This was a press appointment – in simple terms I was offered a complimentary cut and blow dry at Malcolm Murphy Hair in exchange for social media coverage and a blog post reviewing my experience, with complete honesty.

Whilst I was in Leicester this time, I was extremely fortunate to have been invited to experience a complimentary cut and blow dry courtesy of the exquisite hair salon, Malcolm Murphy Hair, located on Hinckley Road. I had the opportunity to be given plenty of tips from Tori, a stylist at Malcom Murphy, that were so beneficial for taking care of longer hair, which I wanted to share with you today.

Before moving to Spain, I kept on top of my hair game, looking forward to the little luxury of heading to Malcolm Murphy to pamper myself at the salon with Martha, who would always go above and beyond to make sure I was not just happy with my hair, but in love with my hair. Since moving to Spain, that routine has seemingly gone straight out of the window leaving me battling the elements and, lets just say, my hair has taken the battering.

When you arrive to the stylish salon, you’re greeted by the friendly team who get you settled in quickly. Whether a wine is your go to, or you’re more of a cappuccino or latte person, one of the members of the team are quick on hand to make you feel comfortable. I thought it was exceptionally lovely that Martha waved hello, even though it had been over two years since we last saw one another. It’s little details like that which just make all the difference. You’re not just a number. You’re cared about.

I was introduced to Tori, the stylist at Malcolm Murphy, whom would be hopefully transforming my hair from zero to hero and what a fine job she did. I was seated in the far corner where you’re seated in front of glorious, luxurious gold mirrors that not only give you a full body reflection, but also bring the impression that everything is so grand and that everybody else are so far away. The salon itself is roomy, being spread across two spacious rooms, plus the additional third floor staff room, but it feels even bigger.

I brought my mum along for the ride, sitting next to me, we had a morning coffee, cappuccino for me and a latte for mum with a couple of brownies and nibbles delicately laid out on the aesthetic tray paired with the gorgeous “M” cups with a glass ornament to hold the cakes. Everything is thought of and nothing is too much.

I felt right at ease with Tori straight away, feeling like old friends, we all got chatting right away from the life in Spain, to the weather and everything in between. Of course, we had to talk about my hair routine, or perhaps lack of.

Tori, just like the other members of the team at Malcolm Murphy, are evidently very up to date with all things hair and their knowledge on the subject just shines through. You know when somebody truly is somebody passionate about something and their eyes light up and you can just see how much they love their job? That’s how it was with Tori.

Tori gave me so many useful tips about how to take better care of my hair, from towel drying before conditioning and cutting down the amount of times I wash my hair. She gave me an incredible amount of information but it never once felt like it was too much to take in, neither did I feel like I was being bombarded.

If there’s just one thing I’ve missed since moving to Spain in terms of hair cuts, it has to be the massage chairs. A lot of the salons in Spain, it’s a case of sit on a chair, have your chop and go. Sitting in that massage chair whilst you’re having your Indian head massage whilst the hairdresser gives your hair the full treatment with welcoming scented products is a wonderful part of the experience. Having landed just 9 hours earlier, and having to fit in a night sleep into that, I could have drifted off into a relaxed induced nap.

I am currently in the process of growing my hair, hoping that I’ll be able to have French plaits put in for America, making it easier whilst at the Disney parks, so I wasn’t looking for anything drastic cut off. Neither was I looking for gorgeous layers put in to add volume, I suppose in one way I was an easy customer, but on the other, I think I was that slightly annoying one. There’s no better before and after photo than a drastic chop, but that isn’t what I was looking for and Tori completely respected that and stuck to exactly how I wanted it.

Notoriously, we all know that “please take no more than an inch off” and the hairdresser proceeds to seemingly chop off your hair that you’ve so lovingly or “unlovingly” killed off because you haven’t had regular hair cuts, been trying to grow. This was certainly not the case. Tori chopped enough of my ends off to reverse some of the damage, I, and the Spanish sun and beach, had caused, cutting the absolute bare minimum to keep as much of my length as possible.

Feeling stocked up on hair knowledge and my hair smelling of gorgeous, natural products, like the glitzy spray and the blow drying serum, Tori finished off my hair by adding impressive curls. Curls so fabulous that there is absolutely no way that I will be able to replicate them so is it acceptable for me to ask Tori just to do my hair every morning?

I had to have a nosy around Malcolm Murphy now that it’s spread across three floors, the stunning monkey wall was a great talking point and not to mention a perfect photo back drop. Who am I to resist a photo or two (hundred) of my fabulous hair next to such a cool wall?

Upstairs, they also offer eyebrow appointments as well as more seating for hair cuts. I think it’s important to mention that the whole place feels welcoming. It’s clean, beautifully decorated and most importantly, it’s a top quality hair salon. It feels luxurious, without the extortionate price tag. I had been to Malcolm Murphy many times before, as a paying customer, so I felt absolutely honoured to be welcomed on a complimentary visit. Being able to talk about somewhere that I’ve visited many times before, it’s just so easy to write about how fabulous it really is.

Hair Tips from Tori at Malcolm Murphy

• Towel dry your hair before applying conditioner to ensure that the conditioner is able to soak in and do what it’s intended to do.
• Wash your hair once a week, use dry shampoo between washes.
• Try to be as organic and natural as possible when using products, if you can’t pronounce the ingredients then it’s probably not going to be that good for your hair. As Tori so lovely put it: “We come from nature, so we should be trying to keep things as naturally as possible.”
• With a centre parting, blow dry the hair backwards to add volume.
• Apply oil to the scalp (but not before spending time in the sun as this will frizzle your hair!). 

If you are in Leicester, I cannot urge you enough to head onto the Malcolm Murphy website and book yourself in for a visit and truly be pampered in a beautiful setting. I guarantee your visit will not just meet, but exceed your expectations. Stepping out of Malcolm Murphy, I felt so much more confident and bursting with love for my bouncy, transformed locks. A huge thank you to Tori and Malcolm Murphy for not only making me feel so much happier with my hair, but feeling welcomed, empowered and beautiful.

Hasta luego,

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