I’M A hairdresser’s worst client.

I’m nervous, I’m worried, I make scared faces as each slice of hair is cut and it becomes less like it was when I walked through the door.

And not much was different in the way I usual felt when I first walked in to Abacus Hair in Bewdley.

However, that soon changed.

I was greeted by a dedicated receptionist (rather than just a run-between hairdresser) and my hairdresser herself waiting for me. She took me over to a chair and started with the very general, “so, what are we doing?”

I had had a lot of time to think about what I wanted doing to my overgrown lilac locks, and gave very clear and frank instructions on exactly how I wanted it.

Not fazed by my, possibly aggressive, instructions on my cut, I was taken to the wash basin where my hair and its usual treatment were ‘diagnosed’.

I was asked how often I wash my hair, how it’s dried, if I used products, and if it had any ‘special needs’, like cow licks or double crowns.

My hair was then washed and conditioned using L’Oréal Professional Vitamino Color A-OX shampoo and conditioner (I also had a crazy colour top up as my lilac does not last through a wash at all) and I was taken over to a mirror for the usually dreaded chop.

I braced myself. But, I shouldn’t have done. Lucy knew exactly what she was doing.

My wet hair was smoothed with Kérastase Resistance Sérum (as it was diagnosed as being quite dry thanks to the bleached needed as the basis for the lilac) and Lucy began by cutting the lengths of my hair. I asked for it to be cut to my shoulders, and rather than just taking one or two inches off immediately, she slowly took it off in stages all the way round as to make sure she didn’t take it too short. She asked if I wanted it choppy, as it was choppy when she had her hands on it first, to which I said no, and she had the hard task of also levelling it up along the bottom as well as cutting it to the suitable length.

She executed this perfectly.

Then came the fringe.

This is where I worry the most of all.

After many years as a teenager I got used to having a full face of fringe and always having it perfectly straightened, whenever I have it cut, it normally gets hacked too short or too far over or just plain wrong or not what I asked for at all.

This time when I went in to the salon it was halfway down my face and was too long for me now. I asked for it to be around my eyebrow mark, while still being a middle parting and graduating.

Lucy took a very small amount off while it was wet, before blow drying it and cutting it once it was dry. She said she did this because hair moves when it is dry and she didn’t want to cut it while wet for it to end up too short when it was dry.

A massive relief.

Before blow drying, she sprayed my hair with L’Oréal Professional TechiArt Constructor, a heat protector spray, and made sure she put in some volume at my roots (as I have lots of fine hair which means it lays quite flat naturally).

She then cut my fringe then length I wanted. Although, I must say, after I washed it myself and dried it at home, I was disappointed to notice one side was longer than the other.

My hair was then straightened and sprayed very slightly with L’Oréal Professional TechiArt Fix Anti-Frizz, and I was done.

I walked out with perfectly plump, smooth hair, very happy with the feel and cut.

I really shouldn’t have worried about Lucy and the team at Abacus Hair, there is obviously a reason they won the 2015 L’Oréal Colour Trophy Award. I would recommend a visit if you are looking for a new stylist to take on your locks.

For more information about the salon, visit abacushair.co.uk.