Trying out a new hair salon can be quite the risk. Find a great one and there’s nothing like the feeling of post-cut elation. Put your hair in the hands of someone subpar, however, and you can leave feeling utterly distraught. The good news, however, is that London is bursting with reputable salons and hairdressers we’re more than confident to recommend you trust your precious locks with. Here’s our guide to the best hair salons in London – you’re welcome.
Central London
Hershesons, Fitzrovia
Vogue editors choose to get their hair cut at Hershesons – and with good reason. The 5,000 sq ft super-salon on Berners Street caters to far more than just hair, boasting a DryBy nail bar, Farm Girl café, Suman Brows station and Sunday Riley skincare. Cut, colour and styling services are second-to-none, and visitors can enjoy a generous library of magazines and coffee table tomes during their appointment. You could really spend all day here – and why not? The all-encompassing Belgravia branch is also something very special, complete with a private hair-washing and styling area for discreet appointments.
29-32 Berners Street, W1T 3LR, hershesons.com
Saco Hair, Fitzrovia
The best hair salon for: expert advice
Tucked away on a pretty lane just off Oxford Street, Saco Hair was founded in London by Aldo Furfaro and Richard Ashforth – a pair with some serious hairdressing pedigree behind them – and now boasts salons in Paris, Bordeaux, Copenhagen, Montreal, Seoul and Moscow. Happily, you’ll still find Ashforth behind the scissors at the Fitzrovia outpost and, if you’re not sure quite what you want, are bored of your current style or just need someone to show you how to properly care for your hair, there’s no better person to turn to.
Saco offers a full colour service, as well as cut and styling options, so whether you’re interested in a major style overhaul or simply need a great blow dry before a big event, this serene salon should definitely be on your radar. Saco also produces its own range of hairdressing equipment and professional products created using top-quality organic ingredients – all of which can be ordered online. Should we happen to find ourselves in another lockdown DIY hairdressing situation, we know where we’re heading.
4 Charlotte Place, W1T 1SE, sacohair.com
Salon 64, Soho
The best hair salon for: a good time (and stellar cut)
Salon 64 is far more than just a hair salon – it also boasts a café and cocktail bar. As evening approaches, the styling desks disappear and the transformable space becomes an after-hours haunt with DJs. Don’t let all this deter from the cuts though. Under the leadership of owner and celebrity hairstylist Ricky Walters, Salon 64 is your go-to for cool-girl hair. Head here for bobs, choppy layers and impeccable dye jobs – all while charging your phone and sipping from a champagne coupe.
14 Bateman Street, W1D 3AG, salon64.com
Michael van Clarke, Marylebone
The best hair salon for: the famed Dry Diamond Cut
Michael van Clarke opened his eponymous salon in Marylebone in 1988 when “nobody wanted to be there”. Today, the longstanding resident is famed for his trademark Dry Diamond Cut. Clarke and his team cut hair dry to enhance your hair’s natural movement, taking into consideration its weight, texture and condition. The result is a unique, sculpted style that is impossible to achieve when hair is wet. The cut is followed by a thorough wash and style, all conducted in the club-like environs of Clarke’s gorgeous salon. One session in his chair will make you rethink every haircut you’ve ever had.
1 Beaumont St, W1G 6DF, vanclarke.com
Duck and Dry, various locations
The best hair salon for: blow dries
Blow dry bars have taken off in the capital in a big way over the past few years thanks, in no small part, to Duck and Dry. Founder Yulia Rorstrom opened the first branch in Chelsea in 2014 and now the group counts salons in Soho, Mayfair and Islington. Known for their Instagram-friendly interiors, Prosecco bars and group styling areas, Duck and Dry is the place to go for great styling before a big night out, first date or important work pitch. Cuts are available but blow dries are really the focus, with each salon offering a series of signature ‘looks’ designed to cater to all hair types and occasions. Combine with a trip to Duck and Dry’s on-site manicure bar to leave feeling utterly cared for.
Various locations, duckanddry.com
West London
Neville Hair and Beauty, Belgravia
The best hair salon for: precision-cut layers and innovative colouring
Belgravia’s well-heeled locals flock to Neville’s five-storey Belgravian townhouse for the full works: blow-dries, cuts, colours, manicures, massages and all manner of beauty and skincare treatments. Founder Neville Tucker excels in curating a menu of cutting-edge colour options and treatments, including Shatush, which creates natural, sun-kissed highlights, and Tanino therapy for frazzled, dry locks. In the capable hands of the salon’s stylists, no strand of hair is overlooked to create the most flattering, considered cut in all of London.
5 Pont Street, SW1X 9EJ, nevillehairandbeauty.net
Stil, Notting Hill
The best hair salon for: colour
Founded by Scandanavian colour maestro Christel Barron-Hough, Stil – which translates from Swedish to ‘style’ – is a minimalist, chic white cube on Notting Hill’s Chepstow Road. During an in-depth consultation, Barron-Hough will talk you through various colour options and treatments, from Prism Lights – the ultimate low-commitment due to its minimal regrowth effect – to vivid tones of warm honey, tingling copper and ‘rosé’ peach. Shades are custom-blended at the colour bar, which sits at the heart of the salon. When not on-site, Barron-Hough’s team of skilled session stylists can be found backstage at fashion week or working on editorial campaigns.
