Rush Hair

The hair dresser herself was lovely, and I left happy wth my hair but I’ve never been to such a dirty salon! There seemed to be no-​one cleaning the hair from the floor and it was piling up like there was no tomorrow!
I was also left sitting at the sick for quite some time and not knowing why which bugged me ever so slightly!
I would only return if I had another 50% code, I wouldn’t pay £60 for wash, cut and blowdry in such a grimey place!

They did an amazing job! They took me in right away after a quick consultation… They were able to transform my dark brown hair into lusciously red locks. It was the quickest AND most thorough job I’ve ever had (though definitely not the cheapest– it’s a good thing I managed to catch them during their discounted hours). They were able to blow dry my hair straight within a half hour in the end too, which has taken others much longer in the past (I am mixed race, so I have a ton of very curly hair). Amazing! I left with a massive smile on my face and literally everyone complimented me on the way out. I am considering coming back again for a touch up in the future.

Oh Unilocal,you tell me what to expect and I didn’t believe you — mainly because there were so few reviews and I forgot to scroll down and read the ‘not recommended’ reviews — which in this case, really tell the story.
I am very, very loyal to my lovely hairdresser but unfortunately for me, so are lots of people so when I realised that I couldn’t possibly go away with my hair in its horrible state, I needed to find somewhere that could cut my hair nearby to work. A colleague mentioned that there was a Rush nearby, and that as a chain, it might have more availability. They did indeed and I was able to get an appointment in about an hour after I checked online, I didn’t have to call to book in, and there was 20% for new clients (I decided to not get my normal colour from them, but it would have been 50% off).
I know it’s not in the most upmarket area, but that didn’t bother me. I came in and was greeted (well… more glared at) by a stylist at the desk. I checked in and was told to take a seat. There are 2 benches for waiting — uncomfortable, no backs, dirty. The salon is cramped and from what I could see, absolutely filthy. There was hair literally everywhere, stained bowls from dye mixing drying and falling on the floor (and just thrown back up as clean, even after they hit the floor). Everything is covered in drops of hair colour. After about 5 minutes, my stylist Emily came up and sat next to me. I immediately didn’t feel it was going to be a good fit but in for a penny and all that… She was pleasant, but for example, had on leggings with a big hole in the leg. Not a trendy hole — just a ‘throw away those trousers’ hole. So I didn’t really have any idea what I wanted. I go to my normal person and I sit and say ‘make it not look crap anymore’ and that’s just what he does. She looked at me for a second and suggested a graduated bob. No. No no no. She didn’t ask me my lifestyle, my haircare routine, my ability to style. I knew for sure that I needed to not let her come up with ideas for me and asked for it to just be trimmed. She sighed, rolled her eyes (yes, I saw that), and took me to wash my hair.
Hairwashing was a perfunctory experience. She only lathered and rinsed once, and threw on some conditioner, no head massage, didn’t even use a comb to comb through the conditioner (and my hair was a mess from being out in the leftover hurricane gonzolo winds).
The towel on my neck slipped and was soaked through anyway, so my shirt got all wet. She then proceeded to do the cut, barely spoke to me (in the hour I was there, I got asked only 4 questions and there was no conversation after I answered: «where did you come from today», so where do you live”, «where are you from» and «how long have you lived in London».)
She sat on a stool to cut the back of my hair. I have no idea what she was doing back there — trying to cut it straight, I assume. Which is odd as I told her as we sat down that I don’t like my hair to be all smooth and perfect — sure, I want it tidy, but I only just wash my hair and go, so I like a choppy, slightly messy cut, to give it some movement and hide the fact that I don’t know how to style it. Unfortunately as she was cutting the front she dropped the comb on the dirty, hair-​covered floor. Fine, that always happens — they just dip it in barbicide, wipe it off on a towel, and continue. My stylist? Yep, you guessed it — just put it back in my hair. I was so stunned I didn’t even say anything — and it was too late once she had done it anyway.
She cut my hair in a similar manner to my normal stylist, but took off more than she said she would — but to be fair, this is an affliction of most every hairdresser. She did make it as I asked — trimmed, not too tidy — and blow dried it fine. At the end they show you the back with a mirror, of course. But at Rush King’s Cross, it’s a wall mirror in a frame. One that was clearly previously on the wall. It’s ridiculous.
So my haircut gets a 3, as it’s fine. With the discount, I paid a smidge under £60, which is more than it was worth. The salon gets a 0 overall. Dropping the comb you are using on me on the dirty floor and thinking I don’t see and just using it again without dipping it in barbicide though — that’s unforgivable.

