Redeemed my Itson voucher here today with reluctance after reading these reviews (wish i had looked them up before purchasing the voucher for £49 for full head highlights and cut) The hairdresser Taylor, took me over to get my hair washed first (strange I thought as i always get my hair highlighted before being washed). She used a brush on my wet hair after putting conditioner on. I felt uncomfortable with this as I know that wet hair is weaker and logically brushing can damage your hair in this state. When I said I was uncomfortable with her brushing my hair she assured me that this was a special brush and would not do any damage. The wash itself was uncomfortable with my scalp being pulled not the normally relaxing massage you often get from good salons here. After my hair was washed she proceeded with the hair cut She combed my wet hair through with a thin tail comb (I have really thick hair and this did not seem the best tool for her to use and appeared to struggle getting it through my hair). i bit my lip to refrain from commenting. After my hair was put into a middle parten I explained that I wear my hair in a side parten hairdressers normally ask at this stage how you wear your parten. Taylor said 'I always cut hair in the middle then put it to your own parten afterwards. I am sorry, but this seemed ridiculous to me and have never had my hair cut this way. My hair was put into quarter sections and, even though I had asked only for a trim, she seemed to have no skill in cutting hair the way sections were being handled and her positioning. I politely said that I did not want to get my hair highlighted today (no way!!!! its hard enough getting good blonde highlights sometimes and no way did i feel confident, especially after she said she prefers cutting to colouring). I made an excuse that my hair was not that long done and i felt that the routes could last a while longer. She then said that I could use the cut part of the voucher this visit and come back for highlights at a later date. She continued cutting my hair and, feeling uncomfortable, I asked her not to cut any more. She refused and said that she was only trimming and that she will have to finish. Fair enough I thought and just prayed for it to be over with. The first hair-drier she used wasn't suitable and she had to get another one. Her style of blow drying hair and taste in style generally was not for me. I strongly feel that this stylist would benefit from further training and that it is not her fault this hasn't happened. The cut felt like it was from a student stylist learning basics I am so glad to not of gone ahead with the highlights and need to wash my hair now I am home as the wave/curls she put into my hair look ridiculous. My hair now looks worse than when i went in with the new layers that have been added with this poor, poor cut. What an absolute waste of £49. Needless to say, I will not be returning for my highlights. I was also told by the receptionist, after being told by the stylist i could come back for highlights, that it would be unlikely as I should have had them today. Fair enough, but very unprofessional in approach. Very disappointed. read more

I'm afraid to say that my experience differs from those of the above reviewers - your hairdressers may be amazing, but if the reception your customers receive either in person or on the phone is rude and unfriendly, then this means very little. For most people (especially those with "difficult" hair), going to the hairdresser is a stressful enough experience, through which we like to be guided by kind, gently, knowledgeable staff who know their stuff, and are reassuring (and, most importantly, seem to like us). My whole experience with Egg was that of a confrontation -from phoning up to book my appointment (as a new customer whose details weren't on file, the receptionist didn't seem to know quite what to do with me), to turning up on the day - I didn't warrant a smile from the receptionist, or even a glass of water (I was obviously interrupting her hectic routine of opening and closing the front door, chatting, and eating crisps and drinking cans of coke). The card machine was broken, so I dutifully trundled off to take cash out from a nearby cashpoint - and almost didn't come back (incidentally, a friend had a near identical experience - with an unfriendly receptionist - and took the chance of being sent to the cashpoint to cancel her appointment). (Oh - and it also wasn't great being told to take £100 out for a service which was meant to cost less than £60... if a wash and blow dry are a necessary part of a service, then they should be included in the price. When having anything done to my hair in the past - cut, colour, etc, - I have never once been charged extra for a wash and blow dry. It's the equivalent of Ryanair charging customers to pay by card - when there is no choice but to pay by card.) I am sure that if I had been young, trendy and with "easy" (read straight, or maybe a just a bit wavy) hair, it would all have been a breeze. The sad thing is that Egg was recommended to me as somewhere that is good with curly hair. I have had many excellent haircuts, both in th UK and abroad - and when I look back it was the experience as well as the cut that made them so good, and made me want to return. At Egg, I was made to feel like a leper, with "difficult" hair - as if my hair was something I had deliberately come up with to make the stylist's day difficult (indeed, I would say that the way I was spoken to about my hair bordered on prejudice. And when I asked questions of the stylist, the reply was that she had already given me the information I was asking about...). My last amazing hairdresser moved to Glasgow and I was looking for a new amazing Edinburgh-based hairdresser.... Suddenly a trip to Glasgow to have my hair done doesn't seem so bad.... read more

