Salons We Love: Wylde Bird Bohemia

Nobody goes to London just to get their hair done, in August. Not even Jo. So, when a new local salon opened near her in her home town of Hastings, she decided to give it a go. And what a find!

Jo writes: ‘I have impossible hair. You’d never guess, once it’s style – but it takes a full hour to tame the 17 different directions that it grows in. Once it’s done, though, it stays – for a week, sometimes a fortnight, still looking good; I am not a believer in over-shampooing hair, and believe our natural oils are vital for condition. I know it doesn’t work for everyone, but it absolutely works for me, and I save a huge amount of time not shampooing, conditioning and styling all the time.

So, I’m delighted to have found a new local destination, with a man who can tame my mane. Stylist Jamie McCormick co-owns Wylde Bird, which opened just a few weeks ago, with his make-up artist husband Jose Bass. They’ve both been high-flying session professionals, but having fallen in love with St. Leonards – the adjacent town to mine (they basically blend into one), wanted a more ‘local’ life. They found this incredible space – a beautifully tiled former baker’s shop, with cabinetry, marble shelving – and brought in some mid-century pieces to pull it all together.

In the front is Jose’s brilliantly curated skincare and make-up collection, which spans Erborian alphabet creams/primers (featured as ‘icons’ in our upcoming book, The Beauty Bible: Iconic Edition) to Verden via SVR’s excellent SPFs. (We’ve needed those down here more than ever, this summer!) I also bought literally the most instantly calming room spray I’ve ever spritzed in all my born days, called Airplane Mode (rosewood, cedarwood, palo santo and patchouli).

Make-up artist Jose Bass’s expert curation of make-up and skincare

Now, I normally need mousse to get my hair to behave, but Jamie persuaded me that the Volume Hairwash and ‘matching’ conditioner from Natulique, with their Root Lifter Volume Toner, would do the trick, finished with a tiny touch of Natulique’s Moroccan Argan Oil, to break up the texture. To my great surprise, he was absolutely right, and I am impressed. (Great smells, too, from this Scandi organic brand – and unsurprisingly, I love that it’s certified organic.)

It’s a lovely experience, just being in this space – and impressively, Jamie learned fast just how to wrangle my hair. I haven’t had a haircut at Wylde Bird yet – but my “fake daughter” Lily has had her hair cut by Jamie in the past, and rates his scissor skills, too. For further evidence, do check out their Instagram, here – lots of great cuts and colour, shown off by other happy clients.

A great discovery. Wonderful to have hair back-up locally. And would I ‘reverse commute’ and come from London, to check out Wylde Bird? Well, I don’t think anyone would be disappointed…

NB No website yet; best way to contact Wylde Bird is by phone on 01424-322304. They’ll soon be on Fresha, Jamie says, which will make booking easier (I had a couple of glitches with the existing system). An Instagram message to @wyldebirdbohemia will also get a response.