When Haringtons met Muddy…
We were absolutely delighted to invite the Editor-in-Chief of Muddy Stilettos, the women's lifestyle experts, to Haringtons, to put us to the test. The very lovely Hero Brown, lets you in on a very honest view on her hair woes and dreams (doesn't it feel familiar?!) and gives you a taste of the Haringtons Experience in her review below.
Fly-away hair with lots of grey? Not just me then... The challenge for award-winning hairdresser and colourist Barry was to create a style that will still look good a week later.
Who thinks twice before letting a Hairdresser of the Year finalist and L’Oréal ID Artist loose on their hair? Er, not me!
Barry Maddocks is an Artistic Director at boutique salon group Haringtons, which has 10 salons spread across the south of England. Over the years the group has won its fair share of national awards (meaningful ones like Artistic team of the year, L’Oréal Colour trophy etc) – so they’re big enough to attract the best stylists, but still small enough to still want to offer a lengthy hand massage or mani, and fetch a flat white and croissant from across the road for you (trust me, it happens!).
Having selflessly put myself forward to see if Haringtons could tame the Muddy mane, I hopped in my car and headed off for my image overhaul. Only thing is – were they up to the task?
THE SALON
Haringtons Winchester
I took my chance of a day out – remember those? – and pootled down to the Haringtons Winchester salon, below. You’ll find it in the loveliest, oldest part of the town, right opposite the cathedral and nudging shoulders flirtatiously with great little indie boutiques like The Hambledon and Pavilion.
Like all the Haringtons salons, this one has has a a zsush during lockdown but you’ll find all the salons very stylish and individual rather than a homogeneous ‘chain’ feel. The Winchester salon felt quite intimate and unfussy which I liked, with a relatively small cutting space upstairs (pictured) and a much bigger floor below. Beaconsfield, by contrast is a bigger beast, on a single level and a lot more statement styling (of course it is, it’s Beaconsfield!). Other salons like Windsor feel airy and elegant, with high ceilings and uncluttered interiors. So there’ll be a salon to suit you.
MY HAIR ISSUE
OMG, where do I start? My hair is limp, fly-away, thin. When it gets to my shoulders it goes straggly and wavey and I look like Bill Bailey. I’m very grey around the temples and it’s now ravaging my crown too – not great with dark brown hair. Day to day, I’m so busy that I can rarely be arsed to even dry my hair, let alone style it, so even with a great cut I end up putting it in a pony tail the whole time. Or on the odd occasions when I do try to blow dry it, I mess it up and I end up looking mumsy (hey, I can say this, I’m a mum).
THE STYLIST
Artistic Director Barry Maddocks.
As ed-in-chief at Muddy, I’ve had my fair share of hair reviews over the years (I know, feel my pain) and what I’ve slowly come to realise is how the culture of the business affects a cut. So while in my twenties the most important thing was how shiny, flash and trendy a salon was, now I’m more interested in the training, investment and customer service (yes please, I’ll take extra long head massage), because what will pop out the other end is a really great cut and colour.
One thing I’ll say for Haringtons from my Winchester experience is that they do put a lot of emphasis on listening to the client and giving a proper bespoke service. Artistic director Barry (above) got the measure of what I wanted immediately, but importantly he also gave me well-considered advice and steered me away from what would have been mistakes. I’d been pondering a platinum make over for ages thinking it would be the best solution to my grey hair, but he explained why wouldn’t work on my hair, or my skin tone and it all made total sense. So I’ve finally shelved that one!
He also suggested that I don’t take my hair shorter than my chin as I was tempted to just hack everything off – think of it as my Britney moment – but he advised me to keep my hair well above my shoulder. This gives it more body rather than trying to grow it all the time. Tbh, it was kind of a relief to hear that, rather than keep trying – and failing – to nail the look. Finally, with the colour, he talked me into warmer tones. I usually steer away from those because my hair seems to go a bit auburn in the wrong light. He promised that wouldn’t happen and whaddya know? It didn’t!
BEFORE AND AFTER
It’s all very well reading reviews, but we all know the proof is in the before and after photo, right? So here you go. Haringtons, I think we can call that a transformation.
Also as an important aside, for the first time in about five years I’m wearing my hair down at home. Barry has magically managed to cut my hair so that even when I just wash it and let it dry with zero styling, my hair has an impromptu ‘ta-da’ moment (see below in my garden the other day). That’s literally never happened before and it’s a revelation to me.
THE COST
A steal for the quality. The cut and finish (using Kerastase and TecniART products) was £75.25 and the whole head colour tint was £81.75.
Thank you Hero - we're really looking forward to having you back soon!