How can I trust a hairdresser?

Deciding on who to trust with your hair can be a daunting task, with so many hairdressers to chose from how can you be certain you've made the right choice?

Here is the experience of when a mystery reviewer entered our salon, little to our knowledge, our client Lara Karvin 31, was about to examine us and give a detailed account of our salon, our working standards and if we fit the expectations.

"I've been to many different salons throughout my life, and finally I have found a salon that's worth the five star experience that we all expect. Super easy to find on the maps, after many recommendations from close friends, the hype on their social media, I had to go and see why Ritzys Windsor are being spoken about."

" Hello.. I'm Lara Karvin and my occupation is full-time international blogger visiting many small independents rating the service, customer satisfaction and employee engagement. I will never reveal my true identity to the employee, similar to a mystery shopper, I guess you can call me the mystery reviewer."

Be sure to check out my forums, my socials and, subscribe to my Youtube Channel where your see all of my mystery reviewing appointments.

RITZYS WINDSOR - 10TH JULY 2022

The moment you walk in, the girls are friendly, warm and personable. There isn't a enormous reception desk with four or five members of staff lurking, to be slightly intimidating for extroverts like me to walk up to. I was greeted extremely casually, almost too casually, like I had entered somebody's home, it felt very familiar. The place is trendy, the theme of teal, inspired by Moroccan Oil takes you away from the groggy grey UK weather. The salon is very personable, I couldn't help but clock the feature self care books, the blue classic dial-phone and the cute encouraging quotes hand written around the salon. The music was very upbeat, Latin-y which gave quite a unique touch. I had an appointment for a haircut and blow-dry and saw one of the Stylist who has chosen to keep anonymous.

I'm the annoying client who collects Pinterest pictures, arranging them methodically into my hair folder, I mean that's normal right? What was refreshing, was the way the stylist positively took into consideration my pictures whilst giving in her own input of professional advise and suggesting on adapting the haircut to suit my hectic mum life. I really felt like the stylist spent time asking thorough questions to find out about ME and my lifestyle and it I was automatically felt at ease after someone taking so much pride and interest in their craft, after all the stylist is the professional. The stylist had a really friendly smile, I warmed to her straight away, gently running her hands through my hair I was convinced she had experience.

I proceeded to the basin area, kept clean and again displayed the beautiful teal range of Moroccan Oil products. I requested the Repairing Moroccan oil shampoo to be used, followed by a repairing treatment at an additional fee. The mask was massaged well and the smell lasted truly lasted a few days in my hair. The hair wash was good, In fact it could off been for longer, but I was mindful it was an extremely busy salon, particularly for a Sunday.

The one thing that baffled me was forget the bog standard tea or coffee question, it was "caffe or cappuccino?" the stylist had instantly sent me to the Mediterranean. I do normally drink black tea, but I could already feel the shampoo-ist rustling up the cappuccino. The coffee was scrumptious, nearly on par with Starbucks.

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SERVICE

The stylist injected some Moroccan Oil UV heat protector and began working, explaining the procedure of drying hair prior to cutting. I was indeed startled at this technique as I assumed hair salons cut the hair wet, this was completely out of the ordinary and the first time it had been done. Nevertheless, I trusted the process, sipped my cappuccino and enjoyed the ambiance. In no-time, my hair was completely frizz-free, super sleek, reflecting the shimmer of the treatment I'd had and I was ready to be cut. The stylist cut my hair, very precisely, which made me understand why she had straightened my hair before, so the haircut really displayed sharp and even all around. The layers and fringe really framed my face, the stylist patiently took her time in training me to use my straighteners at home to curl and add body ( I'm still useless but practice makes perfect, hey). Overall, great modern techniques were used, the stylist cut to the chase really just focusing on uplifting my appearance in no-time.

PRICE

In total, I paid £85.75 for a haircut, blowdry and MoroccanOil Recovery mask which I had been advised to use to restore my damaged ends from all the bleaching. Being a mother and career focused, I don't treat myself very often and for the level of attentiveness I received, the quality and professionalism of the salon, I believe the price tag was defiantly acceptable.

NEGATIVES

There are a few negatives I'd pin point.

1# The difficulty to find local parking. Windsor does have a few very pricey multi-stories that usually get busy particularly on a weekend. The limitation to park caused slight inconvenience, a car park or allocated spaces would be a great convenience.

2# I would like to point out is the premises looks much bigger on Instagram. I was slightly taken aback by the limited space and narrow environment, which isn't portrayed clearly on their social media. The shop is small, and everything is quite compact, had I been in more company it would of defiantly been a squeeze.

3# The stylist hummed and singed to the background music which didn't bother me, but I could see how this could irritate potential customers when its their time to relax.

Overall, a unique and creative salon in Windsor where I'd happily feel comfortable returning to, the stylists and staff clearly ooze confidence and are very sure of their craft. The team is presentable and approachable, which really puts you at ease when in the hairdressers.

7/10 - Lara karvin