After searching for a great salon in London for two years, I finally found the perfect one!
Gemma is fantastic! She's super friendly and personable, as well as an intuitive, knowledgeable, and skillful colorist/stylist, who can translate what you'd like or want (even if not articulated well) into a reality. She's also not afraid to make suggestions or give her honest opinion, if she thinks a color or look may not best compliment your hairtype or skintone, so that you come out with a cut and/or color that best suits you.
For the past two years, I've had my fair share of color/cut disasters and mishaps. While the colorists and stylists were often nice, the color and cut always fell short, resulting in having to return to the salon for corrections. At times, rather than suggest what might be more flattering for my hairtype and skintone, colorists would often highlight my hair in a manner they saw fit, often resulting in hair that washed out my skintone and looked slightly stripey or uneven. I have long hair that's thin, but I have a lot of it...and it's wavy. Because of my hairtype, it has to be cut in a way that brings out the natural waves and adds volume (because it's heavy) and shape without thinning it out and making it to look scraggly. Stylists would often cut my hair bluntly, cut layers that were too short, or get scissor happy and thin it out too much.
From the outside, Oskar Pink looked like an interesting shop you'd find somewhere in the Mission in SF or in Silver lake (LA) that probably sold unique clothing or records. When I set foot into the salon, I was instantly greeted. Everyone was really warm and friendly, and there was no pretense. I took out a picture of the haircolor I wanted and explained what I was looking for, which took about 10 minutes, as I'm pretty picky about what I want. We bounced ideas back and forth, and she was helpful and honest with her professional opinion, explaining what she thought might work better and why. Once we decided on the color and cut, she explained the techniques she'd be using. I felt extremely at ease in her hands and trusted her, which is important, for when you see a colorist/stylist, you're entrusting them with your hair.
I came out of the salon with kick ass highlights and a great haircut.
If you've had your fair share of hair cut/color disasters or are hesitant about going to a salon for the same reasons I was iffy about it, break the cycle and see Gemma. You won't regret it. read more