The Echo have blessed us again - this time wiht haircuts! Here's the account I sent to them.
Myself, my 10 year old daughter Annie and my 8 year old son Joseph visited Jungle Haircuts for Kids in Newport on 24th August. We travelled by car from Pontypridd to Jungle. It is conveniently located near the city centre and the M4 motorway, but we did have difficulty finding it. I think it would be a good idea if Jungle had a website which provided information about the services offered along with directions to get there.
The outside of the building is brightly coloured and welcoming. When we arrived, we were welcomed by the friendly staff and all offered a drink. I had a cup of tea and Annie and Joseph had squash in brightly coloured cups with cocktail swizzles. Chilled water was also available. I think it would have been even more welcoming if the staff had approached the children first with, “Hello I’m …., what’s your name?”
One can immediately see that Jungles is a place where children come first. When I was a child, I hated going to the hairdresser – it was a dingy little shop which smelled of perms with senior citizens sitting under dryers and the hairdresser seemed really creepy. Here when children enter, they don’t even think about haircuts: they think about fun. There’s a widescreen plasma TV playing modern music videos. There’s a PS2. For the younger children there are shiny new toys to play with. When your child goes up to have their hair cut, if they are little, they sit in a racing car. If they are older, they can watch a DVD while having their hair cut. Children don’t feel intimidated here and parents don’t feel that they have to keep their children quiet.
Joseph went first: Instead of asking me what he wanted, Joseph was asked what he wanted. He wanted a spiky style with zigzag tramlines on the sides. He also had coloured hair gel and temporary tattoos on both arms. He knew that now he was cooler than ice cream! Because Annie’s hair was to take longer, Joseph then had chance to play on the Playstation.
Annie was next. She was taken upstairs to the girls’ salon to have her hair and nails done while I had my hair cut and styled downstairs.
I was really pleased with my haircut and afterwards went upstairs to see how Annie was getting along. I was completely astonished: She had her hair webbed on top and curly at the back with sparkle all over. She had glittery make up on and was having her nails painted with the American flag on each one.
When she was ready she had a choice of which beautiful gown she wanted to wear: They weren’t dressing up clothes, they were real, beaded gowns. She chose a delicate, flowing pink one. She looked really special and felt it too.
We then went into the throne room. Annie was given a tiara, which she was allowed to keep. She looked like a real princess.
The throne room is also used for the girl’s princess parties for little girls and the pamper parties for older girls.
There is also a boys’ salon with a formula one racing theme, which Joseph thought was fab.
At the end of our time (which was two hours) the children were given a sticker and a balloon with the Jungle logo on. I think this was a great but could also be used as a marketing tool by adding the phone number and web address.
The children were also given a lollypop, which I wasn’t too happy about, and think other parents would feel the same.
On our way home, both Annie and Joseph were asking to go back there for their birthday parties and were even planning which friends to invite. Joseph described his experience as “Awesome” and Annie as “Amazing.” I describe it as “Revolutionary.”
Annie’s package would have cost £15, Joseph’s £10 and mine £12. I think this represents unbelievably good value for money and I would even be prepared to pay a bit more – it would certainly be worth it.
I would say that Jungles is perfect for all children up to the age of about 12 along with their mums. I think that dads could find the waiting a bit boring.
I would most definitely recommend Jungles to my friends and say that it is certainly worth the half hour drive to Newport but would of course be even more appealing to people who live closer.
It was a wonderful experience, which I would rate 9/10 overall.