Michelle Louise

Been meaning to write a review of this place for a while.  I've been back three times, each time I have seen stylist Ben who has done a brilliant job of my hair.  The first time I went I had grown out bleach which I had been colouring myself - it was an absolute mess but Ben spent lots of time talking to me about what I wanted, what was realistic and what was manageable.  He was really understanding and I think actually recommended a colour that was one of the cheaper ones on offer.

When I decided I did, in fact, want to go blond again he did the best job I have ever had - after having my hair coloured for fifteen years.  Using various offers I have had 50% off and 30% as well as 50% off my cut.  If I move out of the area I will still come back here to have my hair coloured. My hair looks the best it has for years. 

Everyone else is friendly and it's brilliant value - and I really recommend Ben as a stylist.  Visit on a Monday and its 30% off for colour.  

I have been going to Michelle Louise Balham since the salon was opened.  Run by Tim Winter, I can thoroughly recommend you hair being cut by either of the senior style directors: Lukas or Kellie.  
I have to have my hair coloured with a semi-permanent to cover the grey, it fades naturally and works with a 6 week appointment to have a cut and blow dry.  I have had no reason for any complaint and have recommended both stylists to local friends of mine, who have been very happy with the cut and blow drys that they have received.

I first attended Michelle Louise salon in Wandsworth several years ago, but as the Balham shop is nearer to where I live, I thought I would try it.  I was not at all disappointed, as I wasn't with the Wandsworth branch either.  The salon which is very tastefully styled indeed, has a very calm relaxed feel to it, and all the staff were totally professional yet friendly and approachable.  The colour came out looking vibrant and snazzy, and the cut was sharp and stylish.  I have since then, returned every two months, and todate have only excellent comments and the very best recommendations to give Michelle Louise Balham.  They treat everyone with individual attention and listen to what you want, something important that so many hairdressing salons seem not able to do.   They deliver the goods, and I always leave feeling very content and happy with the experience.  I particularly like to support High Stree local shops rather than multi national conglomerates   It is so important to support local trade if we are to retain our High Street identify and individuality, and so for this and the very many reasons listed above, Michelle Louise comes very highly recommended.   They often have special offers on FB too, so it's good to look our for these. 

What an amazing experience. All the team go above and beyond for you. Michelle is amazing and I wouldn't go anywhere else.

Ive been going to Michelle Louise Balham since they opened and can only say they are the best salon I have ever been to. They are always professional, always friendly and my colour and cut are the best they have been, ever. Before this salon, I was always unhappy with my hair. Give them a go, highly recommended!

I've been going to the same stylist for over ten years as i am extremely fussy about my hair. I wanted a cut that was a little bit different from what I have been used too, as I've had the same style for a good few years. A friend of mine recommended Michelle Louise as both himself and his girlfriend have been going there for quite sometime. I have to say that at first I was extremely apprehensive about changing my hairdresser as I wasn't entirely sure what it was that I wanted changing. I was pleasantly surprised, I found the staff extremely friendly and the atmosphere in the salon welcoming. The stylist who I had was excellent, she suggested a cut that was slightly different from what I am used to, but I love it! I will definitely be going back again! 

I had my hair cut & coloured recently at Michelle Louise Balham after a recommendation from a close friend and have to say its the best its ever looked.  The stylist understood exactly what I wanted which makes a nice change from other salons I have been to in the area. I also found the staff very friendly and professional and the salon had a nice feel to it. This was my first visit but i will definitely be going back.

Good salon, friendly staff. Michelle Louise Balham was recommended to me by a close friend. I am very picky with my hairdressers and have recently moved to the area. I must say though, this salon is great and im glad I have found them. I had my cut with a new stylist there Emma, she is a the cheapest level, graduate but that is a bargain let me tell you. I have been to hairdressers and paid twice the price for worse service and worse cuts. I LOVE my cut by Emma and cant recommend her enough.