2 Chepstow Road, W2 5BH, stil-salon.com
Hari’s Hairdressers, Fulham
The best hair salon for: chemical-free dyes and plant-based treatments
Recognisable by its bold red frontage, Hari’s has been a fixture in London since the sixties, when founder Hari Salem opened his first salon in Chelsea. Bianca Jagger and the Rolling Stones were early fans, thanks to Salem’s razor-sharp cuts and clubby atmosphere. Today, it still courts an A-list client base, including Daisy Lowe and Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice. At Hari’s, there is a focus on chemical-free dyes and plant-powered products, including a sublimely spoiling Rahua conditioning treatment. There is also a deeply nourishing CBD infusion, which dramatically restores lacklustre locks. Hari’s boasts a flagship salon in Fulham, as well as outposts in Notting Hill, Parsons Green and the King’s Road.
88 Fulham Road, SW3 6HR, harissalon.com
Harrods Hair & Beauty Salon, Knightsbridge
The best hair salon for: all-round pampering
Harrods opened its first Hairdressing & Manicure Department in 1894 and this month builds on that beauty legacy with an incredible 16,985 square foot hair and beauty salon that promises to cater to all your pampering needs under one roof. Offering far more than a classic cut and blow dry (although they do that too), the vast spaces features a Backwash Room in which to treat yourself to a ‘facial for the scalp’ inspired by Japanese head spa rituals, a Conditioning Bar from which to select a custom hydrating treatment and a hair extension library to help guests get the long, luscious locks they’ve always dreamed of.
87-135 Brompton Road, SW1X 7XL, harrods.com
Lockonego, Chelsea
The best hair salon for: personalised cuts and a warm welcome
Having been an integral part of SW10’s thriving beauty scene for more than 12 years, the mission at Lockonego is simple: great cuts tailored to your exact needs and an atmosphere that makes you feel like one of the family. Co-founded by Ben Cooke and Jonny Long (who is also behind the Saunders & Long grooming line), the pair count stars including the Beckhams and Carey Mulligan among their fans, and offer a range of services to suit even the most exacting of customers. As well as a full range of colour, cut and blow dry options, Lockonego offers an extensive range of options tailored specifically to afro hair, alongside Brazilian blowouts and extensions. They even offer specialised cuts for children.
394 King’s Road, SW10 0LN, lockonego.com
East London
Neil Moodie Studio, Spitalfields
The best hair salon for: modern styles with an inclusive approach
One of the newest additions to London’s premium hairdressing scene, Neil Moodie Studio opened in mid-2022 offering a chic space catering to both East London’s cool kids and the City’s CEOs. The eponymous founder is famed for his work on editorial shoots and campaigns for the likes of Jimmy Choo, Vogue, Dior and Miu Miu and has recruited a coterie of similarly expert cutters and colourists to work the chairs at his first standalone salon.
Occupying a bright, sophisticated boutique just off Spitalfields Market, the emphasis here is on treating every client as an individual, with every appointment tailored to your requirements. As such, prices are structured by service, rather than gender or hair type, with the option to mix and match treatments from Olaplex, Keratin Complex and Moodie’s own haircare line, with your cut or colour. Not sure what to go for? Moodie’s team is brimming with advice for every look and budget.
16a Lamb Street, E1 6EA, neilmoodiestudio.com
Glasshouse, Hackney
The best hair salon for: organic haircare and a sustainable-first approach
Glasshouse takes sustainability seriously: a vanguard in eco-conscious haircare, its Organic Colour System launched more than two decades ago with a focus on chemical-free, performance-driven products, packed full of organic and natural ingredients. Glasshouse partners with the Green Salon Collective, which aims to reduce waste in the hairdressing industry. Hard-to-dispose-of materials, such as colour foils, are safely recycled or composted and 100% of all profits go to Haircuts 4 Homeless and FareShare, a UK-wide charity working to relieve food poverty and reduce food waste.
The light-filled, minimalist salon space tempers industrial features with lots of trailing greenery, and there is also a wonderfully stocked shop, featuring eco-friendly, independent brands including Austin Austin, Wabi Skincare and Homework.
139 Mare Street, E8 3RH, glasshouseshop.co.uk
Bond, Shoreditch
The best hair salon for: hairdressing with heart
If you believe a good haircut shouldn’t cost the earth then Shoreditch’s Bond salon is the place for you. Designed to feel like an upscale apartment, this intimate salon is as much a place to hang out and relax as it is to get a really great set of highlights. All products used are vegan and cruelty-free, with Redken colour and R+Co shampoos, conditioners and styling products being the brands of choice. Cutting, colour and blow dries are all on the menu, alongside a range of hair remedies design to rehydrate and reconstruct damaged and dry locks.
44 Cheshire Street, E2 6EH, bondshoreditch.com
Blue Tit, various locations
The best hair salon for: perfectly laidback cuts
Blue Tit opened its first salon in 2011. It now boasts ten locations across London in Dalston, Dulwich, Clapton, Stratford, Brockley, Streatham, Crouch Hill and Portobello. This trendy group courts young creatives, drawn to the relaxed, contemporary cuts, stylish interiors and complimentary wine and cocktails. A Saturday afternoon in Blue Tit is often better than the night out that follows.
Various locations, bluetitlondon.com
South London
Crab Salad, Peckham
Best hair salon for: creative cuts and colour
A quick glance at the website of this intriguingly named salon in Peckham and it becomes obvious this is a place that doesn’t take itself too seriously – even while committing itself fully to helping you get the best hair of your life. A hair salon aimed squarely at the Instagram generation, the group of young stylists behind the scissors at Crab Salad, many of whom are Blue Tit alumni, are happy to give you a quick trim but are really capable of so much more. Have a sharp fashion-forward cut or unusual colour in mind? This is the salon for you.
1-3 Peckham High St, SE15 5EB, crabsalad.salon
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