A couple of weeks ago I visited the Daniel Galvin Salon in George Street, W1 for a colour and finish. Daniel Galvin is unlike any other salon I’ve been to before. Firstly, it’s absolutely huge with room for hundreds of Stylists and Colourists to do their work, but also, on a weekday early afternoon it was absolutely packed! My first appointment was with Chloe, a mid-level Colourist who has been at Daniel Galvin since 2004.
We sat down for a chat and she immediately said that my hair was too golden toned which was consequently washing me out. She suggested we take my hair a little closer to my natural hair colour using a few highlights that were closer in tone, as well as a slightly lighter shade to ensure the multi-dimensional effect was still present. I really felt as though Chloe was analysing the best colour choices for both my hair and my complexion and it was obvious she knew what she was talking about. I’ve been a golden blonde for a while now but I’ve always liked the idea of going more towards caramel and toffee shades, yet I’ve always been advised against it. However, Chloe believed it would be a better and more natural match than anything too golden, so we went with that.
When speaking to Chloe, I asked her a lot about her training and experience at Daniel Galvin. All trainees go through a pretty hardcore apprenticeship with unbelievably long hours that last 3 years. There’s no quick career path available and you instead have to prove your worth through hard-work, dedication and a demonstrable talent which is why only around half of the apprentices make it to the end. The consequence is, when booking in for a hair treatment of any kind, you know you’re putting your hair into the hands of someone who’s well and truly proven their ability over a long and gruelling process.
Chloe applied the first colour in sections all over my hair to blend in the roots. Whilst I was waiting for the colour to take, I was offered a menu of drinks and food to choose from. All the way through my time at the salon, there were people walking around taking orders for the kitchen. As you’d expect, drinks and snacks came at quite a premium and I had a cream cheese bagel with a coke that came to around £7, so they were pretty standard inner London prices. However, I really liked the fact that you could eat and drink from an impressive selection during your visit and I much prefer paying a little more for something I actually want (especially as I usually always arrive at these appointments starving!) rather than sticking to the standard biscuits and coffee.
I then had the next colour applied around the original colour and all colours were left to take for a little longer before it was all washed off. During the rinsing process I was given a Detox Miracle Solution treatment packed full of Vitamin C to clarify my hair. This Detox was amazing and left my hair unbelievably shiny (as you can hopefully see in the pictures) and soft without feeling flyaway or static.
My next appointment was with Becky who dried my hair. I was interested to note that she didn’t use any products at all which I personally find refreshing as there’s nothing I hate more than leaving a salon with hair stuck full of product. Becky showed me a new blow drying technique to give my hair a bit of texture and definition and I’ve managed to integrate the technique into my Babyliss Big Hair drying process, which I’m really pleased about.
I prefer to take “after” hair pictures when I get home so I have time to take as many as possible, but unfortunately the moment I left the salon I got absolutely drenched thus removing all Becky’s hard work, so the pictures below are taken once I’d had a go at drying my hair myself.
My experience at Daniel Galvin was a true eye opener. The huge salon consists of an array of specialists (there’s quite a few beauty treatments available on top of the more standard hair focusses) and I have genuinely never visited a salon quite like it. I absolutely love my colour, I think it’s natural, flattering and easier to grow out and whilst Becky was great, the star for me was Chloe as not only is she lovely, she also knew exactly what she was doing and had the ability to work out the best colour for someone taking everything into consideration, as opposed to what’s easiest to work with or what the client is used to, which I think is so important when visiting a Colourist. Whilst nobody knows me better than I know myself, there are certainly people who are far more expert at deciding what’s best for my colourings and what will really suit me, and I was very confident in Chloe’s ability to do just that. I’ve always wanted caramel, toffee-toned hair in flattering shades and now I do!
My treatment included a half head of highlights, a Detox Miracle Solution and a Blow Dry. A half-head of highlights with a mid-level Colourist costs from £155, Blow Dry with a Stylist costs from £32 and a Detox Miracle Solution treatment costs £17. For more information on the Daniel Galvin Salon visit his site here.
Disclosure: treatment was provided for the purpose of this review.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.