I love this salon. My colour and highlights are always subtle and complementary to suit my age, unlike some places you go where they do not take this into consideration. I have the chap that works there and I would definitely recommend him. The salon is very tranquil, the wash basins and chair so relaxing, unlike some, and the overall experience is a very pleasant one indeed. I have also been to the Wandsworth shop where Michelle did my hair, and she was great too. I live near the Balham shop and that is why I tried it. I would most definitely recommend either of these salons to my friends.

I was really disappointed with my visit here – the stylist (a senior stylist) was unable to listen to simple instructions and was rude and dismissive when I tried to communicate what I wanted during the cut.
When I told her I was unhappy with the cut at the end and explained why (although I was still willing to pay for her time, and I did) she just argued with me.
The stylists present in general seemed more interested in chatting and going outside to smoke than in providing good customer service and it felt like they wanted to get me out the door asap, even though this was a quiet sunday with no other customers.
I live really close by so I would have liked to make this salon my regular but given the experience I had I will not go back there again, and I would advise others not to waste £50 learning the same lesson I did when there are plenty of other hairdressers in the area.

I am inclined to agree with the other unhappy customer. I had my hair coloured here and despite asking for medium brown in an attempt to revert to my natural colour, I ended up raven black and looking like a goth. I did feel at the time that the colour had been left on a long time. The colourist suggested going home and seeing how I felt about it the following day once it had settled. I did so and despite calling and emailing to express my disappointment and find out if there was anything that could be done, I never heard back. Poor customer service when things go wrong and this is when they should be most attentive!

The staff were friendly enough (especially the lady who washed my hair) but I was disappointed with the cut. said it was 'shorter than I was expecting' and the stylist just shrugged. She took of 3-4 inches when I asked for less than one inch!!! Only when I got home did I realise how extreme the chop was - and how horrid! So called the salon back politely, the lady who answered the phone was very apologetic and said the manager would call me back to discuss. I have now called back 4 times and am still bloody waiting....
Not happy paying for a cut which isn't what I asked for. And can't say much for their customer service either. Not recommended.

i nervously looked for salons to get my hair cut in balham, ive had some very bad experiences and was very worried about where to go!
I went in and asked for an appointment that day and they managed to fit me in straight away.
the girl i had, kimmy, was great. she listened to exactly what i wanted and followed it exactly ! she showed me what she was doing all the time and kept me very calm , even tho i must have been a pain in the arse!

i cannot recommend this place enough, they were great!
so good that i booked my next appointment straight away, which i have never done before in my life!

I recently had my hair highlighted at Michelle Louise in Bahlam and I have since reccomended it to 3 of my friends to the salon. I love the atmosphere and the freindly-ness from staff. My hairdresser Chelsea was very helpful. She had taught me a simple way of blowdrying at home as we all know blowdrying one's hair can be fairly difficult. I was also mainly looked after by a very helpfull young man, he was a trainee. He had been very welcoming from the very begining to the end of my visit and i tel you what...He gives one of the best head massage us girls look forward to when getting our hair done.

Over all, I am very happy to have finally found a salon which listens to my needs. This is a salon for everyone.

Shirley Wood.

I have returned three times since the opening, and the reason for this is exactly as written by the first reviewer above. The individual attention that you get with Michelle Louise is exemplary. After years of attending large chain salons, they are a breath of fresh air. The manager at Balham is so helpful and professional and runs a first class salon. I have loved my hair since going there, and have sent two friends along, who were also pleased with their results. Well worth going to, especially with opening offers, which are a real bonus.

