By Amy Sharpe
The Lion and Fox Salon in Clerkenwell is the perfect spot for an after-work hair spruce.
Open until 8pm, its relaxed atmosphere made getting my hair done an evening out ras opposed to a chore to squeeze in during a lunch break. Especially as, in my three-hour appointment, I was offered wine, beer, hot drinks and biscuits countless times. Always a plus.
During a consultation with stylist Olivia, I explained I was sick of my long hair and wanted a hefty chunk chopped off.
Olivia talked me through a layering technique that would create a shorter do without the ‘helmet head’ look which can occur when curly hair like mine gets a crop.
She also suggested running blonde through the ends to brighten things up, what with being on the cusp of summer.
Sectioning off my curls, she dabbed a semi-permanent rich brown to the roots on top, which would fade over time so I wouldn’t have to worry about obvious roots.
From there she got the blonde involved, painting the ends lighter and then backcombing strands to draw out tiny sections to create a natural gradient.
Left to rest as the colour developed, I worried I’d been forgotten about as Olivia nipped off to do a full cut and blow-dry for another client in that time. But when she reappeared 45 minutes later she explained the blonde was taking longer than normal to develop on my naturally dark do.
Eventually, the dye was washed out and, after a painful ten minutes of a stylist attacking the back-combed strands with a tangle-teaser, it was time to get cropped.
A twisting technique was key to thinning out my curls so they’d fall downwards rather than outwards, Olivia explained.
Settling down with a mag and a bevvy, I forgot I was even in the salon until I looked up 20 minutes later and saw my bare shoulders for the first time in years.
A quick blow-dry later, I was done. I felt much lighter and brighter – in both hair and mood.
On top of getting a new do out of it, I’d recommend the salon as a quality way to spend a weeknight after a stressful day.
For information visit https://thelionandthefox.com/