Claire Frances

I had my haircut here today. From the outside, Claire Frances is a fairly unassuming salon on the Beanscene end of Woodlands Road but once inside I was really impressed with the set up. The salon was spotless, which is something I’m quite fussy about. I was greeted by a very friendly receptionist and my jacket was taken. No sooner had I sat down in the spacious waiting area had my stylist, Jennifer, come over to take me to my seat for a pre-​cut chat. Tick — they run bang on time. Jennifer really took the time to discuss what I was after and offered a few suggestions for me to consider, which I appreciated. Once we had decided on a way forward, a junior took me over to the back wash to get me shampooed. This was relaxing and included a head massage. It was then back to the hot seat. Within the hour, I was fully cut and blow dried and very happy. At £41 for a women’s cut and blow dry, I would consider this to be the pricier end of the market but my experience here was far superior to other local salons that I have tried, and much more personal than going to a «chain.» I shall definitely be going back. A really relaxing, yet efficient salon experience.

No, you won’t find a burger or Indian food here but you will find a wee gem of a place to get your hair pampered!
It’s near on 10 years that I’ve been a regular here, having Claire cut my hair everytime. I had tried a few salons on first moving to Glasgow, but ended up getting snipped ears (really!), poor service, or being kept waiting for up to an hour, with no apology or offer of refreshment.
On being recommended here, I cannot bear the thought of another person putting their scissors near me! Claire is a brilliant hairdresser and always tells you what will work, not necessarily what you would like if it isn’t going to suit you or your hair can’t do it.
Staff are always friendly and if you don’t fancy a tea or coffee, you can always have a wee glass of wine or a beer!
Relaxed atmosphere and competitively priced, you won’t be disappointed on coming here. Just be prepared to become a regular and hear me say ‘told you so’ :-)
You Gotta Get Snipped Here! :-D

Claire Frances, sitting right at the part of Woodlands Road that meets Charing Cross, has been consistently good to my hair over the years. I hold a special place in my heart for this place because it’s where I got my first professional colouring done. I felt very brave at the time — not that it’s the kind of thing that deserves a medal! — but I was hankering for some blondie bits in my hair and finally got round to setting the scissors in motion.
My hair is black and when I first visited it had faded pink/​brown highlights in it. But the staff were really nice about the colour (despite the fact I was starting to look like a hedge in autumn), and gave me highlighting advice. I was really happy with the result, and felt like the girl who dyed it was quite brave since most hairdressers are reluctant to highlight dark hair. It stayed in good condition, though, and this place over the months helped me get blonder and blonder — till I got bored and moved on to something else.
Eventually highlighting started to weigh heavily on my hair follicles and I returned to Claire Frances before my graduation to get back in blaaaack (as the song goes). Once again I got really good service, friendly advice and an awesome hair cut. My hair was returned to its former, glossy past and the girl gave me a deep condition at a very reasonable price to help maintain a healthy look.
I’ll definitely be back in the near future since staff are always consistent, complimentary, give good advice and are really good at colouring. They are always very accomodating when they’re busy and you run in for a last minute snip (which I do, often). They also offer student discount and are open late mid week which is handy if you don’t get out of work till five.
Prices very — it can be up to £100 pounds for a cut and colour, but it’s worth it (no pun or L’oreal reference intended). Advice is free and a cut and blow dry ranges in at about £30 for females — average price for the calibre this salon stands in. It has warm surroundings, chilled out atmosphere and there’s always several stylists on hand to help you out.
They go out of their way to relax you and most importantly they rescue hair when you’re responsible for ruining it, so I always leave a very happy customer! Why spend time waiting weeks for an appointment in town when this place is five minutes away (and arguably better)?