1. We have a self dry zone. These are private booths where you can dry your hair using professional driers, GHDs and products. This is complimentary for you to use after your colour.
2. You can use our blast zone. This is an area that has powerful wall mounted driers that blast your hair dry. Typically, short hair can be dried in 2 minutes and longer hair in 5 minutes. Again, this is complimentary.
3. You can have a professional blow dry. This is with one of our colour experts at a fixed cost of £35. If you are going out somewhere special or just prefer to have a professional blow-dry after your colour then this option is for you.
We really have put a lot of thought into ensuring your experience is easy, fun and hassle free but the most important thing is that you are totally happy with your colour results. Also, before you leave the salon we can make up bespoke toners and colour conditioners that you can use at home to keep your colour fresh between visits. We will always have a record of your personalised formula to ensure that re-ordering is easy for you. We will advise you on the best colour friendly products to improve the condition of your hair and we can help you book your next appointment.
And if this wasn’t already amazing enough, we have a slide to take you from the top floor to the bottom floor – it might not be something you would normally find in a salon but we want to keep the environment feeling fun and relaxed. Of course this is only for the brave or slightly insane 🙂
