A journal kept by the salon, written between appointments, posted between seasons. Notes on hairdressing, the small rituals of upkeep, the people of Glasgow who pass through No. 386, and the products we keep on the back shelf.
A longer piece, written in the quiet hour after closing.
The work is in the grow-out. We talk about painting for the year ahead, not for the morning after, and the small choices at the bowl that decide how a colour ages on you.
Twenty-eight years of small observations sorted by category, written by hand.
There's a moment at the bowl when a client says it without quite saying it. A colourist on the difference between a trim and a real restyle.
From Carita in 1970s Paris to a Glasgow chair fifty years on. A short history of the freehand sweep, the cotton-board era, and what survived the trend.
"Change your hair, change your life."
Every search result on this question hands back a quiz. At the chair, the answer comes from the wrist, the daylight, and the pigment already in the hair.
The brass is not new pigment. It is the warm bed surfacing as the toner washes out. A gloss appointment, timed right, puts the cool counterweight back where it belongs.
Most blogs end at purple shampoo. We start at what the bleach actually exposed, and what the toner is doing on top of it.
"Every client has a unique head of hair when it comes to history, condition, shape. So our approach to each client is unique."
The blanket advice says layers add volume to fine hair. From the chair, it's more often the opposite, and the difference is in the density.
The colourist's note on the last decision at the bowl. What a gloss adds, what a toner does, and where each one earns its keep after a balayage.
The chain optimises for throughput; we run a single chair, by appointment. A note on why that structure changes everything, from the consultation to the finish.
A short note from the salon, one essay, one before-and-after, the diary of dates we have left. Never more than that.