As someone who reluctantly drives to Dubai whenever I need a haircut, I was pleased to hear that an outlet of the British company Toni&Guy had quietly opened in Abu Dhabi. Located at Al Bandar, the salon is the group’s third in the UAE. There are long-standing branches at DIFC and the Grand Hyatt Hotel.
I book in for a trim and am met by Amy, a British hairdresser with Sudanese, Moroccan and Egyptian origins. With long wavy dark hair, black clothes and a striking face, she reminds a bit of Amy Winehouse. Yet I needn’t worry that she’ll apply the attitude of a doomed rock star to my already frazzled locks: with some 15 years of experience with the company, she’s the salon manager and also a style director, with the highest skill level you can expect. When it comes to haircuts, an up-to-date and individual but reliable service, rather than the scarily unpredictable experience you can get with hairdressers, is the company’s raison d’être, and a welcome addition to the UAE’s somewhat transient selection of stylists.
I’m a bit worried about the state of my hair, which was trimmed three months ago but not to my entire satisfaction, as my previous hairdresser Tony had departed Emirates Towers to start his own business, and his Lebanese replacement overdid everything, especially the cutting in. As my hair is fine and curly, hairdressers sometimes cut it too short, or underestimate the frizz factor. After a lot of time outdoors in the winter, in addition to the usual water and aircon issues here in the UAE, my hair felt dry, with split ends.
Amy, however, is upbeat. “I love the natural colour. It’s just dehydrated rather than damaged,” she says, prescribing an intensive hair mask to moisturise it rather than a protein treatment. This is applied after washing, before I’m sat under a heated roller ball for ten minutes to accelerate the effect (“the heat opens the hair shaft, allowing it to go in.”)
After a nice head massage by the washer, my hair is rinsed and a comb glides through it. Amy then gets confidently to work, completing most of the cut in under 10 minutes. After applying some lovely, sulphite-free label.m products — the serum-like radiance oil followed by protein-cream — she blow dries it straight. Like all hairdressers, Amy recommends getting a trim every three months, “to keep the hair healthy, refreshed, and to help it to grow more.” An assured and enjoyable experience: next time, I’ll allow time for a meal or coffee in one of the adjoining restaurants — expensive but better than a trip to Dubai any day of the week.
• A cut and blow dry at Toni&Guy Al Bandar cost from Dh345; hair treatments from Dh150 (www.toniandguyuae.com; 02 584 8399)
