Daniel Galvin

I have been going to get my grey covered by Louise Galvin since 2005. After years of trawling through all of London's supposed best salons, I feel like I have hit the jackpot with D.G. What makes this place so special is the extras. See my pros and cons below.

The pros:
1. Louise Galvin – The woman is a genius and a true professional. She is a beautiful person, really cares about what she does and never takes her clients for granted. Once when my greys could still be seen, they were horrified and made sure I left satisfied.

2. Blissful peace and quiet! - Hair colouring takes place upstairs where there is masses of natural light to get the colour right. Cuts and blowdrys downstairs. This means upstairs is wonderfully quiet, without the manic vibe you often get at salons.

3. The free wi-fi! - I habitually sneak off work and take my laptop and work whilst my hair is being done. Add to this some yummy food and you could want for nothing more! I get my lunch, work and hair done all at the same time.

4. Nothing is too much trouble – For example, I always drive to D.G and pay and display nearby (although the meters are now all changing to pay-by-phone). If I haven’t paid enough parking the juniors always go and top up the meter. Once (due to my hair taking longer) I got a ticket. The salon rang me up at home to ask if I got a parking ticket and offered to pay!

The cons:
1. Whilst the colour by Louise Galvin is amazing, I can’t seem to settle on someone good for a cut and blow dry. Also, the shampoos are very 'functional' - it would be good to be pampered with a proper massage, as in most other places.

2. The staff at reception, as someone said, can be really irritating. When you go to pay, they invariably take ages and you have to struggle to make eye contact so that they can serve you. If this minor flaw could be sorted, I believe there is no better place in London, if not for a cut then certainly for colour.

Simply dreadful experience. My highlights were supposed to be light blonde but were grey - I am already greying, so the effect made me look worse than when the colourist started! The product used seeped onto my scalp and burnt my head. I was left with sores and unable to use a comb because my scalp hurt too much. When I complained, the staff manager was completely disinterested and refused to give me a refund. I would NOT recommend anyone to go there.

I recommend Gemma for colour and Dean for a cut - a great team! One negative point though: shampoos are not relaxing and too short - should have an option for a longer head massage shampoo, as in Asia.

I used to hate my hair and going to the hairdressers was such a trauma. Then I found Lino. He is the best hairdresser there is, end of story. People literally stop me in the street and ask me who does my hair. That has never ever happened before. He is amazing! Worth every penny.

All I can say is "WOW". Greeted by the most charming receptionist, he said he was new to the team and hoped I had a wonderful day. And I did. I left feeling like a million pounds. With the most fabulous hair EVER. I'll be back!

I went recently - my colourist was sweet but tried to talk me out of permanent colour, applying instead a veg tint which washed out after 10 washes (i.e. 2 weeks later)... not really worth the £150 tag. Daniel Galvin himself did make an appearance and sadly spoilt my afternoon by marching up and down past me several times ranting and screaming at all his poor shaking junior staff, who did their best to apologise on his behalf for his "rare bad moods". The environment was generally nice and I had a good blow dry and in-house food!

I have been a regular client at this salon for almost 10 years. I absolutely love my stylist, who gets it right every single time and makes me feel a million dollars. Just need to sort out the reception staff as they are dismissive, unattentive and have a tendency to ignore customers - all characteristics I wouldn't put up with if I didn't adore my haircuts so much.

I had a wonderful wash and blow-dry from a junior stylist on Friday. It was my first time in this salon. Unfortunately the reception team was very unprofessional - completely ignoring me, not smiling and not making me feel welcome. I almost walked out. Luckily my shampoo girl and my stylist were very friendly and extremely competent, so I'll go again, hoping the current reception team will have been properly trained by then - or sacked!

I used to have my hair cut in New York by Bumble and Bumble and really struggled to find a salon in London that I was happy with. That was until I discovered Daniel Galvin. My stylist there does a great job every time.

I went to the salon last year. I'd always wanted to have my hair done by Daniel himself. Waited months for an appointment and finally met the guy - very nice, treated me like a celeb and I felt very special. The colour was amazing. I'm naturally a mousy brown but after my light blonde highlights I'm a completely different person - I couldn't believe I could look this good! Best hair ever - just wish I could afford to go back!

