Many thanks for all your r/r/c's. Also on dooyoo, under the same name. Anyone in or around South Wal...
Many thanks for all your r/r/c's. Also on dooyoo, under the same name. Anyone in or around South Wales looking for decent, beech office furniture? Changing our office furniture, if interested, please message me.
Member since:08.01.2006
Reviews:117
Members who trust:80
I am a frequent customer of the hairdressers at Saks Hair & Beauty in Cardiff, located centrally in St John Street behind the Queens Arcade & a stone's throw from the Queen St shopping area.
Saks is a chain offering hair and beauty treatments, training academies and is also the hair and beauty partner presence in David Lloyd health/fitness clubs and is also nomintaed hairdresser to British Airways, so they come with a reputation for being good.
Initially I just went to Saks on the off chance of an appointment as my normal hairdresser couldn't fit me for 2 weeks! Despite calling at 5pm on a Friday for a cut and colour, I was still offered an appointment for the next day, which was excellent, but since my first appointment, I have never been able to get a same or next day appointment since because they have become so busy, but I can still get to see the same stylist as their staff retention has been excellent in this branch over the 3 years I have been a customer there.
I have had numerous styles and types of colouring applied to my hair at Saks, I won't bore you by telling you about them all but my main focus will be about their bespoke colouring service, which is what I have had done most of all within this branch.
I will start by telling Ciao-sters about the salon 'experience', I can only apply my comments to the Cardiff branch, not for the chain overall. The salon has a reception normally staffed by a receptionist but sometimes by the stylists too, you give your name, your coat is taken and a refreshment offered, whilst you sit and glance
at the dsplays and magazines, in this branch I have never been offered an alcoholic beverage, only juice, water, tea or coffee, which is brought to you by one of the salon juniors. After being told who your stylist will be if you haven't booked in with a specific stylist, you are placed in your gown and shown to your seat.
The stylists here are very attentive to what their clients want, I am alsways doing strange things colour & style wise to my hair and they have never batted an eyelid at my ideas but they have given me advice on my ideas and what will suit my skin tone, my lifestyle, current fashion trends and what colours will be most suitable my hair type, rather than just telling me 'hey your ideas are absolute rubbish!'. They give a lot of advice reagrding trends in hair design for now and next season, they are very proud of their cutting edge styles and very keen to show you exactly what they can do. I am happy to let a hairdresser loose on my hair and because of this, I have had some brilliant funky hair do's from Saks, but they have always listening to my wish to keep my hair long enough to tie back.
For best results, you need to be totally honest with your stylist, so that they can taylor their ideas to suit you, this has always been of the uttmost importance to they stylists I have had in Saks, they really do not want to give you a hair style that is not practical in 'real life'.
After chatting with a stylist, choosing a colour or colour combination, another drink is always offered and a magazine is always given. Prior to any colour being applied, one of the juniors will attend to you by places the obligatory platic binliner esq sheeting around you and a towel to prtect clothes and skin from splashes of colouring agent. Your stylist or colour technician will then starting the process, I have had a junior or trainee hair dresser help out with the colour process and the 'trainer' is always very informative to the trainee but as a client, I have never felt that I was being ignored or overlooked and they ensure I am always OK at any time.
One comment I will make is that I have never had a patch test from Saks even prior to my first ever appointment with them, if you are sensitive I would strongly recommend you insist on a patch test prior to your appoinment, hopefully you should be advised when you need to attend for this to be carried out.
After the colouring process is carried out, I am normally left under a heater lamp for 20 minutes, this beeps when it is finished and then someone will relieve you of the lamp or increase the time you need to spend under it, I have found a few times when the salon is busy, I have been left to wai for some time beofre someone comes to check my colour, one time is was a further 25 minutes after it beeped before someone came but as I was being tended to by the beauty therapist who is located downstairs from the main salon, I was none too bothered. It seems when the beauty salon is quieter, the beauty therapist will come up an help out, I have had some useful tips from her but no freebies or tasters which might be an idea to get people in! The problem I think though, is that the beauty salon part of Cardiff Saks was closed for a long time and it lost a lot of clientel, therefore people don't really think of going back there, so maybe some tasters would get people back in there?