I have to say that I agree with the above review - your hairdressers may be amazing, but if the reception your customers receive either in person or on the phone is rude and unfriendly, then this means very little. For most people (especially those with "difficult" hair), going to the hairdresser is a stressful enough experience, through which we like to be guided by kind, gently, knowledgeable staff who know their stuff, and are reassuring (and, most importantly, seem to like us). My whole experience with Egg was that of a confrontation -from phoning up to book my appointment (as a new customer whose details weren't on file, the receptionist didn't seem to know quite what to do with me), to turning up on the day - I didn't warrant a smile from the receptionist, or even a glass of water (I was obviously interrupting her hectic routine of opening and closing the front door, chatting, and eating crisps and drinking cans of coke). The card machine was broken, so I dutifully trundled off to take cash out from a nearby cashpoint - and almost didn't come back (incidentally, a friend had a near identical experience - with an unfriendly receptionist - and took the chance of being sent to the cashpoint to cancel her appointment). (Oh - and it also wasn't great being told to take £100 out for a service which was meant to cost less than £60... if a wash and blow dry are a necessary part of a service, then they should be included in the price. When having anything done to my hair in the past - cut, colour, etc, - I have never once been charged extra for a wash and blow dry. It's the equivalent of Ryanair charging customers to pay by card - when there is no choice but to pay by card.) I am sure that if I had been young, trendy and with "easy" (read straight, or maybe a just a bit wavy) hair, it would all have been a breeze. The sad thing is that Egg was recommended to me as somewhere that is good with curly hair. I have had many excellent haircuts, both in th UK and abroad - and when I look back it was the experience as well as the cut that made them so good, and made me want to return. At Egg, I was made to feel like a leper, with "difficult" hair - as if my hair was something I had deliberately come up with to make the stylist's day difficult (indeed, I would say that the way I was spoken to about my hair bordered on prejudice. And when I asked questions of the stylist, the reply was that she had already given me the information I was asking about...). My last amazing hairdresser moved to Glasgow and I was looking for a new amazing Edinburgh-based hairdresser.... Suddenly a trip to Glasgow to have my hair done doesn't seem so bad.... read more

I had a terrible, terrible, terrible experience at Egg Hair & Beauty. I purchased a special voucher in conjunction with my work place, which allowed four visits to the salon for fifty quid. This was marketed as a 'bargain' deal. Visit one was a cut and blow dry, visit two highlights with shampoo and dry, visit three was another cut and blow dry while visit four was a facial. Visit one went OK but the hairdresser who was a Director at the salon was very unfriendly. He also forced me to buy shampoo and conditioner I didn't want at the till by putting it in a bag and ringing it up on the till before I could say yes or no. I didn't really want to go back after that experience but I figured because I already bought the voucher I might as well go back. Second visit when I entered the salon I was greeted by a very enthusiastic receptionist. I told her I wasn't sure about getting the highlights done and can I just have a cut and blow dry for free instead. I was promptly approached by what looked like the owner of the salon and told that I had to pay for the cut and blow dry and get 40% off but on this occasion it was only the highlights for free! I reluctantly agreed. I had my hair washed by the grumpy receptionist who had no chat whatsoever, just pulled and tugged on my hair. Then I asked her if I could just go for the highlights because they were going to be free anyway. I sat in the chair and my 'director' hairdresser came up and said that in fact I couldn't get the highlights because the customer had to have highlights in already before they could use this part of the voucher! Despite the fact that it clearly does not say on the voucher you already had to have colour in you hair. Again, the hairdresser gave of a couldn't be bothered attitude. I left this hairdresser feeling ripped off and angry that I had paid £50 for a voucher and had not had any real benefits from it. Despite having two visits left to go my experience at Egg has been that bad that I will not be going back. I'd rather stick to my usual hairdresser in Leith Sesh Hairdressing who make you feel welcome, are professional and really care about their customers and hair. read more

