Jones and Payne

Craig cut my hair, he had the attention span of an underachieving 5 year old and made it abundantly clear just how uninterested he was in giving not only a good hair cut but any kind of relaxing experience. Having some serum pitched to me in dull tones as ‘essential’, he started to dry my hair before I’d even been asked how I wanted it styled and when I said I wanted it bedhead and wavy I ended up looking like a cross between a 90’s sloane and a country & western star hopeful.
Maybe other people here are good…

What an amazing find! Truly the best hair experience I have ever had. Loved the staff, loved the treats (mini strawberry tart?!), loved the massage chair, loved the hair treatment, loved the décor… oh and of course loved my hair at the end of it all
They now have one new loyal customer. I just wish my hair would grow faster so I could go back sooner!

I really love Jones and Payne. I used to work nearby and their longer hours — closing at 8pm Mon-​Thurs — enabled me to get my hair done after work which was perfect as it didn’t encroach my weekends or work day. The space is super cool, the music is great, and the drink of your choice keeps on flowing, what more could you want? Oh yeah, killer hairdressers. Claire is my girl for highlights, and Chris is my man for cuts. I always walk out of there happy. The owners really do their best to make sure that you’ve had a great experience and that you’re happy, glossy and bouncy on your way out the door. Kerastase products help too.
I don’t work in the area anymore, but I still travel about an hour to get my do’ did here. Highly recommended.

Okay, I’ve never actually written a review like this before but as I entrusted my hair to this place based on all the glowing Qype reviews, I feel like I should throw in my two cents. I had a 3:00 appointment on Saturday but had to wait for a half an hour in reception (with no explaination) before my hairdresser, Gary, appeared. He was completely lovely but obviously far overbooked. I told him the cut I had in mind (not a drastic change, just a trim and a fringe cut in) and he got down to work. After he finished cutting he left it to one of the assistants to blow dry it so he could move on to his next client. I ended up being in the salon for two hours — quite a long time for just a cut and blow dry — and when I walked out I wasn’t entirely convinced about the cut. It usually takes about a week for my hair to settle so I’ve been hoping for an improvement… but no. I’ve got to say (and I hate saying it because Gary was so nice) it’s one of the worst haircuts I’ve ever had. The layers are choppy and far shorter than I asked and the fringe refuses to behave. I’ve now got a long couple of months of growing out ahead of me.
The salon is gorgeous and everyone there was lovely (albeit rushed) but unfortunately the cut didn’t live up to the rest of it.

I had a horrible experience at this salon, and I feel I need to share it. I was probably like most readers of this site, looking for a good salon and only have comments to go on. There was not one bad review of this place, so I thought I was in good hands. Big mistake.
I could care less about free drinks or massage chairs, what I really want is a skilled professional who will make my hair look great. I went there last week. I was assigned to Gary James, «Master Technician and Senior Stylist» to coulour my hair. And he completely ruined it. I asked for T-​section highlights, with a refresh of colour in between. What I got was a badly placed T-​section of brassy and too-​light highlights, with a colour inbetween that was some kind of ungodly brown. And the ends (about 2 – 3 inches) came out very dark, bordering on black. This in contrast with the extremely light highlights at the top made it look very harsh and strange. My hair was also left flat, dull and dry. Needless to say I was not pleased!
Thinking back on my experience, Gary handled to whole process badly. The colour he chose to compliment my natural shade was WAY off. A skilled colourist should be able to advise on a proper colour. He didn’t seem to understand what the shade would look like on my hair. Also, the highlights were badly placed, he somehow missed spots near my face, which is probably the most important aspect. Thinking back, he also didn’t check on the colour at all. I’ve never known a colourist not to have a little peek and check the progress, to make sure things are going OK. IMO not checking is just reckless and careless. (It’s not even as if he even had other clients taking up his time, I was his only customer).
I was devastated when I left the salon. I had to get most of it cut off, just to even things out a bit, as colouring over-​processed hair again isn’t a good idea.
In defence of the salon, one of the owners, Stuart, did try to talk to me and tried to find a way to fix it. (I said I would think about coming back in, and after being away from the salon and thinking it over, I didn’t think it was a good idea to let Gary come near my hair again.) And he didn’t make me pay (for ruining my hair!) which I guess is one thing. Although he could obviously see how horrible it had turned out, which is probably why didn’t feel right taking money for it. If anything I should be asking compensation for pain and suffering (and hair loss!). Which I’m not, but I am submitting this review. People make mistakes, it’s true. But I think the stylist made more than one mistake, and either he’s completely unskilled, or just a bit overconfident in his abilities. Either way, I just think people should know about it. It wasn’t a happy experience for me.

You know how women in books seem to have one hairdresser who they follow everywhere they go? Mine is here.
Ricky (the Jones) used to work at Taylor Taylor and was the first hairdresser of my life to give me fabulous haircuts every time. Now he and some ex-​TT pals have set up this place. I wouldn’t have known this if I hadn’t physically bumped into Ricky on the street the other night, so hurray for that.
It’s less gold and French than Taylor Taylor, but filled with antiques and pictures (amazing antiques market from just outside Heathrow, apparently) and I loved the way products to be used were kept in a chest of drawers. There are lovely chaise longues and a selection of booze, tea and coffee to get you relaxed. My tea came in a lovely mismatched set which I coveted a lot (see picture).
The staff were all friendly and relaxed and I enjoyed my 10 minutes being massaged by my vibrating wash room chair (weird at first, had to be wrenched out of it afterwards). They also use Kerastase which I have a huge weakness for, and something called Sebastian which I’d never encountered before but made my hair blindingly shiny.
EDIT: Few months back, I popped back here to get my fringe done. I’d had it cut at Nina’s, the vintage place up in Marylebone, and so wanted to get it done in the same way. J&P are very good about giving you fringe trims for free in between cuts, but I’d be wary of who you get to cut it and try and book your usual hairdresser. I’d very happily recommend Ricky, but this time I had a junior stylist do it, who (despite this being Shoreditch, HOME to vintage) didn’t seem to get the concept of the Betty Page fringe at all. The sides, rather than swooping nicely, went up really suddenly, and after a while I just got fed up. Spent a good while trying to grow it out, in between charming comments from my mother about my «new Joan of Arc look».