Best hair extensions London

Apr 14, 2023

By Astrid Joss

Beauty Club is the London palace of Louise Bailey

When it comes to London's hair extensions scene, the young, fun and glamorous Louise Bailey is the reigning queen. With 22 years of experience and an extensive celebrity client list including Elie Goulding and Yasmin Le Bon, she knows her tails from her lengths. In fact you’ll find that many of the capital's top hair extension experts have been trained by Bailey personally. Holding court at The Beauty Club London salon in the heart of Oxford Circus, Louise and Moe's team specialise in tape hair extensions, believing they are superior to any other form of extensions. ‘Tapes do not disturb the hairs, natural growth pattern, or tangle between the scalp and attachment point – and removal and reapplication of tapes are super fast without placing pressure on the natural hair,’ she explains.

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Beyond that, ‘It's all about the hair quality and application. Both the product needs to be excellent (she only uses premium brand Hair Club Extensions) and the stylist applying the hair needs to be superbly trained – this is how you will end up with the hair of your dreams.’ Bailey will see certain clients at home but points out that the salon is best for a same-day service due to the fact that extensions need to be colour matched to a clients natural colour. Once the colour is perfected and the extensions applied, the hair needs to be further cut and blended to achieve the most natural look possible. ‘This is where the real art comes into it,’ she explains. Her final piece of advice? ‘Never use dry shampoo on tapes. It's extension suicide!’

From £275 - £4,500Hair-extensionslondon.co.uk

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By Stephanie Bridger-Linning

By Rebecca Cope

By Stephanie Bridger-Linning

Working from her slick Fitzrovia salon, Inanch Emir is the person to see if bonds are the path you want to take. ‘Without doubt, bonds are less high maintenance than tapes as they only need replacing every 3-4 months. This works best for my celebrity clients who don't have time for constant salon trips,’ says Inanch. Bonds, as she explains, are strands of loose hair grouped together which are ‘bonded’ to the clients natural hair with a type of glue. The dried glue is very small, similar to the size of a grain of rice which you can't see but can only feel. This makes tying hair up easier and, for some, gives a more authentic look and feel. ‘We source our own Remy hair from India. Remy means the cuticle is aligned, and hair at healthiest giving you the best chance for it to act like your own hair.’ Application takes 2-4 hours depending on what you want.

From £300 to £5,000 www.inanch.com

One-stop beauty shop at Harrods

This one-stop beauty destination known as Europe's ‘largest day spa’ offers a seven-days-a-week service with seven tape extension experts, as well as other hair and beauty treatments. This means clients are able to have a same service for colour matching and extension application and book in for touch-ups like a mani-pedi at the same time.

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Its newly refurbished elegant interiors include the Salon Privé’ area – a female only space with eight hair stations for those seeking some private downtime. Low lighting, delicate music and the ultra soft Japanese yume beds ensure a beyond relaxing experience while the ‘hair library’ – a wall comprising of all colours and lengths – is set up allowing clients to be able to choose the direction they’d like to go in. For those new to extensions, the Harrods team go to great lengths to educate clients on how best to look after your newly fabulous hair: silk pillow cases and bands, tangle teasers, specific conditioners and heat protection products are all in the mix.

By Stephanie Bridger-Linning

By Rebecca Cope

By Stephanie Bridger-Linning

Price on Request harrods.com

All-rounder Jaime Hunt at Hersheson

Jaime Hunt is your go-to if you’re sat on the fence when it comes to deciding between tapes and bonds. Trained in both areas, she admits she tends to veer towards tapes. ‘I would go as far to say tapes are a better method,’ says Hunt. ‘They’re a more sustainable option because they’re reusable. Bonds end up in the bin which is incredibly wasteful; reusing hair is better for the client and the industry. They also lie more naturally in the hair and I think they’re easier to disguise. People ask all the time if they need a break from tapes, like you do from bonds, and I explain that tapes are a continuous relationship.’ On the subject of the rise in popularity of extensions, Hunt feels they have somewhat been the norm for a while now. ‘It may be down to social media not only promoting them but banishing any surrounding taboo. In the past they were considered to be a cheap look, as well as being highly damaging.’

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She adds that she tells clients less is more: ‘Sophisticated women desire enhancement so it's not always about length. It's best to try the minimal amount and build it up as you need to keep your look realistic unless you want a total transformation, any hair brands I use I try on myself first and I match my clients texture accordingly.’

By Stephanie Bridger-Linning

By Rebecca Cope

By Stephanie Bridger-Linning

From £130https://www.hershesons.com/pages/berners-street