ADEM is a relative newcomer to Belgravia, having opened only a couple of years ago. Owned by the eponymous hair stylist Adem Oygur, it’s the perfect place to revitalise your frazzled tresses. With over two decades of experience in cutting and styling, Oygur favours natural treatments to bring hair back to full health, reflected in the salon's wood panels and abundant foliage. His secret to a soft, manageable mane? Hazelnut oil. Oygur's products are infused with oil from hazelnuts grown on his family's farm in Turkey, leaving hair feeling far fresher and healthier.Indeed, he is the first UK stylist to use hazelnuts in his treatments.
The salon occupies a prime spot on Belgravia’s chichi Ebury Street, and is a gorgeous space. Oygur’s aim was to create a ‘breathable living salon’. Certainly, there is a profusion of frodescence on display all around his salon. Bamboo and great towering plants in intriguing shapes abound, as well as large glass vases full of Oygur’s hero ingredient: the hazelnut. Upon arrival at the salon one crisp November morning, I was welcomed warmly by the charming receptionist, Monisha, shown to a comfortable chair, and introduced to my stylist, Billy. I had not had my hair tended to since June, and it was not in the best condition. Billy listened attentively whilst I outlined what I envisioned for my colour and cut outcomes, and explained his detailed gameplan for achieving the results I wanted. I felt reassured by the degree of consideration and depth he went into in his explanation. He mentioned that he would be using ‘teasy lights’, which is not something I’ve encountered before, in over twenty years of having my hair highlighted. He explained that it involves backcombing the hair prior to applying the foil to help minimise the regrowth and make the colour effect last as long as possible: always a good thing in my book! I was impressed by the fact that Billy noticed little details that other hairdressers have never commented on before, such as the existence of breakage at the crown. He asks whether I regularly tie my hair back, and I admit that I do. He suggests a silky brand of hair tie that will reduce breakage; it turns out that the hairbands that I had been using for years, which I had thought were specifically designed not to damage hair, have little plastic nodules which can cause tearing through repeated use.
Whilst I am having my foils applied, which I always find to be a supremely relaxing and enjoyable process, especially when the person applying them is doing so as efficiently and deftly as Billy, the salon’s beautician, Nikoletta, comes over to give me a manicure. She is extremely meticulous and pays very close attention to detail to the shaping, buffing, and polish. It’s an incredibly efficient and productive use of time – usually I sit waiting for the colour to develop and flick aimlessly through some magazines – but on this occasion I’ve got flawlessly painted nails instead.
After around 20 minutes, Billy checks my colour, and then asks me to move over the sinks to shampoo my hair. The hairwashing area is a beautifully designed corner of tranquility. There is a photo mural of a view overlooking Lake Como adorned with some hanging plants. To add to the sensory enjoyment, the chairs feature raisable leg rests and – bliss – massage functions.I enjoy a heavenly head massage whilst my hair is shampooed, and after the conditioner is applied, I undergo a Steam Treatment. My hair is placed in what looks a bit like an inflatable silver shower cap as steam pulsates out to help the conditioning treatment to penetrate through to the cortex of each hair shaft. It is a wonderfully relaxing experience, and I almost fall asleep in the 20 minutes that it takes.
After it has finished, Billy leads me back to my chair, checks that I’m happy with the length he plans to trim, and begins to work his magic with his golden scissors. He includes some longer layers at the back and face framing layers at the front. After the cut, he proceeds to blowdry my hair, leaving it with just the right amount of bounce and volume.
Within three hours I left the salon with a fabulous cut, gorgeous colour, and immaculate nails. I felt like a new woman. And – delightfully, as I’m putting on my coat and about to head out into the milky sunlight of the autumnal afternoon, Billy slips a leaving present into my hand – a packet of hazelnuts harvested from Oygur's family farm in Turkey. A lovely, personal touch, and the icing on the cake of what has been an exceptional and unique hairdressing experience.
To book, please visit adem.london; call 020 7235 2228 or email salon@adem.london.
61 Ebury St, London SW1W 0NZ
