Spa Haircut Experience At Gina Conway Aveda Hair Salon And Spa – Wesbourne Grove

Approximately 4 weeks ago, I was fortunate to have attended the Gina Conway Aveda Spa and Hair Salon in a lavish part of London, Westbourne Grove to experience one of their many services they currently offer, a Spa Hair Cut. For those that are unfamiliar with a ‘Spa Hair Cut’ I wrote an in depth article explaining exactly what this entails and this can be read separately by clicking HERE.

Upon entering the premises, I was greeted by the ever polite receptionist who confirmed my appointment and introduced me to my stylist for the duration of my stay Wagner. We talked for a good 5 minutes or more during my consultation so he could understand exactly what look I wanted to achieve, my usual hair-care routine as well as a few lifestyle questions.

Prior to my hair spa appointment I was seriously contemplating a complete change and something different. Granted my hair is long, and reaches the middle of my back but was growing tired by the day of just bunging it up in a slicked back bun or ponytail! I will be turning 30 next year please god, and was after a mature style for people still mistake me for a student in their early 20’s so showed Wagner a few images of shorter hairstyles.

I had my heart set on this particular style worn effortlessly by Halle Berry to which Wagner was completely taken aback by the drastic change and wanted to check if I was making the change for the right reasons. By this he simply explained women often opted for a drastic change in appearance off the back of a bad experience in their life, i.e breaking up with their partner or loosing their job as a few examples and what seemed like a fabulous idea at the time, they later regretted it and Wagner did not want this to be the case with me.

I reassured him the drastic change was simply because I was bored stiff of my long, limp and lifeless tresses.

Upon further inspection of my hair, in particular the front and sides, Wagner gave me his honest opinion and advised against getting my hair styled like the Halle Berry picture above for my hair was really fine in these areas and having it closely shaved might expose areas of my scalp. A little disheartened I listened tentatively as he also made a valid point of just how high maintenance this type hair style actually is.

You see, not only will I need to get it cut every fortnight to maintain the look, blow-drying and / or straightening my hair EVERY single DAY would have to be incorporated into my morning regime for my hair type is naturally wavy and not straight.

If you are a regular reader of this blog you would have picked up on the fact that I absolutely LOATH having to get up earlier than I already do for my 6.30 am start just to style my hair or put on makeup as an example. Truth be told I’m a simple kinda lady that will only make such efforts on special occasions so decided to listen to my stylists advise and go for another shortish style.

Wagner suggested cutting my hair into a Graduation Bob, short enough for the change I was after and long enough for the back to be styled without the use of clippers, making it a bit more versatile should I also want to sport a wavy bob. Hairstyle agreed Wagner introduced me to his colleague who took me down a flight of stairs into the ever relaxing ‘Spa Haircut’ room. I sat in the chair where he began by giving me a scalp and neck massage.

The dimmed lights and candlelight setting, sweet scented aroma and the soft relaxing music in the background helped me relax a little as young gentleman set to work massaging my tense neck over the towel placed on my shoulders.

I must make a mental note of getting massages more frequently as sat working from a desk on a laptop for the majority of the day at my day job coupled with my training regime does not make the best matrimony but my neck was left feeling less tense and noticeably looser in areas after the divine massage.

I made the few steps to the basin area where the young man washed, conditioned my hair finishing off with a 15 minute Aveda Protein Damage Treatment designed to  repair, seal and smooth even the most damaged tresses by using the powerful ingredients of pure plant oils such as castor, jojoba and meadow foam seed.

The protein source was made from superfood grain Quinoa! After the treatment my lifeless and limp look hair was restored back to a healthy state which left my tresses feeling super silky and shiny.

Hair washed I made my way back up the stairs where Wagner was eagerly waiting for me. I was kindly brought a glass of lemon water, coaxed into sampling Aveda’s infamous liquorice tea (which was delicious btw) and a woman’s lifestyle magazine to browse through. Just incase you are wondering that is indeed a full sized towel on my head, Gina Conway’s unique and innovative way to wrap ones hair post wash!

Wagner did a wonderful job of keeping me abreast of what he was doing during every stage of the hair cut process, which I found very refreshing as he endeavoured to deliver the style we both agreed on. He took his time with much precision, never rushing the cut so he could attend to his other client patiently waiting at the other side of the salon and he even took the time out to show me a few different ways my new haircut could be styled with my newly created side fringe.

Whilst the above was going on, the young gentleman that washed my hair earlier was also at hand to give me a complementary hand massage and my did he work his magic as my hands were left feeling noticeably smoother and gentle to touch prior to my appointment.

Hair washed, treated, cut, styled and blow dried I was now ready to face the world with a brand new amazing hairstyle, but not before being handed over to Wagner’s female colleague (if I recall correctly her name was Priscilla) who kindly took the time out to talk me through Aveda’s plant-based botanical hair-care products in detail, the sole reason why I was instantly attracted to Gina Conway Hair Salon in the first place thanks to reading fellow lifestyle blogger’s Emsy Pickle’s Spa Haircut Experience at this very salon.

It was fascinating to learn that the Aveda brand was established by simply an infusion of skills within a family, as the creator’s mother was a Hairdresser and his father a Herbologist, thus fusing the two expertise together to create the Aveda brand we know today- an award winning botanical company which continues to create ethical hair-care, body-care and skincare products made from natural, plant based ingredients. I was also given advise on which hair-care products to use at based on my hair type to which the lovely lady put a few trial sized sample bottles in a bag for me to take home and try out.

My visit lasted a total of 2 hours, which is really impressive given the various spa treatments one gets as part of the Spa Haircut experience. Due to the price list changing since my visit, a Spa Haircut in Westbourne Grove branch will vary between £59.00 – £88.00 depending on the level of stylist should you want to treat yourself, a friend, relative or loved one.

Verdict

I thoroughly enjoyed my time at The Gina Conway Aveda Hair Salon and Spa in Westbourne Grove, each staff member made me feel welcome, was exceptionally friendly and very professional. I would like to take this opportunity to say a special THANK YOU to Emily for arranging my complementary journalist visit to the Salon, to my hair stylist Wagner for a phenomenal service and cut, to the young gentleman that carried out the mini massage treatments on me and the rest of the Gina Conway Aveda Staff present at the time of my appointment.

I am absolutely thrilled with my new hairstyle and have received nothing but compliments from the other half, family members, friends and work colleagues. I will definitely be back to book a Spa Haircut and am even eyeing up a possible colour change or highlights in the new year please god.

For those who haven’t seen me in person over the last month, I won’t kill you with suspense any longer…below are a few pictures of my new hairstyle taken on the day of the cut.