Author's product rating: 
| Advantages: |
Student discounts, convenient for city centre workers / studying types |
| Disadvantages: |
The attitude of the staff |
| Recommend to potential buyers: |
yes |
The Razor’s Edge on Oxford Rd in Manchester is one of my local hairdressers, but for almost 2 years of me living in the city I never went. There were a few things that put me off, but the main one was their sign – the font they’ve used is a blurry slurry one and I just couldn’t figure out what they were called, which used to annoy me. One of my friends can obviously read better than I can though, because as we were driving past one day I mentioned that I was thinking of going in there and he replied with “Where? Razor’s Edge?”. So finally I had a name, and the dooyoo get together that was to take place that Friday gave me a reason to have my hair cut, so I made an appointment.
I arrived ten minutes before my allotted time but it was over half an hour before I was taken through. During that time I sat in their waiting area (3 leather seats behind the reception desk) and read the usual hair and beauty magazines. Two people who came in after me who had appointments for the same time were taken a good quarter of an hour before me, so I can only imagine that my stylist was running extremely behind schedule. When I was called no apologies were made, and I was simply whisked to a chair and plopped down. After a very brief chat (“what do you want?”, “this, this and this”, “yeah, ok”) I was passed on to one of the juniors for washing while he returned to the person he was in the middle of. During the rest of the session he kept flitting back and forth between the girl before me and the guy after, passing me over to the junior each time. Although he did the actual cutting, she did the drying and styling. This didn’t bother me as such, but the constant changeovers got a bit much.
I’ve had better cuts but this one is certainly above average. It took them a good 45 minutes to get my hair straight, but it was worth it. Every time they added a treatment or goo to my hair, they explained why they were doing it, but never once did they offer to sell me the wonder-spray or miracle-gel, which was a refreshing change compared to the salons I’ve been frequenting of late. The hairdressing inflicted injuries were normal in amount – although my face got blasted with the hair dryer, for example, they did dry my ears after washing which was a nice touch :-) Speaking of hairdryers, they seem to like the sound of these things, and once they were on, they weren’t switched off until your hair was dry, even if there were periods of styling time during which they weren’t needed in the middle. Still, it’s there electricity bill....
The salon had a nice young atmosphere, with half the staff being younger than me, and the others no older than mid-twenties. The music was audible but not too loud, and the clientele were mainly students due to the proximity to several universities and the generous discounts they offer. The place is pretty small really, and was crowded, with 4 or 5 stylists, and several juniors all flying around. They have 8 stations I think, and 3 sinks in the washing area. The salon overlooks Oxford Rd so the view’s not that interesting, but the window is of a decent size, and the place is bright and airy. The walls are a plain yellowish colour, the floor wooden and the ceiling tiled (I spent a lot of time leaning back for washing, and then leaning forwards for snipping, so I noticed these things). Each station has a small table for holding essentials like brushes and dryers, but these are tucked away on the neatly concealed shelves behind the mirrors when not in use.
Their prices vary depending on what level of stylist you get, and range from £17.50 for a wash and style with the lowest level, to double that for a cut from the art director. They also offer a full range of colouring and perming services. Men’s cuts clock in-between £13 and £25. There are 3 branches in
Manchester with all offering discounts for students. My local one gives 25% off all week, and the others offer a 10% reduction Monday to Thursday. Since the prices are constant throughout, if you’re a student it is worth going to Oxford Rd, especially if you want/need a Friday appointment. Their website (www.therazorsedge.co.uk) has full price listings and opening hours, and is pretty groovy as
hairdressers’ websites go.
The final Zoë verdict? Their work was good, the setting wasn’t that bad, but I wasn’t impressed with their attitudes – customer service was not their forte. The receptionist had a chip on her shoulder and the other staff kept wandering. They were nice and dedicated once you had them, but constantly fighting for their attention was not something I’d want to do again. The work really was nice, but with the sort of things I have done, any half decent hairdresser can get the same results. I don’t think I’ll be returning in a hurry.
Salon details:
1 Royal Exchange Arcade, Manchester. Tel: 0161 832 7798.
11 Oxford Rd, Manchester. Tel: 0161 272 7233.
26 Fountain Street, Manchester. Tel: 0161 832 7747.
