I have been to the T&G academy a few times.
These are the bullet points:

1) The staff (receptionists etc) are incredibly rude and really act as though you are someone common for going there and not to an actual salon

2) The standard of your cut depends on which trainee you are luck or unlucky enough to be placed with. Some have trained for 3 years and other have trained for 6 weeks

3) The cuts take 3 hours and that is for a basic trim & blowdry NOT a re-style

4) A very crucial point-they scissors they use are blunt which as many of you know, results in the person (i.e me & you) ending up with a head full of split ends as hair MUST be cut with extremely sharp scissors in order for it not to break and split the day after

5) I have had trainees who hands have violently shaken.
I have had pleasant, sweet dressers and also rude, arrogant dressers

6) In between each section you must wait for the teachers and depending on who their favourite trainees are, you can wait for a very long time before they come to check on you

7) The final straw for me at this academy was on Thursday.I booked an appointment for me and my sister to celebrate my mother's birthday in style. We are both students and will be broke until we finish our degrees.
I rang up on the morning just to check something and made my way there.
We had both taken the day off as appointment are only early in the day.
When we arrived, the fat receptionist with the bobbed haircut was very rude to us and put us in a bad mood but we were willing to be polite and let it go.
We waited in the line for 15 minutes before the director came to a large group of us and told us we would not be getting our hair cut as their trainees were in Europe and had not turned up.
I, along with some other angry people said that was not good enough and couldn't their advanced students trim our hair as we had come all that way.
He said no. His advanced students do not trim hair and they were not willing to do that.
He didn't seem remotely sorry & simply said that was the way it was and we could bok in for another day.
he then walked off & started talking to his friends.
We were so angry.
They didn't offer to cover our travel fairs or give us a sample of shampoo as a good will gestre.
I had rung an hour before & they didn't mention that the trainees were in germany. She just let us waste all that time and money.

I will never go there again and I will tell all my student, reporter and model friends never to go there again.
Word will spread and they will regret treating us that way.

My hair was exceedingly long. Some might say exceedingly lovely. Full and thick and shiny and curly. It was a length of joy. A tousled delight. And so obviously I decided to get it cut.

I went to Toni & Guy thinking 'they're cool young hipsters, they'll give me some sexy sassy coiffure'. I told her I wanted it no shorter than shoulder length. First up she hacked off "the bulk" and then washed my hair. At this point I fell in love with her. It is difficult not to be enamoured by someone rubbing your head. It is a wonderful sensation.

Then she got down to business and I rapidly began to fall out of love with her as it became apparent that 'no shorter than shoulder length' translates as 'shoulder length at the longest point'. The bits of my hair that tumbled over my face and slumped forlornly on my lap were longer than the bits left stuck in my head. They collected around me like beautiful autumn leaves, except they looked up at me with big sad curls asking me 'why? why? We did so much for you! Remember when you put those ribbons in us? You'll never be able to do that with what you've decided to keep!'

And I tried to look back at them imploring that this was evidently not my choice and they should blame the girl with the scissors and lack of basic communication skills.

And as it went on my reputation as a stoic was being severely tested as it got worse and I could only hope that it would look better when she had finished/when it was dry/when it was styled/when it grew back in several months. Generally I don't make a fuss about these sorts of things. I take what I'm given and deal with it in private. But I was so disenchanted with how I looked that I actually couldn't not say anything and each time she asked me "are you alright?" my face instantly lit up bright red and it was obvious that "fine" meant, "I truly resent you for what you have done to me."

It is the ugliest haircut I have ever been the sorry recipient of. And it is so short I can only wait for it to grow out. I left the hairdresser's and stepped out onto New Oxford Street and bawled. I tried to tie it back but it's too short to do so and I bawled again. I went home weeping and sobbing each time I caught my hideous reflection.

I woke up the next morning, saw myself in the mirror and relived the entire ordeal and cried again.

Now, I'm not a vain person. I've just got really shit hair. And a few days ago it was really nice hair. I am genuinely devastated and will be for approximately the next four months.


The moral of the story is: go here for a free haircut but be IMPENETRABLY clear when telling them what you want.

This is perfect if you want the latest cut or colour (or both), but your skint and you've got time to kill. All students are constantly supervised (hence the long time). Go for cut and colour as then you will get the most for your money and time. usually £5 for a cut, sometimes the same for cut and colour, sometimes £20. If you are having colour, you must go for a skin test at a toni & guy salon and bring the card with you to your appointment (it only takes 5 minutes in any salon). I have come out of here with some wicked cuts, although occasionally there have been a few misses, but never badly done. I last went for a colour correction which took a mammoth 6 hours but only cost £20 and looked great. At the end of it I was asked if I wanted my hair cutting for free in another student's class but by that point I had a numb bum!

Do you like the idea of a free haircut? Well if you have a few hours to spare, this is the place for you. Students training as stylists for Toni and Guy give free haircuts during the week. It takes good three hours, but it is well supervised (there is a teacher who checks all main steps and is present throughout) and refreshing to get something for nothing in London! That said, if you are incredibly precious about your hair, rather pay the £50 to have it done by a fully paid professional!