Michelle Louise

I visited Michelle Louise in Balham for the first time on Saturday 26 Nov 2011 for a t-section of foils. It was a horrible experience and I definitely will not be returning.
Whilst I am not unhappy with final result, I found Natalia (a senior stylist) and her colleague rude and ****y. I can safely say I have NEVER encountered such rude hair dressers - and I hope never to again. Given Michelle Louise is a local salon in Balham, hardly a leading London salon, it was incredible!
When I sat down (after struggling to the chair with my magazine, bag and cup of tea - she didn't bother to help) she distastefully picked up my hair and claimed it was green (my hair is a warm brown) and the colour was terrible and she had no idea what to do. She then had to ask her colleague what she suggested, who was equally rude (but said "no it doesn't have a green tinge it just looks . . . .metallic"). Though my hair was in need of some attention they could have discussed this in a different way - they were both impatient and agressive and seemed unable to understand what colour I wanted my hair or what I wanted to have done. They probably did both know what they were talking about, but there whole way of speaking to me was disgusting. I wasn't sure if I was going to burst into tears or get up and storm out!
When the colour was washed out of my hair I was furious as I literally had heavy yellow tiger stripes of colour across my parting. I complained and went back to the basin where they put in more tint. The colour is definitely toned down though the tint is semi permanent so my hair is obviously still tiger striped underneath the tint!
Natalia then spent some time telling me how I needed to come back so she could properly "fix" my hair as I had several different colours at the back and it really needed to be sorted out. I don't think so!

I love this salon. My colour and highlights are always subtle and complementary to suit my age, unlike some places you go where they do not take this into consideration. I have the chap that works there and I would definitely recommend him. The salon is very tranquil, the wash basins and chair so relaxing, unlike some, and the overall experience is a very pleasant one indeed. I have also been to the Wandsworth shop where Michelle did my hair, and she was great too. I live near the Balham shop and that is why I tried it. I would most definitely recommend either of these salons to my friends.

I was really disappointed with my visit here - the stylist (a senior stylist) was unable to listen to simple instructions and was rude and dismissive when I tried to communicate what I wanted during the cut.
When I told her I was unhappy with the cut at the end and explained why (although I was still willing to pay for her time, and I did) she just argued with me.
The stylists present in general seemed more interested in chatting and going outside to smoke than in providing good customer service and it felt like they wanted to get me out the door asap, even though this was a quiet sunday with no other customers.
I live really close by so I would have liked to make this salon my regular but given the experience I had I will not go back there again, and I would advise others not to waste £50 learning the same lesson I did when there are plenty of other hairdressers in the area.