KARINE JACKSON VEGAN HAIR SALON, LONDON

I was recently invited along to review the London hair salon that belongs to Australian hair stylist; Karine Jackson. The hair salon is vegan friendly by using organic hair dyes that are ammonia free. This also means that I am pleased to report back that the products used on your hair at Karine Jackson are cruelty free too!

The salon is situated on Litchfield Street, just off of Shaftesbury Avenue at Leicester Square. I had a consultation a few days before my actual appointment, which was great as I could meet the team beforehand. 

I met with Alasdair; the style director at the salon. I explained to him that I wanted to keep my dark roots, as the upkeep is much better for me and means I don't have to re-do my roots every 6 weeks like I used to. I explained how I wasn't very happy with how warm the regrowth of my roots were starting to go and that to me, they looked very obvious next to the artificial darker colour next to the regrowth. I also explained that I felt the blonde was starting to go very warm toned and I prefer ashier blondes on my hair. He got a colour chart out and we spoke about different shades of grey; eventually deciding on one that would be great for my hair. 

A few days later, I returned for my appointment. I had the luxury of having the salon to myself for the first part of my appointment. It was great chatting to Alasdair and finding out more about him as he is from New Zealand, so trained in colour and styling out there before moving over to London for a permanent job with Karine Jackson a few years ago. 

We went through my consultation again to double check I hadn't changed my mind about what I wanted. I also took my hair extensions from ClipHair along as Alasdair said he could dye these to match my new hair. He started by mixing up my colours and then toned my hair extensions to a grey-er shade that would blend in perfectly with the finished result.

The actual process he used on my hair when dying it is called Root Stretching; something I had never had before or had even heard of. The process is similar to that of Balayage but means the roots are slightly darker and fade out naturally into blonde gradually.

My grey toner for the blonde was also applied and then it was the waiting game as everything cooked nicely! A bag was applied to the top of my hair to keep the warmth in. It was so nice being able to chill reading some magazines without breathing in the horrid stench of ammonia that are in the majority of salon dyes.

Alasdair used their special Powerbuild shampoo and conditioner to rinse the dye out of my hair and then finished with a much needed head massage.  

After combing through my hair with a tangle teezer, it was time for a trim. I am trying to grow my hair in the hope I can eventually ditch the hair extensions, so Alasdair took about half an inch off my hair and kept it all at one length. He also cut some shape into the front of my face and trimmed a few inches off my extensions too as I wanted them to look more natural. 

After blowdrying my hair, I was really pleased to see the colour result once my hair was dry. It was the perfect shade of grey! The rest of the team spent the afternoon blowdrying my hair extensions and then Alasdair clipped them in for me; heat styling them with a beach wave look as the finished result. I honestly felt like such a princess and a slight diva walking down the streets of London afterwards!

I am very pleased with my new hair and would definitely return to be transformed by Alasdair again. he completely understood what I wanted as the final result and achieved this amazingly well. Huge thank you to the team for having me down and making me feel like a million dollars!

Disclaimer: I was invited along to review a complimentary colour and cut at Karine Jackson - in return for an honest review on my blog. All words and photographs are my own.