London's best super salons
In need of a mani, a wax, a blow dry AND a facial?
More than a little bit pressed for time?
All of us lead pretty frenetic lives, so traipsing from one postcode to the next for beauty bookings is often impractical.
The answer? The Super Salon. A new breed of beauty one-stop-shop where you can get plucked, snipped, waxed, lacquered and generally zhuzhed to glossy glory, all under one roof.
Whether you’re looking to spend half a day having a full overhaul, or just fancy multitasking with a simultaneous mani-pedi-blow dry, these are London’s finest super salons.
Paul Edmonds, Battersea
Step into the Paul Edmonds salon in Battersea (located in the luxey new development surrounding the power station) and you’d be forgiven for thinking you’d accidentally slipped into a sexy cocktail bar. There’s no reception desk, instead charming hosts will check you in and in the same breath ask what they can get you to drink - the tea is loose leaf loveliness, the champagne’s Ruinart.
The space, designed by Waldo Works (who also did Selfridges and the Laslet Hotel), boasts an express blow dry bar, a private VIP area (which can be closed off for privacy), a colour consultation bar where you can see you colour being bespoke mixed and weighed for you and a full service brow and lash bar. The real highlight here is however quite possibly the hair washing area, which comes with fully reclining chair-bed hybrids that allow you to have your locks washed using the full Shu Uemura Art of Hair range (it’s the brand’s flagship salon) while lying horizontal. It's a total gamechanger, trust me.
Battersea Power Station, 3 Circus Road West, Nine Elms, London SW11 8EZâ. pauledmonds.com
Neville Hair and Beauty, Belgravia
Tucked away on Belgravia’s Pont Street, this six-storey townhouse is the perfect place for head-to-toe pampering. In addition to all the usual hairdressing services, there’s a 'Power Bar,' an area focussed on treatments to protect and perfect the hair and a four-seater nail bar (although most of the nail technicians are sat on stools attending to people while they have their hair done). The swish salon is credited for perfecting the 5-day blowout for a blowdry that lasts all the working week, Ombralyage which combines ombre and balyage and Palm Painting, a trademarked colour technique where colour is applied with the palm of the colourists hands. When it comes to luscious locks, the team at Neville really know what’s up.
5 Pont St, Belgravia, London SW1X 9EJ. nevillehairandbeauty.net
Harvey Nichols, Knightsbridge
There are many reasons for Harvey Nichols’ iconic status in London, and its never-ending roster of beauty offerings is certainly one of them. From cryotherapy, massages, and acupuncture to hair facials and nails, there is nothing you won’t be able to find at this Kensington designer emporium.
Hair is a particular speciality, with two luxury salons to choose from. On the ground floor, Duck & Dry boasts a truly VIPblowdry experience, with golden styling egg-pods, wild flowers and a treatment area — The Sanctuary — which feels more like a wild meadow than a city centre salon. Take the lift four floors up and you’ll find Jo Hansford, a salon offering a range of individual services and boasting some of the top colourists, stylists and wig experts in the capital. It has two luxurious private rooms for clients wanting a more secluded experience, as well as beauty and makeup sessions to top it all off.
109-125 Knightsbridge, London SW1X 7RJ, harveynichols.com
Radio King's Cross
Located in the heart of Granary Square in King’s Cross, this huge, light-filled space is a super salon for the artistically inclined. The New York loft-inspired space is all polished concrete floors and exposed industrial details, and the artwork hung on the white walls is from an ever-changing roster of up-and-coming artists who partner with the salon to show their works for four months at a time.
When it comes to beauty, Radio has partnered with Margate-based natural skincare brand Haeckel’s to offer manis, waxing, massages and facials. The music is curated by award-winning music media company P&S, there’s a coffee bar from hipster favourites Allpress, and complimentary Fever Tree gin and tonics on tap. There’s even a cinema space where you relax and watch a film while having your head washed and massaged. If that isn’t living I don’t know what is.
