Hairstyle Avenue

Sarah Hopwood
5 Star
So surprised to read some negative reviews. My experience today was perfect. Salon was clean and tidy. The chap that did my hair was friendly, welcoming, comforting, and confident in what he was doing. He understood what I asked for 100% and I was really happy with the work done. I just needed a neaten up of my undercut so I looked sharp before I start a new job on Monday. Really happy with it and my other half complimented it as soon as I got home. Will be coming back every time I need a neaten up from now on.
Tuesday 16th August 2022

Emma Salisbury
5 Star
The stylist was brilliant with my 7 year old son, listened to my request and gave him an excellent haircut ready for school. He told me the price was £14 for a boy's haircut and only ended up charging me £10 as he said it wasn't a lot to cut off. Honest business and extremely fair.
Wednesday 24th August 2022

Sonia Shamshad
1 Star
I recently recommended this salon to my mother after having a good experience myself with Rosie. My mother saw Zoe yesterday for a wash and cut. She described the experience as horrible and nothing she had experienced before. She said Zoe was rough with her, rude and the salon was dirty. I am so disappointed in the service my mother received at the salon that myself or my mother will never be returning. I will also be warning others about it.
Saturday 2nd July 2022

Charlotte Grove
1 Star
This will be a long review so I've summarised a few points. I'm disappointed and would like a refund. The moral of the story is that I would NOT recommend this salon to ANYONE and I strongly suggest that their practices change to avoid unhappy customers such as myself. It is really a shame to be posting about a small and what I believed to be reputable business especially coming out of lockdown but I feel that a visit here warrants a warning.: 1. KEY POINTS: My hair was ruined and the balayage was unblended, patchy, and thoroughly uneven as you will see in the attached photo. My neck has been in pain for two days. The woman doing my hair was perhaps having a bad day but came off as INCREDIBLY RUDE. 2. I have tried to resolve this offline with the salon and they refuse to give me a refund. They kindly offered for me to come in person to discuss but as I mentioned both in the salon and in my email, I do not live in Rochester and would be unwilling/unable to come to Kent from London to fix a service at an establishment I do not trust. 3. There are further points I want to highlight as part of the review but I cannot have verified as "fact." Therefore my review begins with indisputable facts and then my overall impression of my time at the salon. 4. One woman at the salon was absolutely lovely and did blow dry my hair in the end. I thank her for being kind and taking the time to actually ask how I was which was not something done by the main stylist at any point. The main point I would like to address and one that I have brought up with the salon directly is the issue of my hair. When I spoke with the woman doing my hair, I showed several photos and though I booked in for highlights, she recommended I go for balayage as it would grow out with a more natural look. She further said that she may not be able to reach the exact "blonde" I was going for. I didn't have an issue with this. All I wanted was for my hair to look nice, refreshed, and clean cut. This was NOT the case. As you can see in the picture attached, I basically got a completely different colour on top without any blend into the bottom. I went to a different salon to fix it today and the colourist exclaimed that it looked like a bowl had been put on my head, and colour put around it. There were patches, random streaks, and it was overall an amateur job. Based on the longevity of the business and overall positive reviews, trust me, this was not anticipated. Before I left the salon (in a rush-to be detailed further down), I did not see the top or back of my head and so I foolishly paid. When I arrived home, my boyfriend's family was shocked and appalled at how horrible it looked and, after their taking pictures of all angles of my hair, I can't help but be in fully agreement. I asked for a refund once I saw how horrible my hair looked. The salon mentioned that they do not do refunds unless they see the hair in person and offered to fix it. As I mentioned in the salon and over email I do not live in Rochester. As you can see in the photos attached, there is a clearly an issue and so I ask, would you return to the same place that ruined your hair in such a way? I would think not. I would like for this to be resolved amicably as I am not a confrontable person, nor one who typically lacks patience. However, I do feel the need to share my experience as a future warning for those willing to come to the salon. As mentioned, my neck has been in pain for two days. There are potentially two reasons for this. The first of which is that the stylist was incredibly rough on my hair when brushing it to the extent where my neck was being jerked side to side. I apologised if my hair had knots (as it was very long--hence the desire for a cut!). However, the stylist literally did not respond to me and continued to tug at my hair. The second potential reason for this pain could be due to the fact that I sat against the wash basin for over 45 minutes. A few summary "other points." The chair had hair on it. I left without a haircut due to a "miscommunication" about timings.
Tuesday 1st June 2021

Kelly Holt
1 Star
Had booked in for a balayage colour and cut/blow dry with Rosie. I, however, received an ombré colour. Balayage is a subtle technique, with colour painted onto the hair for a natural effect, like highlights but less defined. Ombré is a more obvious and split fade from one colour to another. I thought it was odd when I was asked about darkening the colour of my roots to stand out more, as the lighter colour is meant to be put onto strands of the natural hair colour, but thought perhaps this was a standard thing I didn’t understand, but said that I didn’t want any darker colour put into my hair. However, when the colour arrived, fistfuls of bleach were rubbed into my hair, solid, not painted as the balayage technique says. My hair was essentially bleached with a little bit of natural roots left, although a colour similar to my own was used to ‘blend’ and is far from the natural dimension adding I wanted from my treatment. I tried to be positive, but it wasn’t until I got home, having spent most of my time in the salon without my glasses, that I saw how terrible it really is. There is a patch on the back which has been missed, so I have a square of unbleached hair at the back of my head. I had virgin hair, that is now entirely bleached and in terrible condition, despite me giving into the hard sell of olaplex. Hard sell is a MAJOR thing in the salon. From olaplex to B12 injections, constant pressure, despite the ‘I’d never push anyone to get something done…’ Seeing the other reviews there is little point in me approaching the salon for a refund, but I want other people to avoid this salon. I do not want to a return to a salon that has destroyed my hair to destroy it further. It’s scary that I paid £150 to a salon where the stylist didn’t even know what balayage is. To say that I’m devastated is an understatement. I had long, natural hair that I had spent years growing out, and just wanted something to enhance it. Absolutely devastated. * Response to Salon Feedback* - As I mentioned in my review, I was unable to see the full results until I got home. I did give a tip, because I didn't see how bad the colour was until I was home, and it was a couple of pounds change. I did not dye my hair in February as I had covid and didn't visit the salon, as was pointed out and explained to Zoe when I popped in for my patch test on the Thursday before my appointment. In terms of the balayage, I wanted that because it is low maintenance and subtle. That is what I asked for. I know that is what I asked for, because that is what I had decided and booked for. I made it clear I wanted something subtle because I didn't want to damage my hair. I certainly didn't expect handfuls of bleach to be rubbed into my hair. Whilst having my hair washed, I heard stylists discuss how many B12 they had upsold that day, when they were booked in etc. Doing that in earshot of customers doesn't come across as professional. I felt pressured into Olaplex. That is the reality. Whether that was the intention or not, that was how I was made to feel.
Wednesday 4th May 2022