Salon Review: Sasoon, Leeds
Review: Jennifer Bonfield
Located in the center of Leeds, this chic contemporary salon has one of the best reputations in the business and my visit to Sassoon did not disappoint.
Colour director Oliver holds an impressive 27 year stint at Sassoon and he was an absolute expert when it comes to hair colour tone and hues. My locks were in dire need of a colour refresh and with my current mix of golden blond tones he advised me he would work on the top 3-4 inches only in order to revamp the current colour by introducing a cooler ‘baby blond’ hue for a fresh update.
The highlights were applied using foils in 3 sections; the back and either sides. There was no skimping on the colour applied and there seemed to be around a thousand foils in my tresses by the time he had finished i could hardly lift my head. This meant a serious colour injection. Whilst the foils were applied Oliver updated me on his favourite celeb hair icons; he loves Gillian Anderson’s blond tresses and told me he thought Anne Hathaway pulled off an amazing Pixie cut for ‘Les Mis’. Surprisingly he was also a fan of the Kim K peroxide blond – well each to their own!
Once the colour had started to develop the back section of foils were removed and the hair section was shampooed. I went back to my chair for another 5 minutes while the rest of the colour continued to develop. This removal and shampoo process was continued for each of the 3 sections.
Once all foils were removed my hair was given a double shampoo (Oliver advised to always shampoo twice), followed by a blissful scalp massage (surely the best part of the trip to the hair salon, no?). A deep conditioning treatment was applied and left for 10-15 minutes to seal in the colour and give a moisture boost, which as we all know, highlighted hair really needs.
I was then whisked away from the hustle and bustle of the main salon floor to the quite upper level of the salon where Style Director Lee was going to give my hair a cut. Coming from someone who pretty much only ever has ‘a trim’ i had to admit my tresses needed some serious scissors attention.
Lee may as well have been a fellow beauty writer with his huge, in-depth knowledge of hair products. I likened him to an actual beauty encyclopedia.
He decided to upgrade the style stakes and transform my mid-length hair into a sleek but bouncy, graduated long bob. He worked his scissors quite frankly like they were an extension of his hands – some serious technique.
The results were as promised; a baby blond, bouncy, bob. In fact it looked quite fabulous and I walked out of the door with a spring in my step and an exaggerated hair swoosh, and yes, it was just like that old advert ‘ like I just stepped out of a salon’.
Invest in Oliver & Lee’s Haircare hero’s
Shampoo: Sassoon Illuninating Clean
Conditioner: Sassoon Illuminating Condition
Treatment: Sassoon Spray Shine
Serum: Sassoon Diamond Polish
63 Albion St
Leeds
LS1 5AA
0113 244 8813