The Loft | Fifth Avenue – tried and tested!

We all know that horrendous feeling when we are being forced to step out of our comfort zone. Some handle the pressure just fine and others, like myself, hesitate a lot. Changing your Hairdresser is one of these things that I completely dread to do.

So why is it so hard then? Am I particularly fussy with my hair, very on trend maybe? What are my expectations here!?

No, I can safely say that I’m quite regular when it comes to my hair. I keep it at breast-length, I want it to maintain it’s thickness and body and I’m rarely seen with split ends. But. And here it comes. I need a colourist or a technician that know how to colour. It’s not easy to find, I’ll tell you. I’ve got dark hair, not pitch black, and each stray holds some orange pigment inside. As my aim is to always sport a dark-chocolate hairdo, with cold undertones, it is a struggle for the colourist to keep my hair from going orange/red or even blue-ish!

Yes folks, that has happened. It’s heartbreaking and I wish to never experience looking like a carrot again.

After years in Dubai, going to the same hairdresser, I felt I needed a change, needed to be a bit bold and spice it up a notch – I was looking for more of a fashion/beauty establishment rather than the common spa/salon institution. My choice:

The Loft Fifth Avenue in Dubai Mall.

Founded in 2008, this trendy salon is now represented in several outlets over Dubai and Abu Dhabi. With award winning team and recognised globally for it’s interior design it gives you the feeling of visiting a loft apartment in the heart of NYC. It is monochrome, with lot of space and “departments” for different treatments such as colour and cut, face treatment, hand and nails etc.

By only working with the best brands in the industry, naming Redken 5th Avenue NYC, Kérastase Paris, and L’Oreal Professional for hairdressing, Babor for facial treatment and Essie for hand and nails it gives you as a customer some idea of the quality level aimed for. You can buy the styling tools by ghd to make sure that your hair gets gentle but effective treatment at home and the salon seem to stock all the latest models. For this review, I might point out that it is not done in any collaboration at all, this is my personal experience and curiosity about details talking!

Here we go! I wanted to test out the gift card service, as it is christmas time and some TLC is always a great gift to receive. My husband and I went in during the weekend to purchase the gift card for colour and cut (wash and a rough blow dry included) and at the same time make an appointment. Even as the mall was very busy that day, the service at the front desk went well and I got an appointment for Monday at noon. My choice. I like my pampering to be in a semi-quiet environment.

By Monday I arrived on time and “paid” with my gift card without any hassle. The front desk area is secluded from the salon with a tinted glass door and once you step inside, it is huge! I didn’t expect so much room and air. All different departments looked inviting and clean.

After having some minor backlash with the staff at the front counter I was greeted by the oh so lovely and more professional hair colourist and she took the time to really listen to my wishes and fears. She got free hands to make my colour perfect and as I had so much outgrown hair, we opted to do a full hair colouring.

I don’t know what happened, but forty minutes later I was being whisked off to get my hair washed! The waiting for my colour to set just passed by in a flash while I enjoyed looking at the other customers fabulous results. The place is not hectic and hysterical but very soft and welcoming. I especially noticed that both the music and all hair blowing didn’t make all that noise, so the new salon must be very well sound proof!

I was so surprised to see that my colourist herself took up on the task of washing my hair. Normally there are other staff for that momentum. She told me, that whenever she has the time, she prefer to wash herself to really get to see and feel the hair. This small detail truly impressed me, as with Dubai, there is always a bit of hierarchy in every workplace and people have their set role. I love that she cared about my hair in such a nice and knowledgable way!

The haircut went so smooth and I felt listened to. I could see that I would still have my long, thick hair and not some thinned out, layered version of it. Highly appreciated.

A rough blow dry later and it was time to inspect the result. OMG, I rarely say this about myself but I looked fierce! The hair colour is just out of this world, so perfect. Exactly the shade and luminosity that I wanted and this without even needing to add a toner on top of it, as some usually do. BAM, I’m so happy with my new hairdo and somehow feel more confident when my hair is in order. For my next visit I will make sure to do mani-pedi as well.

If you are located in Dubai, I think you need to contact Ms Jaiueher at The Dubai Mall shop. Please don’t overbook her, I need her to have space for me whenever I come to visit 🙂

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