Simon Webster Hair is on Gardner Street, in the North Laine area of central Brighton. We’re only a 10-minute walk from Brighton station and just around the corner from Brighton Pavilion and NCP carpark.
We’re proud winners of some of the UK’s top industry awards, including the UK Ultimate Salon Award, the Mizani Afro Styling Award, and Best Salon Newcomer Award. We are recognised with the Kao Global Sustainability Leadership Award for our recycling and waste reduction policies.
Gender-free or gender-neutral styling means that we don’t charge differently for men or women. Instead we charge by time because it’s the fairest way we can think of.
98% of our styling range is vegan, but a few products contain animal-derived ingredients, such as honey extract, to create the best finish possible.
No animal testing is used during the development of any of the products we use or retail.
SWH are proud winners of the Global Sustainability Leadership Award and members of the Green Salon Collective.
Sustainability is very important to us at SWH. All our paperware (including toilet rolls) and product packaging is ethically produced. We use eco-heads at the backwash to soften, regulate and reduce water flow. And our towels are made from bamboo and 100% recycled, cutting down on the water and electricity we use. Our product packaging, plastic and metal waste is recycled and our single-use disposables are biodegradable. We offer a refill service for the shampoos and conditioners we retail to keep them sustainable. Our aluminium colour cans have a 4-year life due to their dispensing mechanism and we use innovative technology when mixing our colour to minimise chemical waste. The little chemical waste we do produce is treated and used to generate green fuel. Even your hair cuttings are collected and used to make hair booms which help contain oil spills.
So, together we’re helping clean up the environment, not just reduce our impact on it. Phew! To ensure we’re able to recycle absolutely everything we can, we apply a £3 sustainability levy onto your final service cost. It goes straight towards the increased costs of delivering more sustainable haircare and creating a more ethical beauty industry.
Yes! SWH is proud to be a Real Living Wage Employer, accredited by the Real Living Wage Foundation. SWH Team comprises of a combination of apprentices, employed stylists and freelancers. We firmly believe in offering our team a variety of working structures that not only support them financially but allow them flexibility of working hours and a work-life balance to suit their individual needs.
SWH is a hybrid salon with a mix of employed & self-employed stylists & colourists. The freelance stylists & colourists currently operating from SWH are JAVI, LUCEY, PHIL & RHI.
Disputes concerning appointments with self-employed or freelance stylists & colourists must be taken up directly with them & are not the responsibility of SWH. If you have any questions, please raise them before proceding with your appointment.
All our stylists are at least Level 3 NVQ trained or equivalent. Our Graduates represent new talent, while Seniors are established stylists. Our Specialists have reached the finals of an industry competition and have a certified specialism within our craft. And our Brand Ambassadors are educators with 10+ years’ experience who represent SWH on a national platform. Simon is our Artistic Director and Founder.
Prices reflect the skills of each team member, the time needed to complete the service and the premium products we use.
Yes. SWH Team are highly-trained in colour and cutting, although some have particular specialisms: curly hair specialists, afro specialists, colour specialists, hair extensions specialists and alopecia specialists.
You can opt to see one stylist for all your services or mix and match your stylists based on the services you’re booking. The specialisms of each team member are on our Team page or ask our Front of House Team for guidance on who is the best hairdresser for your needs.
Yes. We have afro specialists and curly hair specialists across all levels. They’re trained in the techniques best-suited to different curl types and afro hair, including the Deva cutting technique.
For curly hair types, we recommend washing your hair the evening before your appointment and letting your hair dry naturally and without styling products. This means that when you arrive for your appointment, we can see how your curls naturally rest and use the appropriate technique best-suited to your curl type.
We don’t currently offer dreadlocking.
SWH is a hybrid salon with a mix of employed & self-employed stylists & colourists. Freelance stylists & colourists operating from this salon are CAROLINE, CHLOE, JAVI, PHIL, RHI & SIOBHAN.
Disputes concerning appointments with self-employed or freelance stylists & colourists must be taken up with them directly & are not the responsibility of SWH. If you have any questions regarding this, please raise them prior to booking.
Booking your appointment-is recommended. And if you’ve booked, you’ll receive a pre-appointment SMS with a link to this page to remind you of our policies. To book now or buy an e-voucher, click here to be taken to an external page with all our booking options.
