What a mobile hairdresser in Cambridgeshire actually does (and what to expect from a home visit)

People assume a mobile hairdresser is a compromise: a trim in the kitchen while the kettle boils, nothing too ambitious, fine for a fringe. That was never how I wanted to work. When I left salon life to go mobile across Cambridgeshire, the deal I made with myself was simple. Whatever I could do in a salon chair, I would do in your living room to the same standard, or I would not offer it.

This is what a home visit with me looks like in practice, from the first message to the moment I leave your floor cleaner than I found it. If you have never booked one, it should answer everything you were going to ask and a few things you would not have thought to.

Who a home visit suits

Most of my mobile clients fall into a few groups.

Parents who cannot leave the house for three hours without a military operation, and who would rather I came at nap time.

People who work shifts and need a 7pm appointment on a Tuesday, which very few salons will give you.

Anyone with mobility issues, or with a wheelchair, or who finds a busy salon genuinely difficult. No steps, no waiting room, no music you did not choose.

Anyone who simply hates the noise and the mirrors, and who would rather have their hair done somewhere they can relax.

Brides and their mothers on the morning of the wedding, and the bridesmaids who would otherwise be driving between three appointments in curlers.

And a steadily growing number of people who tried it once for convenience and never went back to a salon.

Where I cover

I cover Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire. St Neots, Huntingdon, St Ives, Cambourne, Papworth Everard, Godmanchester, Buckden and Eaton Socon are the regular ones, along with Bedford, Sandy, Biggleswade and Cambridge. The simple version is anywhere within roughly a 30 to 40 minute drive of Yelling.

If you are a bit further out, ask. I would rather tell you straight than have you guess, and for a colour or a group I will usually travel further than my normal patch.

Booking, and what to put in the notes

Everything goes through Fresha, where the live availability and current prices live.

One thing to get right: pick the Home Visit version of the service rather than the salon one. They are listed separately, and choosing the home visit is what tells me to come to you and adds the call-out charge. Then put your address in the notes along with anything I should know: parking, a buzzer code, a dog who will want to be involved, a baby asleep upstairs.

If it is your first colour with me, message me as soon as you have booked so we can sort the skin test. It has to happen 48 hours beforehand and it is the one thing that can lose you an appointment if we leave it late.

I confirm every booking the same day. If you need to move it, tell me as early as you can and I will find you something else.

What comes in the car

Everything, and it is more than people expect.

Everything except the water. A professional dryer, straighteners and tongs. The full colour kit including foils, lightener, toners and colour. The same Wella, Moroccanoil and Olaplex products I use in the home salon. Towels, gowns, sectioning clips, capes, and a dustpan.

What I need from you is a chair, a plug socket, a bit of floor space and a sink or shower I can rinse at. The kitchen sink is what most people use and it works perfectly well. If you have a shower attachment on the bath, even better.

What you need to provide is a plug socket, a bit of floor space, and somewhere I can run warm water. That is genuinely it. A kitchen, a utility room, a bathroom or a corner of the living room all work fine.

The consultation comes first

Before a drop of colour goes anywhere, we talk.

What you want. What your hair does when it is left alone. How much time you actually have in the mornings, honestly, not aspirationally. What has been done to it before, including anything from a box, because it changes how colour behaves and I would rather know now than find out halfway through.

I trained at Vidal Sassoon and I still think about a haircut as geometry, so I will look at your face shape and how your hair falls before I pick up the scissors. If you have a photo of what you are after, show me. If the photo is a lie for your hair type, and quite a lot of them are, I will tell you kindly and suggest what will actually get you closest.

You can read more about how I trained and how I work if you want to know who is turning up at your door.

Colour at home

Yes, properly. Half, three-quarter and full head foils, balayage, toners, scalp bleach and colour refreshes all travel, and they are done exactly as they would be in the salon.

The one non-negotiable is the skin test, 48 hours before your first colour with me. I can post a patch out to you or drop one round if I am passing. It is a small faff that avoids a very big problem.

Colour at home takes the same time it takes anywhere else, and I will bring an extra towel for the sofa. Nothing has ever ended up on a carpet, and I intend to keep it that way.

Treatments, beauty and everything else

The treatments travel too: Olaplex, Wella and Moroccanoil masks, and keratin smoothing, which is a longer appointment but works beautifully at home because you can wash up or answer emails while it processes.

So does the beauty side: brows, lash and brow tinting, LVL, waxing, facials and lobe piercing. A lot of clients book hair and brows in the same visit, which saves an entire second trip out of the house.

Group bookings, weddings and occasions

These are the appointments I look forward to most, and they are the ones where a mobile hairdresser makes the biggest difference.

For a wedding, I come to wherever you are getting ready. Bride, mother of the bride, bridesmaids, all done in the same house, in an order I plan backwards from the time you need to leave. Nobody drives anywhere with wet hair, nobody sits in a salon in their dressing gown, and there is a hairdresser in the room if something needs a pin at the last minute.

I always recommend a trial for the bride, ideally six to eight weeks before, on the same day as any colour so we know exactly how the finished thing will look.

Proms, birthdays and a mother-and-daughter afternoon work the same way. Tell me the numbers and the date when you get in touch and I will work out how long it needs and what time I should arrive.

Things people worry about, and whether they should

"Will it make a mess?" No. I bring a cape, towels, a mat if the floor needs one, and a dustpan. The floor is swept before I leave.

"Is my house tidy enough?" I have worked in every kind of house in Cambridgeshire and I promise I am not looking at your washing up. A cleared corner is plenty.

"What if my kitchen is too small?" The kit takes up about the space of an armchair. If in doubt, send me a photo of the room and I will tell you.

"Do I need to entertain you?" Please do not feel you have to. Some clients chat the whole way through and some read a book, and both are completely fine.

"What if I do not like it?" Tell me while I am still there. That is the whole advantage of an unhurried appointment: there is time to change it.

How long it takes

A wash, cut and blow dry is usually an hour. A men's cut is quicker. Foils are two to three hours depending on how much hair you have and what we are doing to it. Balayage is around two and a half. A keratin blow dry can be three.

I will give you an honest time when you book so you can plan the rest of your day around it, and I would rather over-estimate and leave early than have you watching the clock.

What it costs

Prices are on Fresha, where they stay accurate rather than going stale on a webpage, and they depend on hair length, thickness and how long the appointment takes.

On top of the service price there is a £10 call-out charge for a home visit. It is built into the home visit services on Fresha, so you see it before you confirm rather than being surprised by it at the door. That covers the travel anywhere inside the usual area, and if you are further out than a 30 to 40 minute drive I will tell you before you book.

After I leave

You get exactly the same aftercare you would get in a salon: what to use, what to avoid for the first couple of days after colour, and when to come back. If you want, I will book the next one before I go.

Hair goes in the bin, foils go in my bag, the floor gets swept, and the chair folds back into the car. Most people say the same thing at the door, which is that they cannot quite believe they used to drive to a salon for this.

Ready to try one

Book a home visit on Fresha and pop your address in the notes, and I will confirm the same day. If you would rather ask something first, send me a message or have a look at what other clients have said on the reviews page. If you would prefer to come to me, the home salon in Yelling has free parking outside and you will be the only person in it.