Francesco Group Cheltenham & Little Princess Trust

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For the past couple of years, I haven’t had my hair cut. Initially this was just because I never got around to it. But then about 12 months ago, I read about Little Princess Trust and decided to grow my hair long enough to donate over 12 inches of it to them. Francesco Group Cheltenham very kindly cut it and restyled it for me to allow me to do so.

About Little Princess Trust

The Little Princess Trust make wigs for children who have lost their hair as a result of treatment for cancer. You see the thing about hair is that the way we feel about our hair can have an impact on our confidence. Some children cope well with hair loss but for others, it can be incredibly upsetting. Childhood is difficult at the best of times so facing it when you feel singled out due to the way you look must be so tough.

The Little Princess Trust give away all their wigs for free to both boys and girls in the UK and Ireland who need them. This means that they need donations of both hair and money. If you think you can help them out with a donation of either, do head over to their website. My hair will be going in the post to them over the next few days.

About Francesco Group Cheltenham

Francesco Group Cheltenham are based in the very heart of the town. They are literally next door to the Regent Arcade so they’re perfectly located for parking too. They kindly agreed to do both a cut and colour of my hair. The cut involved a total restyle as I had well over a foot cut off.

The whole atmosphere of this hairdressers is vibrant, exciting and friendly. When I first went in I was offered tea or coffee and my coffee even came with a biscuit. A definite bonus! I was also offered magazines to read and they let me know that there was free WiFi there. One lady had even taken her laptop with her so she could work while her colours were on. What a brilliant idea, I’ll be doing that next time! And better still, come late afternoon I was offered a glass of Prosecco. I felt thoroughly spoilt.

The salon has recently been refurbished and it looks absolutely fabulous. There are a couple of big photos of all the staff displayed as you walk upstairs and they are genuinely amazing. Each one has been done based on a different theme and they really add to the fun feeling about the whole place.

There are numerous different rooms in the salon so you are only ever with a few other people during treatments and cuts. This makes it feel a bit more luxurious and makes the experience so much more personal. They also have a barber service, which is located upstairs in a separate room.

Francesco Group Cheltenham – The Colour

Before I was able to have my hair coloured, Francesco Group Cheltenham asked me to go in for a skin test. This just involved putting some of the dyes behind my ears, so that they would know if I had an adverse reaction to them and they could avoid those dyes.

When I arrived, the salon owner Lisa who would be cutting my hair chatted to me about both style and colour. I didn’t have any firm ideas in mind as to what I wanted, so she recommended some colours and a style. I didn’t want my hair any lighter, so we settled on a slightly darker brown than my own hair colour. She recommended two slightly different tones and Stuart who was doing the colour then mixed them up for me.

My hair was washed and I was taken to have the colours put in. These were all done in foils and I chatted to Stuart about Francesco Group Cheltenham while he was doing it. I was amazed by the amount of pride they all take in their work and the amount of training and expertise they all have. They seem like a really close team who work together to achieve incredible results.

When the colour was done, I sat under a heat machine for a while before it was washed off. During this time I was free to use WiFi and browse magazines. The colour was then rinsed off and it was time to have my hair restyled.

Francesco Group Cheltenham – The Cut

The first part of the cut took place as soon as I arrived, with Lisa cutting off my ponytail. This was a bit of a surreal experience, my head instantly felt lighter! After my colour, Lisa came over and did a total restyle for me. From where my ponytail had been cut off, she took my hair into a brilliantly styled short bob with lots of layers in.

As well as cutting my hair, Lisa used a few products in it that would help to promote volume. When I left, she gave me a list of all the products she’d used so I know what to ask for if I want to buy them. The other thing I was really impressed with was that she just blow-dried it for me, without using brushes and styling products that I’d never be able to replicate at home. And I was seriously impressed.

As I was donating the hair to charity, Lisa was kind enough to film the whole process for me. She has edited the video to put it all in quick time so you can see the transformation! I’ve then put this together with a little explanation from me at the start, so you can see my hair as it was before as well.

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