I won’t bother you with a long preamble here. Suffice to say I’m asked A LOT for recommendations of who to see and while there are very many excellent people out there who offer brilliant treatments, these are the ones I find myself going back to time and again and also those who I recommend to my friends and family.
I’ll keep this updated and add more categories over time so stick a bookmark on this page if you find you’re constantly looking for recommendations. I’ve named people where possible rather than just places as we all know that finding the right person is really the thing.
Scroll to the bottom for caveats and some info.
HAIR COLOUR //
Jack Howard at Paul Edmonds – brilliant at balayage, has a knack for making hair look moneyed – you know the look.
Caroline O’Brien at Nicola Clarke John Frieda – patient and very, very good at coming up with plans for the seemingly impossible like covering greys and adding highlights and somehow keeping hair glossy, too.
HAIR CUT //
Mark Smith at Nicola Clarke John Frieda – will not do anything you don’t want him to do, so if you’ve had bad experiences, see Mark. He also has a bloody good eye for detail. Patient, too.
Shelley Brook at Hersheson’s in Harvey Nichols – v good at making hair look fun and modern. Excels at short styles. (Shelley’s in the above picture with me and my freshly-trimmed head of hair.) Review here.
Adrian at Hersheson’s on Berner’s Street – seen by a lot of beauty industry insiders, Adrian will never give you a high maintenance cut.
PEDICURES //
Margaret Dabbs in Space NK or Marylebone – if you need an ingrown nail unearthed or something else painful dealt with, there is nobody as good as the Margaret Dabbs podiatrists – they never commit any toenail horrors like filing wet feet etc. Thomas is my favourite. Review here.
MANICURES //
Margaret Dabbs in Space NK or Marylebone – same as above but for fingernails. Never have they filed the top of mine to wafer thin or damaged them in any way (I wish the same could be said for some of the nail bars I’ve wandered into). In terms of painting, they pretty much do a straight one-colour mani in the Margaret Dabbs shades.
Townhouse / Excellent manicures and some more jazzy designs. They do nice gel ones too, if you’re into gels (I’m not).
FACIALS //
Pam Marshall at Mortar & Milk – gives the best practical advice around and is especially good if you have problem skin. Pam very much focusses on the skin itself, and through treatments, advice, and recommendations of products has reduced my acne considerably. Review here. Click here to listen to Pam on Beauty Full Lives.
Nichola Joss – Nichola gives a deep facial massage that softens all furrows and makes bone structure look pronounced. It’s hard to get an appointment with her because she’s often pummelling the faces of the hugely famous, so book well ahead.
The Light Salon – LED treatments help to reduce my acne and inflammation and these concessions make having one easy, though having to take make-up off during the day is a bit of an annoying but necessary evil. Have a few sessions if you want to see a difference.
Marie Reynolds – Marie’s facials come with life advice and emotional support, so see her if your skin and soul feel frazzled. Review here.
HAIR REMOVAL //
Strip Notting Hill – very good at quick, relatively pain-free waxes. ALWAYS go for hot wax rather than strip – much less painful. Review here.
Ministry of Waxing South Molton Street – pretty much the same as the above, only with a more punky aesthetic in the salon itself. They also have other branches across London.
TEETH //
Dr Uchenna Okoye at London Smiling – Uchenna – and her team – are kind and charming and thorough and practical, which makes for a nice environment in which having teeth tampered with isn’t hideous. In fact, I look forward to seeing her – something I can truly say I’ve never felt about a dentist before. Review here.
LASHES //
Amy Jean – after trying lash extensions many times and deciding that they’re not for me in day-to-day life, I went to see Amy Jean while she was over in the UK (Amy has salons in Australia and may well open in the UK soon, fingers crossed) for a keratin lash lift. They’re game changing – my straight, puny lashes post looked abundant post and my eyes much wider. Review here.
Daxita at Atherton Cox – if you really want lash extensions, see Daxita. She does them brilliantly and speedily and you don’t feel their weight afterwards. If I had a special occasion, I’d see Daxita in a heartbeat.
BROWS //
Vaishaly – I’m currently not seeing anyone for my brows, but I send a lot of people to Vaishaly because she’s not only speedy but also just knows how your brows should look.
MASSAGES //
Urban Massage – get the app – all it takes is a few pushes of a button to get one of their therapists to come to your home and perform miracles of massage. I love them.
Espa at the Corinthia – the Espa massages at the Corinthia are just heavenly. Make time to hang out in the spa afterwards.
Chi Yu – small place in Marylebone with stellar treatments, I first went for their ‘Integrated Therapy’ massage and became a huge fan. Review here.
ACUPUNCTURE //
Leila Bux – Leila is my regular acupuncturist for all sorts of issues from period pain to acne. I find her approach excellent.
John Tsagaris – not cheap, but really good and has a nose for an underlying issue like no other (he merely felt my pulse before correctly declaring that my period was quite late a few months ago, for example).
PHYSIOTHERAPY/OSTEOPATHY //
Ben Lombard – I like Ben’s approach to sorting out pain – he aims to do it quickly and effectively and then arms you with the knowledge so you can continue the good work between sessions. Click here to listen to Ben on Beauty Full Lives.
Amberin Fur – Amberin is the person to see if you suspect your back pain is down to emotional stress. She uses a variety of different models to help solve pain.
WELLNESS //
VivaMayr Harley Street – if you can’t get out to VivaMayr, seeing one of their visiting doctors at their London residence may help (though I really can’t overemphasise how much a week at VM is more than just a dietary plan combined with treatments but is a whole holistic week-long experience). They offer consultations, Applied Kinesiology, drips and some other treatments in the London clinic.
Ila Apothecary – very calming space offering treatments in the backroom, all based on the questionnaire you fill out which covers everything from which position you sleep in to how your tongue feels.
YOGA //
Yoga with Adriene – alright so this isn’t a place, but I do these sessions so often on youtube that I thought it worth mentioning.
Triyoga Camden – if I find time to go to a yoga class, it’s here. I love their teachers and in particular Nadia Narain.
TATTOOS //
Zaya Hastra at South City Market – Zaya gave me my first two tattoos, and she was enormously helpful in advising where they should go and also made me feel very calm about the process of having them.
Info //
– Huge caveat: obviously I don’t see the above people with regularity. I can’t imagine who, bar a handful a A-listers, has a retinue of beauty experts to preen them. I – and fellow beauty editors/bloggers – regularly paint my own nails, trim my own hair – with varying results so I can’t say I’d recommend it -, and squeeze my own spots – again, perilous and best left to experts – so think of this as more of a ‘if you’re after the best of the best or you need stellar advice on a particular thing, see them’ sort of compilation. Unless you have oodles of time and money, in which case ENJOY, you lucky things.
– Huge caveat 2: I review plenty of people and services as part of my job as beauty blogger and journalist that I include on pages here because I like to offer lots of options and because it’s part of my job to know about many different treatments – but I don’t necessarily see those people repeatedly because either they’re far away/I simply don’t have time, or because what they do isn’t my particular area of concern. I have never and will never mention anyone here or in any of my work who I don’t think is exceptional at what they do.
– Huge caveat 3: I see many as press appointments and have seen many but certainly not all in that capacity. I haven’t marked each one as it’s been the case quite a few times that I’ve been introduced to someone by their PR team and then go back as a customer, so accurately marking them would’ve taken an age.