MICHELLE LOUISE HAIR SALONS - BALHAM.
I can wholeheartedly recommend Michelle Louise and ALL her talented staff at both her salons. I have been a customer for over 4 years and always had excellent, expert and caring service. Everyone strives for perfection but every business can unintentionally make the occasional error. On the one occasion I experienced a glitch in a treatment, Michelle and her staff bent over backwards to correct it and I had no problem returning confident in Michelle's expertise and commitment to customer satisfaction.
Michelle and all her staff really listen to your needs. They advise and suggest based on your requirements.. they never impose their own ideas of what a customer should or shouldn't have done.. nor do they power sell their products after treatments like other salons I have tried in Balham..namely 'Independant Mind Body Soul'.. who flog Aveda products shamelessly at exhorbitant prices.
Every time I'm at Michelle's salon, the atmosphere is warm and friendly from the delightful reception staff.. to the juniors who wash, rinse and make coffee..to the expert specialists in both beauty and hair. All the clients I observe when I'm there feel like they are coming 'home' - you can see it in how relaxed they become once they walk in the door..as I do.. because you know feel you are amongst friends who genuinely care about you for the time you are there.
Michelle's attention to the individual personal requirements and concerns of every client I have witnessed whilst there is exemplary and flawless and every client I have observed, without exception, leaves looking fabulous and feeling happy.
Knowing you can book Michelle herself at her self-named salons makes the Michelle Louise Salons the most 'human' out of all I have tried in Balham..most of which are nameless, faceless chains with endlessly rotating overworked, underpaid staff pressured to fulfil targets and commission based regimes.. so you rarely can hope to get the same stylist again after a few months as they have often moved on.
Loyalty within from staff and without from a large client base to any business depends upon who is running it. If it has integrity and heart, it is always reflected down the chain. Michelle's staff remain with her and so do her clients. In this transient age of unfulfilled drifting workforces, that is a great testament of loyalty to a good woman running a good service.
If you want to feel really nurtured by happy, expert stylists and staff, I can't recommend enough that you book yourself a treatment in hair or beauty at one of Michelle's salons..you'll feel like you've found your 'beauty' home.nal requirements and concerns of every client i have witnessed whilst there is exemplary and flawless..
Knowing you can book Michelle herself at her self-named salons makes hers the most 'human' out of all the salons in Balham..most of which are nameless, faceless chains with endlessly rotating overworked, underpaid staff pressured to fulfil targets and commission based regimes.. so you rarely can hope to get the same stylist again after a few months as they have often moved on.
Loyalty within from staff and without from a large client base to any business depends upon who is running it.. if it has integrity and heart, it is always reflected down the chain.. Michelle's staff remain with her and so do her clients..in this transient age of unfulfilled drifting workforces, that is a great testament of loyalty to a good woman running a good service.
If you want to feel really nurtured by happy, expert stylists, I can't recommend enough that you book yourself a treatment in hair or beauty at one of Michelle's salons..You'll feel like you've found your 'beauty' home.

Before I had my appointment at Michelle Louise Balham I said TWICE that I need an additional toner after the bleach to get the greyish colour of my hair which I have for many years now.

Whilst the bleach was on my head I could listen to a chat between my hairdresser and her colleague. The colleague said that after the bleach I need the toner I asked for otherwise my hair won't get the colour I wanted. My hairdresser assured that I won't need the toner since it is included in the bleach already and apart from that, the toner isn't in stock in this salon anyway!!!

After the bleach got rinsed off I saw something, I never saw on my head before: a bright and shiny ORANGE colour. After that a so called toner was applied to my head but in the end it turned out, that the toner was only a shampoo with silver pigments (which I was kindly charged £10 for) and wasn't strong enough to remove the orange colour from my head. To fix my hair now another layer of colour was applied to my poor head. I was then asked if I had plans for the next evening because I need to come back again!!!

After all that I got charged £95 (thank god I had an introductory 30% discount and ONLY paid £65): The £95 included an amazing £27 for a blow dry that I never have been told of and had no idea that it was so ridiculously expensive. Obviously I went to a different salon to correct my hair as I did not trust Michelle Louise with my hair anymore.

I phoned up their assistant manager the next day and asked for a refund since my hair colour was totally messed up. I had to face the most unhelpful assistant manager and experienced an absolutely shocking customer service. Apparently the hairdresser did everything right and coming back the next day is part of their routine. It did not matter to the assistant manager that my treatment was started before checking if they had the correct colours to do what I wanted. I didn't get offered a refund or a discount.

I was very disappointed of Michelle Louise in Balham and wouldn’t recommend this hairdresser to anyone.