It’s probable that most of you have heard of {BLEACH} – the über-cool hair salon that exploded onto the beauty scene way back in 2010, igniting the world’s collective lust for rainbow hair. The brainchild of session stylist Alex Brownsell, who had spent several years experimenting on her best-friends’ manes, BLEACH sprang up as a single seat-and-sink in East London’s WAH Nails.
A collaboration between Alex and friend (and fellow hair enthusiast) Sam Teasdale, BLEACH became the coolest salon in the heart of Dalston’s Kingsland Road. Totally transformative, this tiny, stand-alone hairdressers revolutionised the attitude to hair colour – with no dye-job too weird (or wonderful) for {BLEACH} and its devoted band of colourists (and even more enthusiastic guinea pigs).
The beauty world took notice and it wasn’t long before – thanks to the likes of supermodels Abbey Lee Kershaw and an ongoing obsession with the ’90s (remember those pictures of Kate Moss with candyfloss hair??) – the girl-next-door was pining for a pale pink ponytail (myself included). The hordes flocked in their droves, emerging with a myriad of multicoloured manes – from ultramarine to sea green via bright red and fuchsia. Hair colour was fun, experimental and another means of boundless self-expression – I LOVED my hot pink dip-dye and thanks to {BLEACH}, it seemed easy to flirt with every alter ego. After all, who hasn’t dreamed of having purple streaks or navy waves?
With salons quickly springing up in TOPSHOP’s flagship store on Oxford Street, as well as in the midst of SoHo’s Berwick Street, {BLEACH} and its army of hipster advocates were dominating London… and beyond. So many wanted access to the {BLEACH} experience that Sam and Alex felt compelled to create their own range of at-home tints and treatments to help sate the endless appetite for cool, kaleidoscopic locks.
{BLEACH London} was born – offering affordable, easy-to-use {Dip Dye Kits}, multicoloured {Super Cool Colours} and tinted rinses to enable everyone to get chameleonic with their colour. Fancied channelling the burgeoning obsession with grey manes? Just snap up a cool {Fade to Grey} kit, or if you wanted to unleash your inner goth, you could transform your strands from straight to salem-esque with the fuss-free {Black Dye}.
Recently re-launched with even more shades, strand-saving conditioners and specialist treatments to choose from, {BLEACH London} has added make up to its trend-led colour mix. Calling upon the expertise and boundless creativity of Sam’s twin sister (and celebrity make up artist) Lou Teasdale (yep, the girl responsible for Harry Styles’ well, style), the extensive collection of lip paints, pigments, powders and must-have brushes combine high-performance with amazing pocket-money price tags,
Aaaand, if that isn’t enough to convince you, everything is completely cruelty-free and 100% vegan, as well as being environmentally ethical. Designed and formulated with sustainability at its core, all of {BLEACH London’s} cardboard is 100% recycled, with all of their plastic to follow by the end of the year. The brand’s ‘build your own’ palettes encourage you to buy only the make up shades you want, to minimise waste in both packaging and product.
The ultimate excuse to get creative, we urge you to unleash your inner unicorn and play with this array of precious pigments…