London Hair Academy

I had my haircut recently there. What can I say? Good as usual. In spite it take some time (procedure is performed by the students of the school and supervised by the experienced master), I love the results! And the price is just £5.
Moreover, the school offers a great opportunity for those who desperately need money! You may come as a make up or hairstyling model and earn £20 or £30 per day.

I had my hair coloured by Ross last week and he truly did a fantastic job! Not only are my grey hair no longer showing, but I’m in love with my new colour!
I very appreciated the level of service provided by both the tutors and the students at the London Hair Academy: everyone is really trying their best to achieve the best result and are very attentive.
And all of that for a fraction of the price of what you’d pay for similar level of service at any other London hairdresser (I payed £20 for a full head colour)!
Very very happy and will for sure be back soon!

Just had my haircut here today! I am so impressed! Only £5 — bargain! Everyone was really nice and friendly, plus my hair looks amazing! Of course it takes a long time, like with any other hair school but I am so amazed at the quality. Apart from the minor inconvenience of being tucked away on the top floor of a building, I love this place and will definitely be going back.
18/​09/​2015 — 4 stars: Went back here again today for Makeup Modelling. I waited about an hour and 10 minutes till I was seen to and when I asked why, apparently I had arrived too early as makeup classes start at 10am and then there is a bit of theory to get through. I had never been made aware of this and I was told I would be needed from 9:30am. Apart from that inconvenience I had a really amazing time. The lady who did my makeup was so nice and friendly. It’s basically like with any other hair school, it takes a really long time and the student has to keep checking in with the teacher. I found the whole experience wonderful. They use high end makeup products so it was a great chance to try out products which I hadn’t had a chance to before. It was also great to learn a bit more about makeup, what techniques and colours were better suited for me. Unlike with a hair school/​academy instead of you choosing what you want, they have a look which they have to practice on you. In the morning I had done a very dramatic Asian Bridal makeup, then we took a break for lunch. And in the afternoon I had done a simpler more toned down yet still dramatic Asian Bridal look. And to top the whole amazing experience off, I was paid £30! I had a great time and will definitely be going back again. [Tips: Either bring lunch with you or know where you want to eat as I spent a big chunk of my lunch break searching for somewhere to eat; Make sure your phone is charged so you can take pictures; If you wear glasses, contacts would be better for this day so you’ll be able to see what the makeup student is doing and not just the end result]
23/​09/​2015 — 4 stars: Went back here yet again today for makeup modelling. I had to wait an hour this time. This time there wasn’t a specific set look, all the students had to do a day look on their models but each person had different colours and products catered to their skin type and tone. The lady doing my makeup was so nice and friendly. My makeup looks amazing, I wore it the whole day. And again I got the chance to see how certain high end products looked with my skin, which I probably wouldn’t have had a chance to try elsewhere. I was accidentally told I would be here for a full day, so instead I got to leave about quarter to 1pm, and I was paid £20! I really love this place and will definitely be going back, I just wish I didn’t have to wait so long.

Sometimes, life’s little pieces fall together nicely.
I needed a haircut for about a week now, but I’d just been putting off booking one (read: too damn busy and too damn lazy). Then, in one of my weekly London newsletters, I got a message about the London Hair & Beauty School needing guys for the end of a class. Free expert haircut? Yes please.
There was a number to text, and I texted it (078 5060 0217). I got a response within about an hour asking if I could do that day. Nope, but anything for tomorrow? Yep! And it was booked.
The LHBS is actually on Midford Place (you get a very detailed text explaining exactly how to get there.) It’s in a building with a bunch of other officers and design studios, so find the right buzzer, hit it, and they let you in.
The school is on the third floor so it’s a bit of a climb. The door is almost unmarked, just a piece of paper on it saying London Hair & Beauty School. K. Little sketched out but I went in.
As soon as I did, the sketchiness went away. This is a training academy with everything you’d expect — little classrooms with sinks, equipment, model heads with styled hairs and students. I was shown to a seat and introduced to the student and teacher, who asked me what I wanted. I had zero idea and told them that, and off they went to work. The students cut on real hair at the end of the their class so this is right before they would go out into the real world and do it as a job.
Here’s the two main things I learned about a free haircut at a beauty school:
1) Everything is done slowly. The teacher teaches the entire time (often talking about you instead of two you) and they go through your head quadrant by quadrant. I learned that ¾ths of all your hair in in the back so that’s what takes the longest. And when the student begins, he is super careful and super slow. The teacher is watching the entire time and does touch-​ups at the end to make it perfect, but still, slow.
You actually don’t realise how good an expert stylist is until you see a newbie at work. That’s not to say the student wasn’t good or didn’t know how to handle the scissors or do an excellent job on my hair, because he did, it just was very slow. What normally would have been a half an hour cut turned into an hour and a half. Eventually I actually needed to tell them that I had a meeting to get to (which I did but I still felt bad about being rude) and had to go. At this point the instructor took over and got me out in 10 minutes.
Note: If you do have somewhere to be, let them know and they will get you out in time. Still, plan on being there at least an hour, if not more.
2) When they are teaching they give WAY more thought to your hair. Every stylist I’ve ever had wanted me in and out as fast as he or she could so they could see another student, so I told them what I was sort of looking for and they did it. Not here! They wanted to spend as much time talking about my hair as possible, giving me the best cut that I could.
Did it take forever? Sure did, but did I walk out with a fantastic free cut, damn right! I’d go back in a heartbeat.