Good cut, shame about the colour! I've been going to Egg for a good few years now, but until recently I only ever had my hair cut, not coloured. I always saw Bernie, who I have to admit always cuts my hair well. However, back in June I decided to take the plunge and get her to lighten my hair from VERY dark brown to more of a medium brown. I had it bleached, highlighted, tinted, toned, you name it it happened to my hair! I was in there for 6 1/2 hours and although Bernie really did do her best with my hair (and I admit it wasn't an easy task) I wasn't that happy with the end result it was quite patchy in places and a lot more 'warm toned' (ie ginger) than I'd have liked. Cue 3 months of obsessively using purple toned shampoo on my hair to try and kick the ginger! It eventually settled to a light-medium brown colour which I didn't mind. I returned to the salon yesterday in order to get a cut, and to get the ends of my hair lightened a bit more and the red tones taken out. I showed Bernie a picture of the tone I wanted, explicitly saying that I wanted the light brown tone through the length of the model's hair, not the dark colour at her roots. Bernie seemed to understand and started bleaching and colouring. 4 1/2 HOURS LATER (made longer by getting one of the juniors to put toner on my hair and them missing bits so it had to be redone) I had.DARK BROWN HAIR. Basically, the exact opposite of what I wanted! I was not amused, the colour part of my day cost me £110 for a result I could have achieved for a fiver with a box, you know, had I actually wanted that :( I didn't bother saying anything, as to be honest I had reached the point where I just didn't want them putting anything else anywhere near my head. I'm pretty gutted right now, all that bleach and effort to end up with hair bascially the same colour as when I started out in July, when I was £350 richer :( Needless to say I won't be going back, and now I'm off to wash my hair about 10 times in the hope of fading this incredibly dark dye. read more

I will not be returning to Egg. Having redeemed a cut and colour with an It Is On voucher, I'm glad I didn't pay the full price. I thought the point of those vouchers was that you get a great deal but still get the full package, whereas I felt like I was treated differently for booking 'cheap' (still £50 I might add). Wasn't so much the cut/colour that annoyed me. That was okay. Although they didn't ask where my parting was when drying my hair, and neither did they cut my fringe (pretty much standard elements of hairdressing, no?) Sorry to say this but customer service was appalling too. Being told my hair is 'awful' is NOT acceptable to a client!! Perhaps putting it in a more delicate way, saying my hair was 'damaged' and telling me how you're going to help my hair would have been more effective and professional!!? I was literally nearly crying in the chair and left feeling really upset. I used to love getting my hair cut and you're meant to leave feeling rejuvenated, not completely offended! Service is meant to come with a smile too, and the moment I stepped in there I felt like I was inconveniencing them. I didn't feel relaxed, nor did anyone try to build up a rapport with me throughout the whole 2 1/2 to 3 hours I was sat there, and when you tell them what you want done they just tell you what you should do instead, rather than listening and actually giving you what you want. The stylists seem experienced and trained up just fine though, but there are others that seem really young and inexperienced as they have a few girls on placement. These girls are there washing and drying your hair which gave me no confidence in their abilities as they are told what to do but then just left to their own devices. Washing my hair before applying the dye was weird too, meaning having to endure awkward neck ache twice. Just not up to the usual standards of hairdressing and I really wouldn't be writing this if I wasn't so annoyed. read more

I recently visited EGG to use a 4 visit voucher that i was advertised on the noticeboard at my work. I have looked into visiting this salon before as i work just a stones throw from Broughton Street but as a cut & style costs around £40 it was a little out of my price range so when i saw this promotion for 2 cut & styles, rejuvenating highlights and a facial for £39.95 over 4 visits i jumped at the opportunity. I have been to my first 2 visits already and have been pleased with the service i received, the staff are friendly and i have been pleased with my haircuts. Often i am dubious to change stylists but when i saw this offer i thought i would give it a go and i will be returning to EGG once my visits on my gift certificate have all been used. I have read the review below and i finding surprising that you are using this against the salon, it says on the certificate that you only get 15 foils of highlights and as someone who gets their hair coloured i know that this may not be enough to colour my whole hair from my experience at other salons so i was prepared to pay more, but i could hardly complain at a 40% discount the salon offered. I thought the gift certificate i received was very clear in its breakdown of the visits. 4 visits for the price of 1 is a bargain in my eyes, maybe I just can't shake my student ways. I am very picky about my hair cuts and i have always been able to talk with the stylists about what i want to get and managed to get the results i wanted! Im surprised that people are complaining about poor service in the salon, i have heard about competitive salons writing bad reviews and i suspect this to be the case here. read more

I would not recommend anyone even consider this salon. I visited before Christmas for a cut and colour (£100) and I was left greatly disappointed with my treatment. When I arrived home I noticed that there was still dye on my face and on my scalp, I called the salon to make them aware of the situation. I spoke with one of their managers who asked ' what did I expect them to do about it?' and not an apology offered. I explained that this was not the level of service I was expecting and I would now have to rewash and style my hair. Claire offered to call me back the following day, which she did offering me £20 credit on my account I then explained that after my experience I was not sure that I would be returning and would prefer the £20 to be refunded. I was called back later (leaving a voicemail) explain that the £20 credit to my account was a 'good will gesture' and they would not be refunding any money. I called again to try and sort this out giving them the chance to rectify the situation, I was then asked to put my complaint in an e-mail. I was given the incorrect e-mail address twice by the receptionist. I was eventually able to send the e-mail on the 22nd December, I received no response or confirmation they had received the e-mail. I called them on the 18 January and I was told they had received the e-mail but had been very busy and not replied. I feel that the level of service from this salon is well below acceptable and there level of customers service to be shocking. I offered them the chance to recertify their mistake and they barely offered me an apology. I would NOT recommend them to anyone! read more

