Remy hair extensions at Beauty & Melody
If there’s one thing in life we can count on, it’s enjoying that just-stepped-out-of-a-salon moment every six weeks, right? Well, nope, not if, like me, you were born with thin, lacklustre hair. Heck, the idea of the hairdresser drives me to drink. The thought of confronting my desperate do illuminated by bright lights and reflected in a huge mirror is torturous. For me, long, glossy, flowing locks – that hairdressing Holy Grail – will only ever be a pipe dream…
The perfect balm
Or so I thought, until I met the team at Beauty & Melody, who are specialists in the application of tape hair extensions. The glossy white salon is calm and tranquil: the perfect balm for a nervous customer like me. Stylist Mel is keen that I know exactly what is involved and takes me through a consultation, focusing on the benefits of tape-in over traditional glue tip extensions. Notably, they are perfect for finer hair like mine, they will not break or otherwise damage the follicles, and they give a seamless, more natural-looking result – even in high winds! I’m told that they can last up to three months, with a maintenance appointment required after six to eight weeks to reapply the extensions as your hair grows. I’m sold.
The magic touch
We decide on a look that will create both length and thickness. Mel begins by applying highlights to my own greying blonde hair to ensure that the extensions are perfectly matched. Colour done, I’m already impressed, and the real transformation is still to come. Medical grade tape is used to attach the extensions strip by strip,
with the process taking around an hour for a half head application. Mel ensures that the tape-in hair mimics my natural hair: there are darker tones underneath and an ombre effect, with the hair being slightly lighter at the ends. Before my eyes lank and limp turns to full and flowing, and after a quick cut I am, for the first time ever, perfectly coiffed. Finally I understand what it is like to leave the hairdressers feeling transformed. I have an irrepressible spring
in my step and a big old smile on my face.
The details
Prices from £300, with the maintenance appointment charged at £70 per hour. 19-21 Great Cumberland Place, W1H (020 7112 8478; beautyandmelody.co.uk)