Hair by Fairy

36 hours and two sleepless nights after my first and last visit to Hair by Fairy I am still numb with shock.

Don't be fooled by the trendy location, this is not funky salon but a third-rate barbers and the woman who cut my hair (oriental looking, possibly Japanese/Korean) was not a hairdresser but a blagger making it up as she went along. I would stake my life on her not having had any sort of training whatsoever.

As another reviewer has already pointed out, the way the system works at HBF means that by the time the so called stylist sees you, your hair has already been washed so they have no idea what your hair is like. This cannot be a good thing. Combing through my hair, the first thing my 'stylist' said to me, in broken english, was, "you have hair extensions"

I don't and never have had.

With hindsight this should have been a warning of what was to come. When she asked how I wanted it cut, I showed her a picture that I had on my phone. She looked at it for literally one second, handed it back to me then went to work without once referring back to it. The haircut I got bore NO resemblance to the hair in the picture which was shoulder length. I'd figured that if it didn't work out, then I'd at least have some hair left to work with. WRONG! What I got was almost a short crop, with no layering, no texture, no style. It wasn't even cut evenly. Towards the end my head was in my hands and I could see in the mirror how appalled the expression on my face was, though amazingly the stylist seemed oblivious to this.

I should point out that the haircut in the picture had been carefully chosen and matched to the shape of my face and that I have very pliable hair. Over the years I have had my hair cut by everyone from Tony & Guy to the elderly Cypriot guy down the road. I hadn't expected perfection but what I got was by a long mile, the most horrific haircut I have ever had. For the first time in my life, I didn't leave a tip, but now I'm angry at myself for even paying for the cut.

Looking through the other reviews, I am finding it hard to reconcile the other reviewers experiences of HBF with my own. Perhaps some of them are not genuine, perhaps I was unlucky with the 'stylist' I got but even if that is the case you are taking a big gamble coming here.

Never go to Hair by Fairy if you want to remain even slightly attractive. I had gone in to get my hair dyed, I was told all of the red colours were discontinued and did not exist anywhere (although I've since dyed it myself with a £5 red dye from boots) they then tried to convince me to dye it a light orange which was nothing like what I wanted and when I said no they were really rude. I should have left then as I was really happy with the style I had, however, I thought I may as well get a light trim as I'd made the trip especially. My hairdresser spoke no english at all and set about ruining my hair which is now going to take a lot of growing and cutting to put right. I wish I'd never gone there. If you want to become as repulsive as possible and avoid any flattering attention from anyone this is the place for you. It's cheap for a reason and you'll end up having to pay someone else to undo the terrible job they'll give you. Don't go here!