I must say, I was disappointed in this salon. My first haircut was with a junior stylist. She seemed very unsure of herself, (awkward in how she held the scissors etc.) and the haircut was nothing special. I asked the receptionist to recommend a more senior stylist next time. Well, she must have been having a bad day or something, because my hair came out very noticeably shorter on one side than the other. I couldn't stand looking in the mirror for about 2 weeks, so I paid a stylist at a different salon to fix it. This stylist told me right away that the technique was obviously bad and yes, my hair was, indeed, uneven. For all the posh-ness and hype about Daniel Galvin, I've been disappointed twice, so I won't be going back. Too bad!

I have been here 3 times. On all 3 occasions I wanted to go a lot lighter. On all 3 occasions they failed to achieve this, despite me spending 500 quid a go. I finally went to Jo Hansford where they did it right.

My hair is naturally very dark. In the consultation I picked out a picture of the (dark blonde) shade I hoped for. First they tried to talk me out of going a dark shade of blonde by saying that it wouldn't suit me. (I've been blonde several times and most people I know have always said it suits me very well; in any case, it should be my choice.) In the end the colourist said she would do it but she wasn't happy to. I expect this is because it's hard to pull off and the outcome isn't always predictable but that's why you choose a good salon, right? Anyhow, the result was that my hair was hardly any different but with a fair bit of red. I hate red!

It seems that unless you insist forcefully the salon won't follow your wishes if it's too much of a challenge. If they had told me this, I would have tried elsewhere. But I feel the approach is deceptive and they manipulate you into staying, even though the result is different to what you thought you'd agreed on. It's unfair that places like this continue to thrive.

I had my hair cut there a week ago. To be honest I am very disappointed. This is the worst haircut I've ever had in my life. I read the reviews on this website and decided to try it. I am very demanding in terms of my hair and how the haircut is done, so I decided to go for the top stylist and expected something really special.

Unfortunately, the stylist was very rude and absolutely not interested in my hair. She was much more interested in listening to what other stylists were gossiping about. My hair is not easy to cut - it's very thick and usually takes about 1.5 - 2 hours to cut properly. This stylist took 30 mins!I could have done better with the kitchen knife. And I paid more than £80 for the experience!!

I would never go there again and definitely will never recommend it to my friends.

Fantastic, every time!

I have been to this salon three times. The place has a luxurious feel so you will feel pampered, no question. The first time I was there Daniel Galvin was present, and (probably due to his presence) after a very thorough discussion with my colourist highlights looked exactly how I wanted.

However at my 2nd and 3rd visit I was really disappointed. The same colourist did my hair without consulting, she already had the colours out that she probably uses for everyone. My highlights were not done very close to the root and she only put a couple of them in my hair, so if I change my hairstyle I have long roots showing where she should have put highlights but did not. Since my last visit I have not been able to wear my hair down and cannot wait to have it done again as I really hate it every time I look in the mirror.

I just moved to London and this salon was recommended. I read the reviews on this site and decided to try it. I worked with Vicky for my highlights and Nick for my cut and style.

I've never been so happy with my hair walking out of a salon as I was today when I left Vicky and Nick at Daniel Galvin! Vicky made my over-processed blonde hair look vibrant and shiny again and Nick's cut and style made my hair healthy and a perfect frame for my face.

It's the best cut and color I've ever received and the best money I've spent on myself in years! Worth every penny! I am now a loyal client.

Known for their colouring but I don't think they should be. Had a terrible experience there. Colourist was in a very bad mood, very late (no apology), didn't listen and just dyed it the wrong colour. Been to much better salons.

I didn't actually visit the salon, but Joshua Galvin visited my local supermarket to do hair shaping for charity. I was extremely pleased with the excellent cut he gave me. I could never afford to have my hair cut in the salon (unless I won the lotto), so I was chuffed to bits when I found out that Joshua was doing hair shaping for a fraction of his usual fee, and all for charity too.

I've been going to Daniel Galvin salon for years and I love it. They are professional, excellent hair colourists and stylists and I have recommended it to countless friends who also love it.

I've been going to Daniel Galvin for several years and every time he and the team make me feel very welcome!! I've not seen anyone leave his salon unhappy with their hair. They are worth every penny and I wouldn't go anywhere else!

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