Walk-ins are available on consultation depending on availability.
Yes. You can book online via our external bookings page. You can also book via Instagram, Facebook or Google. E-bookings allow you to track your appointments, rebook with one click and make fuss-free pre-payments. You’ll be taken to an external bookings page and must have a UK payment card registered to the address you link with your SWH booking account.
It depends on what you’re booking. Consultations are complimentary 15min sessions to discuss your hair needs. We offer optional consultations for styling and products. If you want to book a first colour service or to change colour, you will need a consultation to assess your hair needs before colouring, along with an Allergy Alert Test.
Some colours are more complex to achieve, for example if you’re having a colour change, so they may require more than one visit to reach your target colour. This is your colour journey and all visits are separately charged.
When you go light to dark, your hair will initially fade quite quickly because the hair is usually more porous, so you’ll need regular visits to top-up your colour before it holds. If you go from dark to light, your hair goes through stages of warmer orange tones before you reach the cooler blonde shades. Each colour service is priced per application, so if your colour journey requires two applications (or more) then you’ll be charged for each one individually.
We can’t speed up the process because it depends on your hair’s natural colour structure as well as your current shade. And we won’t risk your hair’s condition by pushing beyond what is responsible to do. So it’s important to understand that you may need several visits and services over time to achieve and maintain your target colour.
We’ll always do our best to give you an accurate analysis of the colour journey required to leave you with beautiful, strong and healthy colour. In your consultation, we can advise how many visits your colour journey may take – but it isn’t an exact science because our hair is as unique to us as our fingerprints. So it’s an estimate, not a guarantee.
We offer Bond Pro as a stand-alone treatment or as an add-in to your colour service. Like Olaplex, it helps protect the bonds of your hair that can be damaged through heat styling, colour use and aging. We recommend Bond Pro for all colour services to maintain the life of your colour and protect the integrity of your hair. At home you should always use a salon-quality sulphate-free shampoo to maintain colour and condition.
Yes. We sell Staino direct dyes for colouring your favourite vivid looks at home.
And we also offer a bespoke-mixed take-home conditioner that extends the life and richness of your in-salon colour. Fab Pro is a vegan, hydrating conditioner that is hand-mixed by us to match your personal colour. We recommend using it once a week (or every other wash) between salon visits to keep your colour topped-up and looking fab.
Yes. We have to dry your hair after colouring to check the quality of the colour, so it’s not possible to leave without a finishing service. You can opt for different finishes after your colour service to suit your budget or time needs: an express dry with one of our Graduates, a blow-dry or a cut.
A standard wash, cut and finish takes around 60mins and suits most clients’ hair needs. Your stylist will advise you if you should book a shorter service, perhaps because your hair is particularly fine or if you are visiting for a freshen-up between services. Our ‘luxe’ services offer extra time for clients with particularly long or thick hair.
We don’t offer wet cuts because the finishing detail of your cut requires the hair to be dry.
It’s good to talk, but sometimes we all need a bit of time to ourselves. Your stylist will start the service with a consultation as usual and check-in with you through your appointment about anything hair-related, but the rest of the appointment is yours to enjoy some peace and quiet. Just request a silent service when booking and we’ll be happy to give you a little quiet time without the chatter. Bliss.
We are proud to be a Colour Responsible Salon.
Skin sensitivity can develop over time through prolonged use of colour or develop very quickly from a new colour product. So even if you’ve been colouring your hair for years, it’s important to allergy test regularly for your own safety and peace of mind. All Colour Houses have strict testing guidelines that we adhere to and we can’t accept disclaimers in place of a skin test or allergy screening. We have two options for testing, which you can read more about below.
If you require an AAT but miss your appointment or don’t complete a Colour Passport, we may need to reschedule your colour booking.
You’ll need an AAT or Allergy Screening:
You may need an AAT or Allergy Screening:
Allergy Alert Testing (AAT) is important when you’re having a colour to assess your sensitivity to the colour prior to your service.