There are three things I want from my hairdresser: a nice haircut (obviously), a good selection of magazines and a no tolerance policy to judging customers. The latter is surprisingly more important to me than coming out with my hair intact: a bad haircut can grow out- hair shame can last a lifetime. Every time I visit a hair salon, eager for some well deserved pampering I always get the same thing: “oh… do you swim a lot?” which is always followed by a sigh of disapproval, a lecture on the dangers my innocent hobby is doing to my hair followed by the hard sell for whatever new shampoo they’ve got in store. There’s that and of course the lecture of how long it has been since my last haircut and how the shampoo I use is ultimately killing my hair (my friend was once actually told her hair was ‘dead inside’ simply because she admitted to using shampoo from Boots.)Now, I feel guilty about many things in my life (indulging in a chocolate brownie, catching the bus two stops and going over my daily unit allowance with far too much gin) but I most certainly do not deserve to be made to feel guilty about what I do with my own hair.
Hair By Fairy was refreshing as it provided me with a completely guilt free haircut. It did, however, also provide me with a completely chat free haircut. On arrival at the salon I was left in a confusing position when after telling the receptionist what I wanted I was instructed to ‘sit’ in the waiting area, I did as I was told only to remember that I’d left my purse in my jacket so I quickly stood up to get it. But then whilst retrieving it I heard the receptionist shout ‘sit!’ again. Thinking I was being told off like an errant child I scuttled back to my seat, at which point the receptionist shouted ‘sit’ again (by this point I was completely bewildered, I was already sitting!) but it turns out he meant I was to go sit on a different chair to get my hair washed (instructed by a pointed finger.) I sat down expecting the regular hair wash chat but wasn’t even greeted with a ‘hello’ or even a ‘place your head here.’ Of course I knew where to place my head, but a little reassuring chat would have been nice. She began to wash my hair with shampoo that smelled of almonds (which I loved so much I wouldn’t have minded the hard sell) and then instructed me to another place to ‘sit.’ I was beginning to feel like I was on a production line.
It was time for my haircut and I was getting nervous, I had no idea whether the receptionist had my hairdresser what I wanted and feared leaving the salon with soaking wet hair or even worse dreadlocks. Noticing the picture in my white knuckled fist my stylist took it off me, glanced, said ‘very nice’ (finally some real conversation) and began to chop. Looking at the dirty towel of filthy scissors in front of me and smelling the reek of smoke which surrounded my stylist, I did not have high hopes for the cut. Sensing my discomfort and my darting eyes trying hard to stare at anything but myself in the mirror my stylist offered me a selection of magazines to read, feeling cheered by my second wish fulfilled I settled into an old copy of Cosmopolitan only to glance up occasionally to make sure my hair was still there.
Within no time my hair was done and guess what? I’m utterly and completely delighted with it. It’s just the right length, got a lot of layers and I don’t think it will take too long to style in the morning. And all for a very reasonable £13, except it wasn’t £13 but £33- with twenty quid being added on simply because I wanted a blow dry. I coughed up the cash of course and am still very pleased with my style but a pampering experience this certainly was not and for that I’m not sure if it was worth the money. I’m also intrigued to see how much other wahanda customers have been charged for a cut and blow dry as with no definite price list they could have just plucked the cost from thin (h)air.
Overall though, I’m very pleased with the cut and now I know to expect a no frill service I will certainly be back (but this time I might dry my hair at home.)

If you're looking for a fast haircut at an insanely cheap price, then look no further! Feeling unhappy with my long flat locks, I went along to Hair by Fairy with a picture of the messy, chopped up style I was after. I was told I did not have to make an appointment; I turned up, gave my name to the receptionist, and someone called me over to wash my hair within five minutes. I then had to wait for the next available stylish, and I was only waiting for five minutes before I was called. My stylist listened to what I wanted, and paid attention to the picture I showed him. He made sure I was happy with the length he had cut off before continuing, and proceeded to chop away at my locks in record time, and I am very pleased with the style. I was impressed by the speed and turn-around ,as I was on my lunch break, and still made it back to work with time to spare, but above all, I am very impressed by my new modern do and the fact that it cost me so little!

Hair by Fairy is a mixed bag. I have been going there for the best part of 3 years on and off, largely because of convenience. There is no booking policy which is wonderful for people like me who like to colour or cut their hair on a sudden whim. You simply rock up and take a seat and when the next stylist is free you're up.
I've had some good cuts and some awful cuts, some great highlights and some terrible dye jobs that I'd rather not remember, it really depends upon which stylist you end up with. They are all largely foreign, some a bit whacky and some terribly fashionable, but on the whole they're a pretty friendly bunch. The atmosphere's very energetic, created by a mix of pumping house music and crazy neon designs on the ceiling. There are tons of magazines and the prices are very affordable.
I haven't used the beauty salon yet, but I do go to the seperate nail bar located in the same room upstairs from the hair salon. The service is wonderful and for as little as £20 you're given a hell of a pedicure. The whole works. If you have a manicure as well the rates are considerably cheaper for both.
As a whole I like Hair by Fairy despite a couple of mishaps with my hair, it's creative, convenient and cheap which generally works for me!!