Jack The Clipper, Whitechapel
Sporting the perfect name for a Whitechapel barber’s, this haven for dandy east London gents has a treatment menu full of sinister-sounding things you can have done to your barnet or beard. Get a ‘lemon squash, cut and sandy lyle’ (wash, cut and style), £19.50, a ‘Jack’s dig in the grave with a hot Simon Cowell’ (shave and towel), £10 or ‘the full ripper’, £29, which is a wash, cut, style and shave. It’s the home of styled-up cockney.
4 Toynbee Street, E1 7NE
jacktheclipper.co.uk
Electric Hairdressing, Marylebone
Based in a trendilicious location – opposite Other Criteria gallery store, which sells products based on the work of artists such as Damien Hirst. Busy types will love super-speedy treatments like the Electric Express Blow Dry, from £50, which gives stylistas a blow dry, a manicure and a pedicure in just 20 minutes. Or when you’re in need of more chill-out time, bust into a secret downstairs area called ‘The Rooms’, where you can plug in your own music and get private hair treatments away from the hustle.
29 Thayer Street, W1U 2QW
electric-hair.com
Hari’s Salon, King’s Road
Let the barman whip you up a cocktail (or a smoothie if you’re there early). Then take your seat in front of a piano or a mirror surrounded by pictures of musical greats for a haircut by one of Hari’s team of experts. And if you time it right, the experience will be soundtracked by a live jazz band or saxophonist. Men’s cut and styling from £25 and women’s from £48.
233 King’s Road, SW3 5EJ
harissalon.com
Blue Tit, Dalston
The independent salon looks more like an Edwardian living room than a 21st-century hairdresser’s, with its vintage leather armchairs, fireplace and black and white photos. It’s best to head here before a big event, because the salon is famous for its fashion-forward, look-at-me up-dos for girls, from £46. If it’s sunny, they’ll cut your hair outside, in a peaceful, covered part of the garden. Get a cut and finish for £49 (girls) or £30 (boys), then hang out at the sweeping wooden smoothie bar afterwards. The salon uses only organic products.
7 Stoke Newington Road, N16 8BH
bluetitlondon.com
Flaxton Ptootch, Kentish Town
This place is so hip people aren’t quite sure how to pronounce its name (it’s ‘P-Tooch’). At the hairdresser-meets-art gallery, north London hipsters can kill two very essential birds with one stone, and check out some cutting-edge art while getting that all-important trim. They also host the occasional gig. And you don’t pay silly amounts to get your hair done here – cuts cost from £24 and colour services start at £12.
237 Kentish Town Road, NW5 2JT
flaxonptootch.com
