Routed creative studio ★9.9

About the salon

Routed opened on Call Lane in 2020 and built itself around a question most salons ignore: what are you supposed to do with the ninety minutes while colour develops. The answer here is work, eat or watch something, because the studio is fitted out for all three. It is a hair studio that has borrowed its layout from a co-working space.

Services

• Full head and half head highlights
• Balayage and freehand lightening
• Bleach regrowth and regrowth tints
• Colour correction
• Cutting, blow-dries and finishing

The menu is short on purpose. Routed is a colour-led studio and does not try to cover beauty, nails or spa alongside it.

Technology and brands

Olaplex is offered as an add-on across the team, used during and after lightening to protect the internal bonds that bleach breaks down. It matters most on the services Routed does most: bleach regrowth, full head highlights and corrections, where hair is being lifted repeatedly over months rather than once.

Team and stylists

The studio is owned by Abbie Grant, who took it over after its first five years and brings around a decade in the industry. Its founder, Verity Ollerenshaw, still works there, concentrating on education and on the studio’s brand. Around eight stylists work alongside them.

The Space

This is where Routed differs from every other salon on the list. There are screens in both the styling and backwash areas, phone chargers within reach, laptop sockets at every station, and sections that adjust so you can take a private work call mid-appointment. Brunch is served while colour develops.

Who it’s for

It suits people who cannot lose half a working day to a colour appointment, freelancers and hybrid workers who would rather bring the laptop than reschedule, and anyone who wants a colour specialist rather than a salon that does a bit of everything.

Questions and answers

Can I book online? Yes, through the studio website, where you can choose your stylist; the studio is open seven days a week from early morning to evening.

How long does an appointment take? A cut and blow-dry runs about an hour, balayage or a full head of highlights three to four hours, and a colour correction can need a full day or a second visit.

Do you look after men and children? Yes, cutting is offered for all clients; children’s appointments are best flagged when booking so the right slot is allowed.

Can I combine several services in one visit? Colour, cut and an Olaplex treatment are routinely done together, and the studio is set up so a long combined appointment is workable rather than wasted.

Do you sell gift vouchers? Yes, vouchers are available and can be used towards any service or with any stylist.

Opening hours