Hair. The bane of our existence during lockdown, the epitome of self-expression throughout history. We’ve all had a case of skyrocketing ego which led us down the path of attempting to cut our hair ourselves only to instantly regret it – right? No, just me? Ok…

With that said, where would we be without hairdressers? Probably in a place where the masses sport a haircut similar to the likes of Boris Johnson. I, for one, am scared at the mere thought of having a haircut bearing similarity to his, so my local hairdresser is a frequent pitstop for me.

Neo Kutz  is a unisex hair salon located on Mitcham Road in Tooting in  South West London. I personally have been going there for as long as I can remember. Vera Neophytou, the owner and hairdresser extraordinaire has been doing the people of Tooting’s hair for over 20 years. Vera, who trained in Greek salon whilst in her teens has been a hairdresser for over 45 years. “I came from quite a poor background and my Mum put me into training as a hairdresser at a Greek shop. My Mum was very strict and at times, I did not think I wanted to be a hairdresser but looking back now, I think it was the best decision I made” said Vera.

Vera serves a vast array of customers from children all the way through to the elderly. Her specialty is perms and she has a large base of loyal clients who come to have their perms done by her. Vera can do both men’s and women’s hair, colours and even the popular Brazilian blow dry. When asked if, in all her years of hairdressing, there had ever been a time when she had a client who did not like what she had done, Vera replied “No, never. In fact, the only mistake I ever made was when I was learning to cut men’s hair. I was practicing on my dad and I nicked the top of his ear with my scissors. Ears do bleed a lot, so I quickly learnt how to avoid the ears.”

In the times I have wished to experiment , Vera has always been a voice of reason advising me on which colour would suit me, the styles which would and would not work for me and the various hairstyles that are easy to maintain.

Neo Kutz and Vera are certainly my go to hairdressers, always willing to help and advise and I highly recommend them.