Leanne Kelsall experiences a hybrid of hair colours with celebrity stylist Domenico Casella at Neville Hair and Beauty, one of London’s most forward-thinking salons.

During lockdown and without my regular above-the-shoulder chop safety blanket, I got to know my natural hair. While there’s no denying I missed my bi-monthly balayage and blow dry with my favourite colourist, I grew to accept my new low-maintenance look.

Lockdown has taught us to be more resourceful. I now look for cuts and colours that offer longevity and fewer hours in the salon chair. And since I’m now visiting the salon seasonally (not monthly), I use the money saved to pay for a more expensive salon for an expert to input and tend to my tresses.

Neville Hair and Beauty ticks all those boxes and more. And I was lucky enough to be invited in to try two of their most forward-thinking hair colour techniques; Henna and Shatush.

Introducing Henna and Shatush at Neville Hair and Beauty
Henna and Shatush are two newish hair colour techniques perfectly suited to those looking for less time-intensive styles. They allow you to colour your hair in a way that blends with your natural tones, even as the colour grows out.

Neville Hair and Beauty – one of London’s most forward-thinking salons – is a pioneer of both of these techniques, and Senior Colourist Domenico Casella (above) was the first to bring them from Italy. So I was fortunate to be in the hands of a true expert when I dropped in.

Henna is a secret weapon against grey hair
Henna is designed to tone grey hair and give it some much-needed moisture. The brand used at Neville – Henna by Philip Martin – is packed with vitamins and nutrients and also gives your scalp some much-needed pampering. Best of all, it’s organic and 100% plant-based.

The results are amazing. The silvery grey hairs I had are no longer visible, and my hair has a glossiness to it that I’ve never experienced before. I’ve received loads of compliments from my colleagues, and it’s boosted my confidence tenfold.

Domenico explained that it’s one of the salon’s most asked-for treatments, and I’m not surprised. It’s important to say that you won’t get these results from a Henna box dye, many of which contain cheap quality ingredients that can change your hair’s natural colour and even turn it green!

It’s absolutely worth investing in the expertise of Dom if you’re interested in Henna.

Shatush for that sun-kissed look
Being natural, the Henna won’t lift the hair’s colour. So if you want to go brighter, that’s where Shatush can be used on top. Only a handful of salons offer this innovative colour technique, and you’ll be hard pushed to find a more experienced colourist at this than Domenico.

Shatush offers soft and subtle results. It’s similar to Balayage but more natural-looking. The colour is applied to backcombed sections of your hair that would generally go lighter if you sat in the sun for a week or so. It gives you a gorgeous, natural, post-holiday look. Better yet, there’s no need for foils. So Shatush is less damaging than traditional highlights. It’s also a lot easier to maintain as it doesn’t begin at the roots.

And the results? Just see for yourself. Incredible, right?

Domenico is a pioneer in natural hair colouring, meeting the demands of the salon’s rich and famous clientele who want to look effortlessly glamorous.

Dom hand-painted my colour with such passion and precision – carefully considering my skin tone and what shade of blonde would compliment it. Just a couple of hours later and my hair was totally transformed. It was exactly what I wanted, even though I hadn’t been able to articulate it very well. Dom just knew!

The salon is amazing too…
Neville Hair and Beauty sit within a five-storey townhouse in the affluent streets of London’s Belgravia.

Even with a rich and storied clientele made up of royalty, models and A-listers (check out Neville’s Instagram page), the stylists at the salon are incredibly friendly. They really took care of me.

The service was super speedy. From the colour to the perfect blow dry I received – my hair was transformed in a couple of hours. Perfect! A big thanks to Domenico and the team at Neville Hair and Beauty.

Visit www.nevillehairandbeauty.net to find out more. Prices for Henna start from £200, and prices for Shatush start from £310.

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