Unit 1B, The Arthouse, 1 York Way, London N1C 4ASâ. radiohairsalon.com
Richard Ward, Chelsea
Hairdresser to the royals, Richard Ward opened his 5000sq ft flagship salon in Duke of York Square back in 2005, which in some senses makes him the godfather of super salons. And boy does this one have everything. In addition to the supremely talented hairdressing team, Ward has a roster of ‘Guest Artists’; from nutritionists to physiotherapists, bookable on appointment.
The Metrospa, meanwhile, offers an extensive menu of over 250 beauty treatments, from the holistic to the high tech - think Carita and Skinceuticals facials, permanent makeup and radio frequency treatments. Pressed for time? Opt for one of their ‘multitasking packages’ and you can have a team of beauty therapists tend to you simultaneously – mani while you’re waxed? No problem.
The service, like the interiors, is warm, understated and professional and there’s a gloriously relaxing (fully licensed) bar area serving everything from champagne to smoothies and snacks prepared by the salon’s in-house chef. It’s no wonder this place has become a Chelsea institution. It’s so popular in fact that the salon’s bank of receptionists answer over 4000 calls per week, with a client calling every 45 seconds to make a booking. Best get on the blower pronto.
82 Duke of York Square, Chelsea, London SW3 4LY. richardward.com
Radiance London, Fitzrovia
Concealed behind its charmingly quaint exterior, you might not immediately assume that just below you lies a labyrinth of underground treatment chambers designed to accommodate a variety of top-to-toe services. From massages and waxing to lash lifts and advanced facials, the expert therapists at Radiance London use a wide array of top brands, including names like Dermalogica, Decléor, Dermapen, AlumierMD in their facial and body treatments, so you’re sure to be in safe hands.
Book in for the Radiance London x Decléor Ultimate Glow treatment — this exclusive 90-minute experience is guaranteed to make you feel like a dewy goddess when you step out of the clinic.
12 Charlotte Place, W1T 1SL. radiancelondon.co.uk
Iris Avenue, Fitzrovia
Located on a tranquil Fitzrovia side street, Iris Avenue is your one-stop destination for pretty much every beauty treatment the mind can conjure.
Don’t be fooled by its petite size, you can drop in for an array of multi-sensory treatments including lash lifts, brow laminations, spray tans, nails, massages, facials and waxing (basically, everything but hair). Whether you want a solo power-hour re-zhush, or an indulgent pamper with a group of friends, this friendly and stylish spot has got you covered. And, as if it couldn’t get any better, it also doubles as a cocktail bar, fully stocked with hot drinks, cocktails, mocktails and smoothies on demand.
32 Store St, London WC1E 7BS. irisavenue.com
Agua Spa, Southbank
Set inside the luxurious Thames-side Sea Containers hotel, this subterranean spa is a truly unique offering in the heart of central London. Taking inspiration from the Roman spa culture, it is home to six spacious treatment rooms, a glamour lounge for nails and brows, steam baths and even a rain shower.
While the aesthetic is Hollywood glamour, its ingredients are distinctly British — the expert team have concocted in-house herbal salves, butters and oils toaccompany the signature treatments, which are all created using plants indigenous to the UK and which can be grown in the city itself. Book in for the Advanced Bodywork treatment, which combines deep tissue and sports massage with myofascial and Thai stretching, to banish WFH-induced aches and pains fast.
20 Upper Ground, London SE1 9PD. seacontainerslondon.com
Cloud Twelve, Notting Hill
Tucked away on one of Notting Hill’s signature mews, just off Portobello Road, Cloud Twelve is one of west London’s most hailed beauty spots.
A one-of-a-kind wellness and lifestyle club (for members and visitors) it extends over a whopping three floors. There’s a children’s play area and creche on the ground floor (which has its own art room, playground, ballet area and plant-based cafe). Head upstairs and you’ll find a salon for all your haircare needs, a spa with every facial and massage you can think of alongside a nutritionally-focussed brasserie.
The top floor is the holistic wellness clinic, focusing on nutrition, herbal medicine, osteopathy, acupuncture, IV infusions, colonic irrigation and cryotherapy.
2-5 Colville Mews, London W11 2DA. cloudtwelve.co.ukâ
