You may have seen on Instagram that I have a new hair cut and colour*. I visited a brand new salon in Glasgow for balayage, and I love my new look. I wanted to share it with you, introduce you to Petra Salon and share some haircare tips.
I love the balayage look and I’ve seen it so many times online recently, so I got it again; but this time at the new Petra Salon in Glasgow city centre. They styled it with some lovely beachy waves; which I adore, but can’t manage to recreate on my own – it drives me mad! I only got a small amount off of the length, as I wanted to be able to pleat it and still tie it back when the weather gets warmer. To get an idea of the hair colour you would like, you can also check out hair shade charts .
Balayage is a highlighting technique, where the highlights are more freely handpainted onto the hair to create a graduated, natural look. I think this softer look suits me so much better than one block colour. Also, with balayage, you don’t get such obvious roots as your hair grows out, so you don’t need to visit the salon as often. It would be very low maintenance, could I learn to do the beachy waves correctly.
The salon where I had it done is new in Glasgow and it looks amazing inside. It’s situated upstairs on Buchanan Street, next to Buchanan Galleries , and looks and feels so glam. It’s a full hair and beauty salon, so you can get everything (even lashes) done in one place for a night out or special occasion. They really look after you, and you might even get some sweet treats. While I was there, I chatted to the owner Helen, and Creative Director Graham, to find out more about the salon and to get some haircare tips from the experts.
Why did you want to open Petra. What ‘something special’ do you think it brings to Glasgow?
H: I wanted to open an experience salon that encapsulated all of the things I wanted in my ideal salon, through the eyes of a client and not a stylist or therapist. It’s a case of “she scoured the kingdom in search of her perfect salon and with no success she created her own.” Petra is everything I want in a salon – great hair, proficient and talented stylists, perfect colour results, the utopian blow dry, makeup and having fun all under one roof. I don’t want anyone to feel that they don’t measure up or aren’t thin or beautiful enough to get in.
How did you create the look for the salon? What atmosphere were you going for?
What services are on offer at Petra?
H: We are a full-service hair salon, specialising in creative colour and cutting techniques; but also more glamour-led services such as our express blow dry bar, make up studio, and brow and lash treatments. We also offer premium, specialist skin care services such as dermaplaning, microneedling and LED therapy facials. All of our hair stylists come from eminent training academy backgrounds, such as Sassoon, Toni & Guy and Rainbow Rooms.
Can you share some haircare tips and product recommendations for looking after coloured hair?
G: Petra uses and stocks professional, salon-exclusive backwash and use-at-home ranges. We made the considered decision to become a Wella house, and to that end, will exclusively use Wella colour and styling products – including the newly relaunched System Professional range. This is a scientifically-developed prescriptive range, where each client will be taken through their own consultation based upon scalp health, hair type and overall desired results, and will receive their own unique Energy Code or prescription. They will then be washed and styled based upon that. This can then be continued at home with our System Professional retail range, for best results and continued hair health. By doing this you can be guaranteed that the results of your salon visit will continue on. We are passionate about after care at Petra and are so excited to be using the range, as not every salon are invited to stock this.
How often should we be washing our hair and applying heated tools to our hair?
G: Less is most definitely more. Heat and chemicals place stress on the hair, so you should never over cleanse – our advice is no more than 2-3 times per week. If clients are using their Energy Code prescription correctly then their hair will remain in perfect condition and won’t require frequent over washing.
Since my visit to Petra, I haven’t been using any of the Wella products; but my hair is still looking and feeling great. I try to wash my hair no more than 3 times per week, and I usually manage this, unless I have a lot of events to go. Limiting the amount of times that you wash your hair also helps your colour to stay intact for longer. I also try to limit the amount of heat that’s applied to my hair, hence why I often wear it tied back. I try to only straighten or curl it for special occasions. I am determined to master the beachy wave however, so those tongs are coming out! If you have any tips on achieving that beachy wave look, send them my way.
I received a complimentary cut and colour, but all opinions are my own.
You can find out more about what I’m loving, and what I’m doing, over on my Instagram.