After being released from the colour lamp, you are taken over to the sinks to be rinsed, this is done by one of the salon's trainees, who are very good, very chatty and very keen to please, sadly the hot water supply in Saks Cardiff is a bit sporadic sometime and it can be a little on the cold side and it's iether a case of wait for the water to heat up or grin and bear it, I have to say I am of the kind to grin and bear it but if it's not for you, just say and they'll wait for the water to heat up again for you. If you decide to have a treatment on your hair such as damage repair or moisturiser repleniser, this is applied in a very soothing way with a massaging effect on your scalp-lovely! After all your washing and rinsing is done, you are taken back to your chair, refreshments are again offered.
As far as I can tell, standard shampoos are used, again if you have sensitive tendancies, it may be adviseable to ask for a pacth test. Treatments are offered and your stylist will pick the right treatment for you and prices start from £10 for treatments.
Your stylistic check your colour and runs through again what he/she intends to do with your cutting. With hair like mine, which is long, fine and knots very very easily, your stylist may ask one of the trainees to comb through and start drying your hair to get it to a point where it's not dripping wet, when I had REALLY long hair I was asked to stand for this part to be carried out. When cutting is being undertaken, your stylist will talk about their products that they use which are suitable foryour hair type and for your new colour/style, I have found sometime this has come across slightly pushy, I don't know whether commission is paid on products sold but sometimes it's pushy enough to put me off! Your stylist will give to tips and advice on how to recreate your style at home and I have always been given a step by step guide to looking after, maintaining and styling my hair.
You, as the client, are listened to, I was having my hair done for an evening out and my stylist to an interest in what I was wearing so he could style my hair to suit the outfit, which I have never encountered before, but it's little things like that that make a difference.
There is an array of products for your hair, for your beauty needs and there are also appliances for sale just aside from the reception area, designed to catch your eyes on both the way in and way out!
The beauty salon here is located down a flight of stairs so although the salon would be suitable for the disabled or less mobile, the beauty salon wouldn't be, it's also, unclear fro the outside where the salon is within the building and if indeed the beauty aspect is still offered here as it really is not clear at all!
Opening hours are flexible, they have late nights and early appointments and there is always plenty of staff about although that said, it can be a little hectic on a Saturday afternoon.
Price wise, it's a little expensive, although prices depend on which level of styist you have to do your hair and what you have done, for example I have the salon's top stylist and a 'Bespoke' colour service, cut, blow dry and style which costs me £96, with loyalty discount! Because of this, I only do this every 4-5 months but it's my only vice, so I don't mind (well i do but I do like doing strange things to my hair).
The salons offer a range of discounts, for regular clientel, for NUS card holders and for members of the David Lloyd health club chain, although this appears to be somehwta unclear as I have been told some chains will offer this discount and some won't, so doubel check beforehand if you intend to claim a discount if it is available on what you want to have done.
Prior to payment another 'Are you OK for products' is asked before you hand over your hard earnt dosh and walk out the door only for the rain and wind to batter your new hair to a frazzle, which always happens in my case!
The salon is good, staff are lovely, it is busy nowadays but you can see there is a lot of talent being undertaken, despite the business, staff are attentive, refreshments are generous and it is a pleasant experience and enviroment.
How would I improve my visits? Well, I'd like to see if slightly cheaper, I'd like to be in and out a little bit quicker and I'd like them to stop the hard sell on products.
Whats good here? Well, the talent of the hair dressers, the fact they are committed to givening you what you want and what suits both you are your lifestyle but they don't push the Saks brand of funk and trendiness on to you, it's very client orientated.
I would whole heartedly recommend Saks in Cardiff, having had many a disaster hair do in my life, I am pleased to have found a salon who are keen to retain their clients by achieving exactly what is asked of them.
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May 28th, 2006
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