Life can get slightly monotonous…
We fall into routines, we become machines and we perhaps don’t make time for ourselves as much as we would like – that pile of laundry isn’t going to iron itself – and let’s face it, homework is for us parents -not so much the kids!
You get my drift.
My blog’s tagline, as you know is ‘Written for mothers, read by women’. So one day last week, I decided to stop spinning so many plates and take some time out for myself… as a woman. It was my birthday weekend and I wanted to treat myself for a change, especially as I was seeing so many friends and family.
It was time to revamp my hair. Gulp.
I had always been sceptical about cutting my hair shorter, particularly now that I’m a mother – it seemed to be a cliche mum thing to do… have a baby, chop your hair. I’ve seen it happen time and time again and I’ve witnessed the ‘mum chop’ go horribly wrong before, so I tried to avoid it as much as I could. But – I needed a change.
Hair is the crown you never take off, so I wanted to invest well in it.
I contacted Daniel Galvin Jr’s salon in Belgravia – I knew he was the right man for the job when the bio in his Instagram quoted ‘I don’t make you look beautiful, I show you that you already are’. SOLD!
I felt somewhat intimidated at first strolling into his plush salon in Belgravia – but within minutes of being there I felt welcomed, relaxed and appreciated. Daniel was with a client when I arrived, but he made a conscious effort to come over, greet me hello and promptly run his fingers through my hair like a monkey pruning their young.
‘We’re going turn you into a yummy mummy’ he said confidently. I immediately knew I was in the right place for my transformation from mundane mum to yummy mummy.
Before any colour or scissors came in contact with hair we had a consultation. Daniel has carefully chosen and trained each member of his team to ensure high standards of creativity and skill, with a strong belief that hair reflects everyone’s individual personality and should be treated with the greatest respect. His team considers everything like skin tone, eye colour, hair texture and lifestyle before undertaking any treatment.
There’s a very fine line between a classy and crass blonde, and Daniel knows this better than anyone – which to me as a blonde model is extremely important. There is nothing worse than bad blonde highlights.
Being a mother – we never switch off. Although I had my gown on, magazines to read and a cappucino ready for me to take a sip of, I mentioned to Daniel that I had to be out at a certain time to pick my son’s up from nursery and school. Naturally he had already thought of this – he mentioned he has lots of mum clients and high powered business women who need to be in and out of the salon in a flash. Awesome – I was so pleased he knew the ‘mum language’ I speak of.
He performed something called ‘Mirrored lights’ with his senior colourist Olyivia. Daniel and Olyvia have worked together for 15 years and it took him 5 years to train her to do colour (wow!). ‘Mirrored lights’ means both Daniel and Olyvia work on either side of my parting – Daniel was on my left and Olyvia to my right, duplicating everything that Daniel was doing – therefore takes half the time which inevitably maximises my day. Pure genius! What would have taken 3/4 hours took only 1.5 hours. These extra minutes are vital for us busy mama’s!
Then Ringo Star walked in.
It was then I realised that Daniel is at home with the stars – having clients such as Johnny Depp, Kylie Minogue and Amanda Holden!
As well as working with many celebrities, he is also at the forefront of the organic beauty movement since he was personally asked by HRH The Prince of Wales to launch his Duchy Originals hair care collection. Not a bad claim to fame eh?
I thought I may have felt slightly inferior or intimidated by this, but on the contrary. The rapport that Daniel has with his staff is very endearing and real – the kind of good banter I would have with my brother and sister around the dinner table. Not a pretentious salon at all – which can only come down to how friendly and open all the hand-selected staff are – and how much they love working there.
The attention to detail was so intricate, even down to the final minutes of being under the heater with my foils in. Usually when I have colour done, all the foils are taken out at the same time – but of course all the foils aren’t put in at the same time. Daniel’s assistant Amy checked my foils every so often, taking only a few out at a time. Hence making my colour perfect all over.
After the foils, followed an award winning organic hair spa treatment. Daniel said the way to think of this treatment is like a chemical peel for the hair. Full of antioxidants (these take pollution off the hair which surpresses the colour) and vitamins including vitamin C,E and cider vinegar. This was left on my hair and I was sectioned off into my own private and decadent area with a steamer on my head. Then it was time for the chop!
A gorgeous Harry Styles lookalike called Oliver (he’s 22 and so fit I found myself blushing) cut my hair with such patience and professionalism – it felt like every strand of hair was looked after.
Have you ever had your hair cut and lied about liking it? Then promptly changed the way they have styled it when you get home? I’ve been prone to do this is in the past – but not this time! I felt like of those women in a hair TV commercial swishing my hair from side to side whilst singing to myself ‘like you just stepped out of a salon…’ Please tell me know this song, otherwise this is all lost on you…
There is something so empowering about having a new hair cut – makes you feel alive… like a new women. My confidence levels are up and I’ve got some swag in my step again.
I LOVE MY NEW HAIR. Thank you to Daniel Galvin Jr and his fantastic team at his salon. Please treat yourself and have a consultation with him – who knows what your new hair and confidence will bring into your life.