Essential Beauty Salon, Kensal Rise

The main beautician there is terrible. Sneaky comments and jabs both times I've visited. Going for treatments should be fun but for some of us it's quite a daunting experience. In other salons I've been made to feel so welcome all my worries and insecurities melt away but here they're exaggerated.

I bought a voucher for 6 microdermabrasion facials at this salon, which expires in August 2011. The main reason I decided to book with this salon was that they advertise opening hours until 7pm and Saturday opening.

I called in the first week of April to make an appointment, I was told the earliest "evening" appointment was at the end of May. I specifically asked the receptionist at the time of booking whether I would be able to make appointments for my remaining 5 treatments before the voucher expired. She assured me that this would not be a problem at all. She said that I could not book all my appointments over the phone at the time, but that once I had my first appointment and they had performed a skin test to make sure I was not allergic to any of the products used, I would be able to the remaining five appointments in advance.

The treatment I received was disappointing. No skin test was performed to see if I was allergic to any products, despite this being the reason that I was unable to book my appointments in advance. The therapist did not even ask me if I had any allergies. Instead she spent the entire treatment time telling me that I had minor acne and pressuring me into buying expensive skincare products from the salon. I most definitely do NOT have acne! I don’t even have any spots, which is what made her suggestions so ridiculous! However, given that she performed this so-called "skin assessment" in a darkened treatment room, I am not at all suprised by her conculusion! The entire treatment lasted about 15 minutes - for a facial that is sold at £40 this is absolutely disgusting!

After my treatment was over, I went to reception to book my remaining 5 appointments. I was told that it was not possible to book more than 1 appointment in advance, and that the first evening or weekend appointment was in July, and the first available appointment AT ALL was not until the middle of June. I explained that I was very unhappy as I had already expressed concerns about being able to receive all treatments before the voucher expiry date, and that I had promised that I could pre-book the rest of my appointments. I was then told that the manager would come out to speak to me.

The manager was exceptionally rude. He told myself and another customer that he “didn’t care” if we was able to use all our vouchers by the expiry date, and that it "wasn't his problem" if we had paid for something we wouldn't receive.

I would never recommend this salon to anyone, there is so much competition in London that you are better off saving your money and going elsewhere!