Stylish New Salon: Jones & Payne

There’s an endless tangle of hair salons in London, catering for all tastes and lifestyles. The big chains get the job done, churning out ‘Alexa’ bobs and ‘Kate’ fringes like nobody’s business. But they lack the personal touch.

The kooky independents are great for standing out from the crowd, but their punters have to put up with a slightly erratic service – whether it’s manic, clippers-wielding flamboyance or slow, indulgent fluffing and spraying that takes hours on end.

Jones & Payne is the perfect example of what every salon should be. Tasteful and charming, it’s a heady mix of West End professionalism and East End style.

Everyone greets you like a friend rather than a client, and the chic interior is genuinely comfortable. The cringe-worthy formalities and stale tales of holidays are nowhere to be heard. Instead, everyone’s giggling, sipping Bellinis and sharing jokes and chocolate brownies.

Hair is a serious business for these folks, and their sparkling credentials are glamorously intriguing (they are too polite to name drop).

They find out what you’d like done by turning it into a conversation rather than just taking your order.

You feel in safe hands because they’ve managed to take control without completely taking over.

The massage chairs are a nice touch, and the wash and head massage is laid back. By the time you sit in the chair, you feel as relaxed and confident as everyone else in the place – even the gowns are pretty stylish.

The cutting and styling is fun to watch. Everyone here clearly loves what they do and loves doing it here (there’s a chill out area in the back with computer games and sofas for the staff, which is a nice touch).

Hair magically becomes revitalised and contemporary again, without any stress or drama. You may even get shown some tricks of the trade like how to blow-dry the perfect fringe and ways to create volume and bounce without frizz (all good to know).

And before you know it, it’s finished exactly on time, which is fabulous. Because even though this is the best new salon in London, you can’t hang around here all day. You’ve got places to be.

Prices from £47 for a cut and finish for women; £37 for men.

Jones & Payne
73 Curtain Road
Shoreditch
EC2A 3BS

 Tel: 020 7613 6550 to make an appointment.