What can I say about Egg Hair Salon you walk into the reception area and the welcome is pleasant enough but don't be fooled! I had booked to have highlights, cut & blow dry I explained that l do not like my hair (which is blonde) to light so l would like some warm lowlights through it is this what l received- no! When the stylist finished l stated that my hair was far too light & l wasn't happy with it only to be told to give it a few days and it might 'grow on me'. Ok so l was also told to phone them if l was still unhappy with it after that & they would put the lowlights in so l did & l was told that the stylist was now on holiday & l couldn't have an appointment for 2 weeks in other words l had to walk around feeling miserable with my hair in a way l didn't like for a total of 3 weeks but what could l do as the person in charge said it had to be the same stylist to fix my hair! I went along thinking they at least we're going to fix the colour by putting in lowlights only to be told they thought it would be better to put a toner on it as this would fix it it didn't it looks awful and when l said it was still too light and now very dull & flat l was informed abruptly that my hair is a shade darker my gown taken off me and basically pushed out the door!! I am going on holiday in a few days & can't get an appointment anywhere to have my hair returned to its glossy vibrant blonde shades! Would l recommend Egg to anyone No Never!!!! read more

I had booked an appointment with Egg Hairdressers on Broughton Street in Edinburgh with Sarah, whom i had 2 months previously who did a good job on my hair. I had then booked another appointment 2 months later to get my hair highlighted and cut by Sarah 1 week before my wedding. When i arrived at the salon i was told that Sarah had been unavailable, i later found out she no longer worked there and no one had contacted me to let me know. I decided to go ahead with the appointment as i needed to get my highlighted and cut. I was left waiting for 30mins while the staff chatted amoungst themselves, basically ignoring me. When they did come to me i was given a girl called Taylor to cut/highlight my hair. I described what i wanted but i didn't get it at all. Not only was she rude and didn't cut my hair how i asked, when i had been close to tears l asked for the manager who made me feel terrible aswell as the other member of staff who came to finish my hair claiming i was just being nervous about my wedding, while in actual fact they had highlighted my hair so it was patchy and given me a mullet of a hair cut whilst making me feel like it was all my fault. I strongly recommend looking around for another hairdressers as i felt close to tears leaving this place. The customer service is not good unfortunately. read more

@ ecofriendlychick I recently read your review after googling the salon for their website.I have been a client of Taylor's for about 8 months now and myself have thick coloured hair that I have found difficult over the years to manage (I tend to move hairdressers regularly because of this).I also went to the salon on a promotional voucher after being recommended by a friend.The whole cut before colour seemed strange to me too at first but now makes sense as my colour compliments my haircut now and I don't have to worry about how it lies.Taylor even sold me one of the tangle tamers from dragons den and it has helped with my split ends. Im loving it and my hair feels so much nicer. I even use it in the shower to comb thru the conditioner, it helps to eliminate dead hair leaving my hair in such a better condition. Im so glad I gave her the chance and took her advice cause for once I actually like my hair and look forward to getting it done(almost). The reason I'm leaving this feed is I was in the salon the day you were in and Taylor was upset by your uneasiness.I understand this and hope you find someone like I have that you can trust and relax with. read more

I also bought the gift certificate talked about below and was a little dubious about going after reading the reviews on this page. I have just returned from my first visit I must say that I am so so glad that I chose to ignore the reviews! The staff were very friendly and accommodating and offered helpful, knowledgeable advice. I am sure that other salons wouldn't put bad ratings on here just to take out the competition but maybe I am being naive! I think the certificate deal is spot on, I bought it with my first wage since leaving University so the four visits will hopefully get me few the first uncertain months of new employment. Based on the reception I received today I will be using Egg for the foreseeable future. One last point that I was VERY impressed with was that they knew how to deal with my curly hair! They didn't encourage me to have it straightened as most hairdressers do, they understood that I like the curls and provided me with a brilliant cut that complimented my needs. Big thumbs up from me to the whole Egg team and I can't wait to go back again for a bit of pampering! :) read more