There are two types of AAT that we support at Simon Webster Hair. Complimentary AATs are carried out in-salon or you can purchase a Colourstart home-screening Colour Passport. The Colourstart Passport is our preferred method because it allows us greater flexibility to adapt your colour services without the need to re-test. But you can choose either option:
1) AAT in-salon (Allergy Alert Test) complimentary service
Book a colour consultation at least 48 hours before your colour service. We’ll put a pea-sized amount of colour on a cotton bud, which you apply to the inner side of your forearm in a thin layer on an area of 2 cm x 2 cm. Leave it for 45 mins and then wash the test area with water and pat dry with a clean tissue. If you don’t observe any changes throughout the next 2 days (such as itching, redness, or swelling) your colour service can go ahead. If you have any irritation, you must notify us immediately. If you develop symptoms that make you unwell, contact a medical professional. Subsequent colour services may not require an AAT, subject to screening questions. But we will need to re-test at regular intervals or if you want to change your colour. Your stylist can advise you if you have any questions. You can be sure we only use premium products and your wellbeing and peace of mind is at the heart of our AAT protocols. Thank you for your co-operation.
2) Colourstart Passport (MHRA approved) £20
Register your contact with Colourstart to create an online personal Colour Passport. Answer the 6 simple screening questions, buy and apply your Colourstart Patch, following their instructions carefully. Ideally you need to allow a week before your initial colour service. Upload your results onto your online passport and share your results with SWH via the Colourstart website (we are a Colourstart registered salon). For subsequent colour treatments, just answer the Colourstart screening questions again. If nothing has changed, you won’t need to take another test. Your Colourstart passport confidentially stores your records so they can be shared with your salon of choice at any time.
This is our preferred method of allergy screening because it allows us to adapt colour formulas to respond to your hair needs, without further testing.
Colourstart is a clean and convenient way to screen for allergy to PPDs in hair colour at home. It is a patch, much like a nicotine patch or temporary tattoo. And it is fast becoming the industry preferred method to test for allergies because it’s simple, is valid up to a year and offers a greater flexibility to change your colour product, brand or salon without the need to re-test.
Colourstart is registered and approved as a medicine by the MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency) so has to be charged for a fixed fee. It is supported by the Colourstart Passport. Registering for a Colourstart Passport and ongoing screening is free. The Colourstart test is £25. You can buy it direct from SWH or online from SalonLove.
The process of using the patch takes 5 days in total and you just follow our simple step-by-step guide. First, register online for a Colourstart Passport, answer the screening questions and then purchase your patch. We’ll post you the patch and once it arrives, register it to your Colour Passport and follow the steps above. Don’t forget to take a photo of the patch on your arm! You’ll be prompted to share your results with SWH via the app through the process so we know you’re good to go for your colour service. And if you have any questions, just ask your stylist in-salon or use the Colourstart Live Chat.
Watch the Colourstart video to see how to apply a Colourstart patch and use the Colourstart Passport.
If you are pregnant or have active dermatitis you cannot test with Colourstart and must have an AAT in-salon.
Booking fees are taken for all bookings, so we can plan our schedule and better assess our product requirements in advance. And it means we can keep payments hassle-free, efficient and contactless where preferred. Pre-payments are usually £20 or 30% of your anticipated final bill.
Pre-payments are refundable or transferrable as long as we have a minimum 48hours notice of cancellation by telephone or email. This allows us to contact clients from our waiting lists who may like to take that slot. Late arrivals or cancellations with less than 48hours notice are only refunded at the discretion of management.
Yes. Our Front of House Team can’t accept tips on your card payment, but you are welcome to tip any of our team directly, either in cash or using their Easytip individual QR code.
We offer NHS and NUS discounts. There are also discounts and rewards for members of local businesses and personal recommendations. Other discounts may be available at different times.
A modest sustainability levy of £3 is applied to each bill, which enables us to provide you with an ethical and sustainable service. This ensures that everything is recycled and managed responsibly, from single-use PPE, plastics and foils, through to your hair cuttings and even excess colour.
Our promise to you – our clients, community and team – is to deliver a safe, responsible and professional service with your wellbeing at heart. For time to time, when Covid restrictions are in place, our client experience will be slightly different. But our pledge to create beautiful, bespoke hairstyling remains the same.
We’ve worked very hard to ensure a safe and enjoyable experience in-salon. Sometimes members of our team or clients may choose to wear a mask in-salon. If you would like your stylist to wear a mask during your visit, just let us know. There are still sanitisers around the salon for your use if you’d like. And of course all our items are appropriately cleaned between clients.
If you have any concerns, questions or special requests, please just let us know and we will be happy to help.
