The salon staging a hair colour revolution in east London
*rainbow emoji*
[F]ashion’s long-term relationship with grunge might be about to give way to a multicoloured obsession with maximalism. From the top down. And East London’s Not Another Salon could be a starting point for the revolution.
Led by director Sophia Hilton, the salon is switching out the intimidating atmosphere of high-end hair treatments and instead creating a safe space – with a no-judgement policy – that is focussing on taking care of your hair as well as offering transformative colour changes if the mood strikes. Sophia has had worldwide recognition for her work, but we caught up to find out how this is just the beginning.
Was there a founding philosophy for Not Another Salon?
I guess I had to create something different or it would fail. It would fail, because I would get bored. I needed a company that had no limits, that kept my creativity flowing. More than that it needed to mean something. I wanted to contribute little part of hair and fashion history. From an aesthetic point of view it’s supposed to be quite child like, to take the intimidation away from a salon experience. Its been described as the ‘adult Disneyland.’ From an ethical point of view it’s a company that is putting out positive messages about love and acceptance. We have a ‘no judgement policy’ and we spend a lot of time communicating how we welcome everyone. You don’t have to be ‘cool’ to be in my salon. Lastly, the hair we create is very different to the general market and so our philosophy has been about bringing polish back from this never ending love for grunge.
Do you have a hair colour icon?
Not really, but I have started to make friends with other yellow haired people around the world! I have a friend that I’ve never met who is also a haired hairdresser in New York. We love to adore each others hair and style. So funny really, how a colour has done that.
Who or what are you clients’ most common references for their look?
Our clients bring pictures from our own Instagram. There has been quite a few times when a client has brought in a picture of another client and that client is sat next to her!
Can you give us a hint of what will be the hair colour trend of 2017?
Absolutely, bolder colours are taking over the pastels that came back a few years ago. It’s all about being more vibrant with your hair but at the same time keeping it looking expensive. Often we add a few dots of black to an deep emerald greens or and electric blues so its not bright and ‘rebellious’ looking but more rich and sexy. If a girl wanted to wear these shades to the office then understanding how to wear them is important. Our clients want something more than the DIY pink they did in their bedroom as a teenager, now they have grown up and they demand a higher quality
Do you have any advice for anyone contemplating a transformation?
Take your time if it includes the lightening process and look after your hair and don’t f***k your hair. No matter how great the colour is, if the quality isn’t there it’s not going to look good. If you’re going to go for vibrant shades then talk to us about the order in which you want to try them because there are some colours you can’t go back on. For example once you go green you cant get pink so your options become more limited. Secondly, have a think about your wardrobe clashes! I’ve been colours that have meant I’ve run out of clothes after two weeks!
Follow Not Another Salon and Sophia on Instagram.