Fun fact – I love every aspect of beauty bar going to the hairdressers. I’ve never been someone that is loyal to a particular hairdresser or venue, rather I’ve flitted from one bad or intimidating experience to another……with the last straw being my hair coloured so dark last year I looked ready for Halloween in August!
My faith in hairdressers had been so tested that for our wedding in April this year I coloured my hair myself rather than get it done professionally (luckily I pulled it off and no minute dashes to the hairdressers were required to rectify any further colour disasters!)
‘I wondered whether I was ready to put my hair in the hands of someone else again….’
So when Noco Hair asked if I’d like to come in to experience their newly opened salon and colour bar there was a moment of hesitation where I wondered whether I was ready to put my hair in the hands of someone else again….
Noco had caught my eye when they opened last year due to their large shop front windows which mean you can see straight through to the cocktail inspired colour bar and the modern design of the work stations – you can immediately tell this is a hair salon who are striving to be innovative and different.
The owner, Noel, invited me in to try out their signature haircut, the Clifton Cut, designed to give flat hair more body, bounce and volume whilst still being an easy every day style – something my hair lacks in every aspect! We also talked about my desire to get my, naturally brunette hair, back to a glossy deep brown and eliminate the remaining highlights that I’d had, and regretted, last year. The salon has a bright, friendly atmosphere and crucially they serve tea in a seriously decent size of mug……little things really do make a difference!
‘The Clifton Cut, designed to give flat hair more body, bounce and volume…’
Noco pride themselves on making sure every aspect of the cut and/or colour is discussed and talked through before hand and Noel filled me with confidence that he understood the colour I was aiming for as well as the cut. The cocktail style bar means that all hair colour is mixed in out in view – all part of their ethos of dispelling the myths of hairdressing. And let’s talk about the shiatsu air massage chairs while your hair is being washed……none of that ‘have they switched it on or not?!’ questions running through your head. I seriously could have sat there all day!
The products chosen for use in the salon have all been picked for their performance as well as eco friendly background and the salon run a scheme where you can bring in your old shampoo and conditioner bottles and receive a free treatment when booking a cut or colour – genius!
Other forward thinking details include a complimentary blow dry 2 weeks after your first cut or colour at the salon and membership plans where you can prepay for cuts and blowdrys and after chatting to Noel whilst he cut my hair (standing up at one point – 
different but apparently the only way to get a truly straight cut!) there are lots of other exciting ideas in the pipeline.
SO the crucial question – will I be going back? Absolutely. My experience at Noco was one of the few times I’ve felt the end results matched the starting brief and I didn’t leave having done the totally British thing of biting my tongue rather than complaining. I think the difference with this salon however stems from the vision that Noel and his team had, and continue to have, to make visiting the hairdressers a positive and enjoyable experience with total client satisfaction. Yes, the hair cut and colour needs to be spot on but running a good business also involves having good people skills and Noco have nailed it.
Jess X
~ This is a collaborative post with Noco and I was kindly gifted a cut and colour, however all opinions and reviews are my own and have not been influenced in any way. ~
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