Hair and colour studio · The Glebe, Ottawa

Colour, matched in north light.

Cuts, lived-in colour and careful corrections, one flight up above Bank Street.

A colourist painting lightener onto a client's long hair beside a tall window over snowy rooftops

The studio

A room we chose for its windows

We opened in 2016 in what had been a piano teacher's studio: three tall north-facing windows, lime plaster walls and a floor that creaks beside the second chair.

North light holds steady from morning to close, so the copper you approve at the window is the copper you see on the sidewalk. We book one client per chair and never double up, which keeps the room quiet enough to talk through what you want.

Vintage styling chairs along a plaster wall under tall windows while a stylist sweeps up cut hair

Services

What happens in the chair

We colour with Davines and cut wet or dry, whichever your hair asks for.

Gloved hands brushing caramel colour onto a section of hair laid over foil

Lived-in colour

Balayage and soft highlights painted by hand and placed for the grow-out, so the colour still looks intended three months on, not only on the day.

A colourist holding a tested strand of hair up to the window beside a client's lengths

Colour correction

Banding, brass, a home colour that went sideways. We test a strand at the window before anything touches the rest of your hair.

A stylist trimming the ends of a client's chin-length bob beside a snowy window

Cuts that grow out well

Precision bobs, long layers and grown-out shags, cut to how your hair actually falls rather than how it sits when it is wet.

The team

Who does your hair

Book with anyone. Every new colour is checked by Élise before you leave the chair.

Élise

Owner and colourist

Opened the studio after years colouring in Montréal. Still takes every correction consultation herself.

Noor

Senior stylist

Precision cuts, bobs and anything with a clean line. Twelve years behind the chair.

Mathieu

Stylist, curls and texture

Waves, curls and coils. Come in with your hair the way you usually wear it.

Hana

Colour assistant

Mixes, rinses and times every foil, and takes her own chair on Saturdays.

The menu

Prices, before you sit down

Colour includes a gloss and a blow-dry. Very long or thick hair can need more product, and we will say so at the consultation, not at the till.

Cuts

Stylist cut with a wash and a finish you can repeat at home.

Senior stylist cut, $105
Curls and texture, $110
Fringe tidy between cuts, no charge

$85

Book a cut

Colour

Roots or all-over colour.

Grey blending, $135
Gloss or toner on its own, $65

$120

Book colour

Lightening

Hand-painted balayage or full foils. Allow three to four hours.

Partial foils, $190
Face-framing pieces, $110
Toner refresh at six weeks, $65

$260

Book lightening

Correction

Priced by the hour, with a written total before we start.

Most corrections take two or three visits

$85an hour

Book a consultation

Prices before HST. Cancel with less than 24 hours' notice and we charge half the service.

Recent work

From the chair this winter

A client with a fresh copper blow-dry looking out at falling snow

Three ceramic bowls of mixed colour with tint brushes on the oak bar

Wet winter boots and wool coats at the top of the studio staircase

A client with foils in her hair reading a book by the window with tea on the sill

A stylist rinsing lather from a client's hair at a black basin

A stylist defining the ends of a client's curls against the window light

Said on the way down the stairs

Two visits, like she said

I came in with three years of box dye and a lot of orange. Élise said it would take two visits and it took two visits. I finally have the soft brown I asked for.

Priya

Old Ottawa South

Talked out of a fringe, then into one

Noor talked me out of a fringe in February and into one in May. She was right both times, and the bob grows out properly now.

Claire

The Glebe

Someone finally looked at my curls

First person who cut my curls dry and watched how they sit before touching the scissors. Mathieu sent me home with a routine I actually follow.

Aisha

Centretown

Questions

Before your first visit

01Can I get up to the studio?

There are stairs, with a handrail, and no lift. If stairs are hard for you, call ahead: we will book the chair nearest the landing and meet you at the street door.

02What if I don't love the colour?

Tell us within ten days and we will adjust it at no charge. We would rather fix it than have you live with it.

03Do I need a patch test?

Yes, if you are new to colour with us or it has been a year since your last visit. It takes five minutes and needs to happen 48 hours before your appointment.

04Where do I park?

Metered parking on Bank Street, and two-hour parking on most of the side streets. The Bank Street buses stop at the corner.