Hitting the bar: salon-worthy hair without the need for an appointment

If you’re done with blow-outs then head to the new one-stop hair shops that will give you curls, fringes or a fresh colour fix
To dye for: Muse of London offers a super-quick root service
Emma McCarthy29 October 2014

Fast, functional and refreshingly cheap: if that sounds like your idea of hair salon heaven then you’re probably one of the many Londoners already worshipping at the Blow Bar altar.

Offering salon-worthy hair without the need for an appointment — or deep pockets — the craze for quick-fix blow-dry bars has swept the capital in recent months as the answer to speedy and affordable styling. But there’s a new contender for our time-strapped affections as a host of niche beauty bars are offering their own unique specialist services.

Whether you’re after a quick bang (as in, fringe) at London’s shiny new beauty haunt Barber & Parlour or a quick colour touch-up that doesn’t require half a day in the salon chair, here are some of the freshest beauty pit-stops popping up in the capital.

The Bang Bar

Beauty buffs, bate your breath no longer: Barber & Parlour — the newest emporium from the Soho House clever clogs — is landing in Shoreditch next week. And along with an Electric Shoreditch cinema, all-day kitchen and a House Press juice bar, the three-floor space will house all manner of beautifying stations including (drum-roll, please) the first Cheeky Hair salon run by Josh Wood and his talented team.

Following on from the success of the Cheeky Parlour — a nail salon and blow-dry bar dubbed the little sister of the group’s successful Cowshed spas — Cheeky Hair will offer the capital’s impeccably groomed East Enders a host of no-appointment-necessary beauty fixes at pocket-pleasing prices.

Its trump card? Our money’s on The Bang Bar (aka, a “drop in and chop in” fringe cutting and maintenance service) proving a hit with time-strapped Londoners who want a transformation à la Beyoncé fast.

£10. Open from November 6. Cheeky Hair by Josh Wood, First Floor, Barber & Parlour, 64-66 Redchurch Street, E2; urcheeky.com

The Bang Bar: get a transformation à la Beyoncé fastPhoto: Beretta/Sims/REX

The Root Bar

If you need a root touch-up sharpish but an appointment is a pipedream, head to the capital’s new forward-thinking colour salon Muse of London, which offers speedy dye jobs in double quick time.

The debut salon of creative director and celebrity colour expert Jason Cocking offers two dedicated drop-in services for quick colour: the Root Bar for speedy touch-ups and the Bleach Bar for blondes in need of TLC. Both promise to get you in and out within an hour for the set price of £18 and £30 respectively. They even offer a “Self Dry” bar if you don’t have time for a blow-dry.

Muse of London, 24 Mortimer Street, W1; museoflondon.co.uk

The SHOW Dry Bar

Tamara Ecclestone and her über-glossy haircare brand SHOW Beauty are set to open a series of blow-dry bars with a difference this winter — the difference being that a session at SHOW Dry feels like anything but a quick fix.

Springing up in Westbourne Grove and Knightsbridge soon (with more to come) the super-luxe blow-dry bars promise to make you look — and feel — like a millionairess with an offering that fuses the bespoke service of a high-end boutique, the exclusivity of a members’ club and the plush interior of a posh hotel. There’s even a personal driver service to protect your newly coiffed locks.

From £18-£45. SHOW Dry flagship salon on Westbourne Grove opening soon; showbeauty.com

The Curl Bar

Whether curls are the bane of your life or the mane of your dreams, Hari’s is on hand to help. The salon’s new Curl Bar — at all three of its west London locations — caters for every type of curl, be they coveted or concealed. If you’re a curly girl at heart but don’t have the follicles to match, book in for the straight-to-curly “Kirrik” (or broken) blow-dry, which encourages hair to take on natural-looking curls.

Straightening addicts may be convinced into loving their locks with the “anti-Brazilian” SKIMDO Curl Bar treatment, which promises to work with the hair’s natural movement to turn unruly frizz into super-sleek curls.

From £50. Hari’s, 233 King’s Road, SW3, 305 Brompton Road, SW3, 183 New King’s Road, SW6; harissalon.com

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