Orao

The most terrible thing happened (not here! Those four stars are correct!)… I returned from the States only to find that my hairdresser had left me. Devastated. No return address, not even a dear John letter, just a lovely receptionist telling me he no longer worked at the salon… obviously those 6 years meant nothing to him. Humph.
Anyway, I took the opportunity to try and find a salon closer to home, since long distance relationships suck. Orao popped up, it seemed to be reasonably priced, had a decent website, and they were friendly on the phone. Risky, but I took an emergency Saturday morning appointment with Nick.
The salon itself is around a ten minute walk from Balham station, in an unassuming row of shops. It’s white inside, clean and minimalist. Nothing particularly special, but I’m not one for those giant swirly mirrors and whatnot anyway.
They serve refreshments — juice, coffee and even beer! I was most thrilled my coffee came with the same brown biscuit I usually get. I’m easily pleased. Even fancy plates and cups.
To the haircut: Nick was lovely, listened to me ask for a trim in the usual roundabout way that takes me ten minutes. Someone else washed my hair — very thoroughly I might add — and then Nick cut it exactly the way I wanted. I had a banquet of magazines to choose from and was comfortable.
Really a very pleasant experience, with the added bonus of a very good haircut thrown in. I noted they also do manicures at 50% off for the near future. Nick’s a senior stylist so it was a tad more expensive than my usual — here’s my tiny niggle with the place — they have different prices for short and long hair. That’s a bit odd in my mind, because I’ve had short hair and know it’s a lot harder to get a good haircut! I’d rather pay for quality than time, and I refuse to believe it takes that much longer to do my less-​than-​shoulder-​length hair than, say, a pixie bob anyway. So —
Eliminate the strange pricing policy and it’d be five stars. I might try somewhere else just to check, but I do rate Nick and I might be back.