I travel worldwide with my job and have had many hairdressers over the years through out England and Europe,that is until I found Egg. Having started as a trainee hairdresser myself and was used for many years as a hair model I'm very sure of what I expect from a hairdressers. I eventually found it here. From the minute I walk in with warm greetings from the lovely friendly staff,I have the full attention of the head stylist and owner from start to finish. Something that is often lost in most salons today when the norm is for the head stylist you are paying extra for actually only ends up just cutting whilst a string of other people do the colour, blow drying and all the extras. I have been coming for 8yrs now and even asked him to fly out to Belgium to colour my hair whilst I was stuck out there. I can't imagine ever going anywhere else and that's even when I travel from Yorkshire to get it done. I've even got my friend hooked now and she lives in Sheffield! Always walk out the Salon happy. Thank you Egg. read more

Wish I had of read all these bad reviews before going along to this hairdressers! As others have said the atmosphere is non existent, girls washing hair are grumpy and also mute it would seem. Hairdresser didn't listen to a word I said about how long I wanted my hair left and cut it much shorter than I requested!! She was also mostly mute and not conversational or friendly at all. I wasn't offered any tea / coffee as you would be in other salons. Hair was blow dried, quite badly, but not straightened therefore ended up looking a bit frizzy, I mean what hairdresser does not use straightners these days??? Couldn't wait to get home and style it properly myself. All felt a bit half hearted and rushed like they could not wait to get you out the door, all in all an awful experience that I will definitely not be repeating. If I could have given them a zero star rating I would have! Avoid this place and spend your hard earned cash at a decent salon. read more

I been to many different hairdressers over the years but now that I've found Egg I staying. The salon is warm and friendly and I've always felt welcomed and valued as a customer. I have fine fly away hair that I've always struggled to get volume and shine. Over the years other hairdressers have not been able to colour it well or cut in a workable style. However since I've been going to Egg, my hair is always in great condition due to their expert advice and styling, the cut and colour are brilliant and I get complimented on it regularly and my blonde hair even shines now. The whole debate of wash, cut or colour first has never boterhed me, I've found that each Salon has it own take and after all at the end of the day, its the end results that matter and I am extremely happy with them. Thanks Egg, very happy with your service and I always feel fabulous when I leave. read more

awful! It will be the first and only time I will ever walk into this salon. I chose this hairdresser mainly due to the location (I work in town) and the impressive website but from the minute I walked in, I regretted my choice. The atmosphere was terrible. All the staff looked fed up and grumpy. The young girl who washed my hair ddin't have a clue what she was doing. I had to continiously use the towel to dry my eyes, face, neck etc but she wasn't taking the hint and this carried on throughout the wash. The cut I was given by the senior stylist was probably the worst I've ever had and I paid £50 for the 'pleasure'. It's fair to say it was that bad it actually ruined my Christmas. You know you've had a bad haircut when friends and colleagues comment 'oh, you've had your haircut' rather than 'oh, your hair's lovely'. I would avoid this salon at all costs. read more

I quite agree with some of the other reviewers as I too had bought a deal for a set price. I visited the salon once but wouldn't recommend and decided against going back too. I thought perhaps the guy (who I think manages the place) was perhaps having an off day on my first visit as I found him to be unhelpful, did his own thing, wasn't prepared to listen and conversation was definitely not forthcoming! I too was under the impression that I received highlights on my second visit but found this not to be the case therefore the second visit meant nothing other than a wash/blowdry. Not how the card was sold to me. I tried in vain to contact the marketing agents for Egg Hair & Beauty to no avail. They didn't even have the common courtesy to reply so all in all a bad deal and one which I would never recommend to anyone else! read more

I too bought the dreaded voucher but the wording on the initial offer did not mention the 15 foils on pre highlighted hair limit so I am currently in limbo with the seller of the voucher to get a refund blood out of a stone may be easier to achieve! Whilst I realise that elevate-uk are a separate company, it is Egg's reputation on the line at the poor service from them and to be honest when I called to discuss the voucher and what it entailed the response was very negative and she sounded like she really couldn't be bothered maybe the reason you are having to do these offers is that people aren't coming back?? read more

Had my hair done at Egg Hair & Body two weeks ago and am finding myself compelled to write a review (not something I usually do). I have always coloured my hair (blonde) but am now used to having to pay the price as my poor hair is tired of being bleached, highlighted over and over. I dealt with the head stylist at Egg (Craig Parvin) who was honest and straightforward that I should try another way of keeping the colour I love. His advice was good, the colour is great and two weeks on the condition of my hair is still better than it has been in years. I would highly recommend this salon! read more