Mum has been going for years! She always looks brill when she comes back! Must be worth every penny!read more

This was an unexpected and particularly useful wee find, I have to say!…read moreRecently, I've decided to go "cruelty-free" to an extent, by only using cosmetics/other products which are from companies who don't test on animals. I'm not against testing on animals for medical purposes, but for makeup and things I just feel there's no need, basically. (I'm not vegan or anything either, I love bacon and cheese far too much for that, I'm afraid!) Usually when I book an appointment to get my hair done, I just go for something through 5pm as A) I'm a bit of a cheapskate when it comes to my hair and B) I never need anything particularly complicated done, just a cut and blow dry for me! However, upon realisation that hairdressers are prone to using products from L'Oréal and the like, I decided to try and find a cruelty-free-esque place that wouldn't break the bank. Having discovered that the Paul Mitchell range of professional hair products is cruelty-free, I checked out their website and used the Salon Locator to find G&S. There were a few places closer to me than Coatbridge, but I liked the website and Facebook page for here as the hair photos looked great and their customers really seemed to love them. A Cut & Blow Dry was also stated on the website as being £20, so I was well in. They have a salon in Holytown as well, but that's a bit further out from where I am. This place is nestled in a wee housing estate in Coatbridge, alongside a couple of other shops/takeaways etc. My appointment was at 9am on a Saturday so there was plenty of parking to be had right outside - but I was informed by staff that it gets seriously busy in there on Saturday afternoons! The salon itself is pretty much what you would expect - a typical hairdressers inside but very nicely decorated with lots of bright pink everywhere, very girly indeed! It's also pretty spacious which is great as some hair places can often feel a bit claustrophobic! I was taken straight away and got my hair done by Katie, who was great. They'd just switched the hot water on when I got there so when my hair was getting washed it was a bit less warm than I'd have liked, but she did make sure that I was ok with the temperature before I got my hair washed. Katie also made sure to only use Paul Mitchell products with me once I mentioned my cruelty-free thing (they also use Schwarzkopf products but hey, nobody's perfect!) which I really appreciated, and she recommended a root booster from them when I said that my hair is usually pretty fine and flat. I found all the staff members to be really friendly and easy to talk to, which is good when you're going to be somewhere for 45 minutes, or much longer if you get more interesting things done with your hair. My haircut was actually £22 instead of £20 (although I didn't challenge it, to be fair) but I still think it was well worth it! I was really pleased with my hair and I felt that my stylist really knew her stuff, so I can definitely see myself coming back here!