my fringe still looks crazy.
saw a friend i hadn’t seen since before rush ruined me, and they made fun of my hair… SPARE YOURSELF!!! DO NOT GO HERE!!!

On the one hand, I left happy with my hair cut. On the other, I’d been in the salon 2 hours and it wasn’t a particularly pleasant experience. ‘RUSH’ — how marvellously apt as a name. You feel rushed, and yet everything takes ages. Interesting phenomenon.
It was half an hour before anyone washed my hair. When they did, they didn’t do a brilliant job — it was rushed, I wasn’t told what products they were using, and the water was cold (I was never asked if the temperature was OK, which is fairly standard practice).
I sat for another 15 minutes — I had to steal a magazone from the chair next door. The salon wasn’t very clean — there was hair on my seat. As I type this, I realise actually it was pretty dire.
But, Antonella gave me a good hair cut. I showed her a picture of what my hair should look like, before someone butchered it cruelly, and she achieved the same look. She didn’t hurry, it felt professional, and she was nice. No hard sell on products — in fact no mention of what they were at all.
I got a 50% new customer discount, but at the full price of 56 quid there is no way this salon is good value. I’d expect a much better level of personal service for that amount of money. It felt like I was on a stop-​start hair conveyor belt, and they obviously overbook themselves. I’m not sure why the chain has done as well as it has. As I arrived, there was a guy giving the receptionist an earful about how many times he had been kept waiting — if it’s a recurring theme, I’ll not be going back.

One of the most harrowing and rubbish experiences I’ve ever had in a salon. Honestly.
I went here as my friend gave me a money-​off voucher referral to try their services. I went in and showed them the voucher and made the appointment for the coming Saturday. When I arrived, no one acknowledged my presence, to the point where after I had been sitting there for 10 mins I received a call from the receptionist 5 feet to my right enquiring as to whether I was coming in.
The salon is small, crowded, busy, with music that deafens any listener within a 20 foot radius of the front ddor. If I wanted to feel harassed, I’d hit Topshop on a Saturday afternoon, thanks very much. The haircut was ordinary, they threw out my starbucks coffee I brought with me, but that paled in comparison to my exit.
On producing said voucher to pay the bill. I was told by yet another straight-​faced foreigner who I could barely understand, that the voucher was not valid on a Saturday. I protested that their own staff made me the appointment based on me showing the voucher, but they wouldn’t budge. I was so desperate to escape this hell-​hole that I paid the full amount and left.
In retropsect, I wish I had kicked up a stink and refused to pay (I must have been having a wimpy day) especially when I hear from my friend that she got exactly the same line and exactly the same payment problem with their own voucher!
Now, for my sins, I receive their feeble text updates monthly to entice me back.
Only recommend this place to someone you loathe.

It was hard to decide how many stars to give this place as here I have had both my best and worst haircut. I am not joking.
This salon has so many hairdressers and assistants and every time I just ended up trying a new one, with a very various results. But what has always worked is the customer service. Now I just ask for Ann, she is the best.
This chain often has offers and usually the King’s Cross venue at least has vouchers (–50%) placed outside next to the door, for the first visit, and even after that you will receive similar offers as txt if you give them your phone number. So actually I have never had paid a full price for my haircut!