The blurb
Beauty & Melody is a hidden treasure. The salon itself is open plan, with a white piano in the middle of the room (I hear a pianist sometimes comes in and plays—how lovely). Amongst their other offerings, they are ‘renowned for their Russian Remy hair extensions’, and have been called one of the best hair extension salons in London—they even offer a one-year warranty!
The process:
My technician, Fahyma, showed me to my seat and we talked through what I was looking for. I had previously looked at getting permanent extensions but backed out last-minute when I started worrying about the maintenance and upkeep—not to mention my complete lack of knowledge about how to do anything other than straighten my hair (and not even that very well), so naturally I was nervous.
Fahyma talked me through their luxury Russian tape hair extensions and my nerves calmed. Tape extensions are the latest method of putting in extensions; not as harmful as micro-bond or glue-in, your natural hair sits between strong tape, meaning it’s protected. She matched my colour perfectly and I was taken through to the basins to wash my hair before it was cut, to ensure my hair would blend into the extensions well—one of my biggest worries. My hair was blow-dried and it was time to begin.
The next best thing about tape extensions is that they don’t take half a day to put in like the other options; I sat for two hours as Fahyma put in a full head of extensions. We started off with about 22 inches of long blonde hair, which was chopped to a reasonable length and styled into a beautiful light wave.
The result
I left the salon feeling on top of the world and desperate to go to the nearest bar and socialise. Unfortunately it was still early afternoon and that wasn’t an option, but I felt great all the same.
It is very easy to be happy with a haircut or hair colour after you’ve been styled by a professional, but once out on your own your new locks don’t have that same effect. Weeks later, though, and I still could not be happier. I feel like a new person, I’m getting the hang of upkeep and have a newfound respect for people with long hair. The extensions are easy to maintain and I’m still recommending the salon to friends and family. Although I’m slightly worried I will never be happy with my normal hair again.
