I’ve had a love-hate relationship with my hair and hairdressers for as long as I can remember. From my Mum dragging me to them when I was little and every minute felt like torture. Not forgetting the time I cut my own fringe and thought that if I HID THE HAIR DOWN THE BACK OF A BOOKCASE my Mum wouldn’t notice I’d cut it #gofigure.
I used to have SO much hair as a child and well into my teens. And then I think it all started to go a bit wrong when I stopped eating properly when I left home. Too much junk, then giving up meat, plus genetics means that my hair is now finer than a spider’s web. I moved to London straight after University and immediately resented how much it cost to have something taken away from me so virtually gave up getting my hair cut. I’d pay over the odds for rubbish colour jobs and tried everything from local neighbourhood salons to the top West End ones.
Pretty much resigned to never finding ‘the one’, I’d more or less given up the hunt for somewhere that understood. Even though I’m now finally at a point where I care about myself and my appearance (all through my teens and 20’s I was hyper critical of anyone who made an effort), the hairdresser piece of the puzzle was missing. Thankfully I’ve now discovered The Box in Deptford and it’s like making a new best friend later in life.
Of course it helps that it’s a) independent b) local and c) pretty damn stylish. Nestled under the arches next to Deptford railway station, it’s all exposed brick and hairpin benches. Heck, they even have a neon flamingo, totally necessary to appeal to the Instagram generation. I’ve now been three times, although there was a year’s gap between my first and second visit. My hairdresser is Laura and she’s nothing short of amazing, genuinely I’m not sure there is a more talented stylist out there.
What I love about her is that she listens but she also challenges. I’m not one for a trim or keeping the same style for a long time. Whether it’s chopping of 5 inches on a whim or changing the colour, life is far too short to be conservative. Of course, I could never get away with bright green hair but enhancing the colour I do have is so much fun. The first time I went to The Box I came away with bright red hair and a fringe. It was fun to try but my natural hair is too frizzy to maintain a fringe without serious effort so when I went back just after Christmas we chopped the length off into a jaw-length tousled bob.
I was so happy I booked in for the end of February and last weekend zipped over for a tidy up and some rose-gold balyage. I’m booked in again for the end of April and we’ve agreed it would be good to take the tone pinker. With this being the year of self-care, it feels wonderful to finally be looking after myself and no longer thinking it’s a bad thing. Of course my hair will benefit from more regular care and I’m delighted to be supporting a small, local, independent business at the same time.
I’m so thrilled to have found my hair happy place. This isn’t a collaborative post in any way, just wanting to share my love for a truly fabulous business. Do you have the perfect hairdresser?
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