REVIEW: NEW CULT SALON MAKING WAVES IN THE HAIR WORLD
We Test the Luxurious Shoreditch Salon by a Hair and Beauty Powerhouse
Stop all the clocks - we have just found our favourite new London hair alchemists in the luxurious shape of CULt Hairdressing, Shoreditch.
A good salon leaves you with stylish and healthy hair. A great salon leaves you with this as well as the feeling of hanging out with old friends. And this is what CULt does so brilliantly.
Hair appointments are an intimate experience. Hairdressers are often confidantes, friends, entertainers, esteem-boosters and crucially, people you trust to change the way you see yourself.
As Phoebe Waller-Bridge says in her famous Fleabag monologue: “Hair is everything. We wish it wasn’t, so we could actually think about something else occasionally. But it is.
“It’s the difference between a good day and a bad day. We’re meant to think that it’s a symbol of power, that it’s a symbol of fertility. Some people are exploited for it and it pays your fucking bills. Hair is everything.”
The team here make it clear that they’re just as passionate about what’s inside your head, as what’s on top of it.
I am warmly welcomed when I step through the doors of the grand new salon, in the former Old Fruit and Wool Exchange, hugged by Spitalfields Market.
My hair hasn’t seen a pair of scissors for several months and I look like somebody who throws cats at children for fun.
So their fabulous colourist, Sam Dowson, invites me onto the sofa for a relaxed consultation and I’m introduced to their Florentine follicle virtuoso, Francesco - a big personality with the moustache of a man who knows his hair.
Sam leads me to their dark and moody wash space for a toner, gloss and shampoo treatment. The nifty Olaplex treatment repairs broken disulphide bonds that gives hair its structure and strength and I was turbo-chuffed with the result - balanced tones, impossible gloss and a brightened blonde.
During the treatment, he massages my arms and we discuss everything from politics, to news, books and ourselves. He’s a passionate, smart and fascinating character - go for the treatments, stay for the chat.
Afterwards, I’m back in Francesco’s hands for my cut and blow dry. He is infectiously passionate about hair, and left Italy to perfect his barnet skills at London’s top salons, going on to create looks for Milan and London Fashion Week runways.
He peppers his conversation with nifty haircare and styling hacks I can use at home, from how to lift my bangs, to the art of the perfect curl.
When he’s finished, I’m wowed by the transformation and might even need a new passport photo.
The dry, split-end addled hair that limped sadly down by back is now a bouncy, glossy and vibrant do, which results in a spring in my step on the walk back to the station and a compliment from a passer-by.
The space whispers quiet luxury, with floor to ceiling windows, bathing it in natural light, fresh flowers, marble, moody steel and charcoal paint and lighting.
It was launched in December 24 by husband and wife team Maria MacDonald - a beauty PR powerhouse - and Brett - one of hairdressing’s leading educators - so it’s no surprise that it’s already making big waves in hair as well as the industry.
CULt Hairdressing, Fruit & Wool Exchange, Unit 8 The, 54 Brushfield St, London E1 6EN
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