Frequently asked questions about The Salon

What is The Salon?
The Salon is a hair and beauty parlour in which the staff and their clients are filmed and recorded during opening hours (Sunday - Thursday, 10am - 7pm). Members of the public can book appointments and receive a range of treatments free of charge. The stylists and beauty therapists at The Salon are trained professionals with vast experience.

Where is The Salon?
The Salon occupies the third floor of the Trocadero Centre, in London's Piccadilly Circus.

What's inside The Salon?
The main area consists of Reception, six cutting stations, washbasins and a Nail Bar for manicures and pedicures. Elsewhere in The Salon is The Manager's office, a Staff Room and Utility Room with a balcony overlooking the West End, a Colouring Room where the mixing is done and products are stored, Changing Rooms with showers and lockers and two Beauty Rooms for treatments. There is also a Spa and Chill Out area, and a Juice Bar.

Who designed The Salon?
The Salon was designed by qualified architect Markus Blee and Quinn Interiors. Markus specialises in film and TV set design and his previous work includes Big Brother, TFI Friday and Boys & Girls. Fixtures and fitting at The Salon have come from across Europe to ensure every aspect of the interior is to the highest quality. Exclusive hand cut and hand blown glass mosaic tiles - some flecked with white and gold - have been shipped in from Italy. Italian designed furniture has also been used throughout The Salon.

How is The Salon filmed?
All the daily dramas of the Staff and their Clients are captured via discreet cameras and microphones placed at key locations throughout the premises. There are a total of 26 cameras (five manned, nine fixed and 12 worked by remote control). The mirrors situated around The Salon are two-way. There are no camera-free zones.

What treatments can I receive at The Salon?
The Salon offers a vast range of hair and beauty treatments, a full list of which can be found on this website in the Treatment List.

How can I book an appointment?
Viewers can take part in the show and apply for an appointment by calling 09055 81 82 83. Calls cost a maximum of 50p (mobile costs may vary). Callers will be asked to leave their personal details, as well as their requested treatment and preferred staff member. Appointments can also be booked online. Fans will need to register with BT click&buy and then simply use their username and password to make a booking request. Each booking will cost 25p and can be made online from any PC. The cost of each booking request is added to your personal account, the balance of which is settled at a later date. You can settle your BT click&buy account by credit or debit card, direct debit of via a BT phone bill account. For more details visit www.btclickandbuy.com.

How much are the treatments?
All treatments at The Salon are free of charge.

How do I contact The Salon?
You can email Paul, TheSalon's Manager at salonmanager@channel4.com. For web queries, competition entries and letters, email the Web Editor at saloneditor@channel4.com.

Who are the people who work at The Salon?
The Salon Staff consists of a Manager, a Receptionist, three Stylists and a Colourist, two Juniors and two Beauty Therapists amd a Junior Therapist. From time to time, other experts in the hair and beauty industry will drop in to offer specialised treatments.

How were the Staff chosen?
Just under 2,000 people applied to work at The Salon for its second series. Applicants were required to fill in an application form and those suitable were then interviewed. Short-listed applicants then had to undergo a practical test of their skills in front of industry professionals. The following industry professionals were used as judges to help select the Staff: Beverley Cobella (the first woman to win British Hairdresser of the Year); Anestis Kyprianou (Beverley's husband and award-winning owner of two London salons); Bharti Vyas (Beauty Therapist of 20 years with celebrity client list and numerous awards); Anita Cox (currently Colour Technician of the Year); and Desmond Morris (part-time Stylist in last season's series of The Salon and current Afro Hairdresser of the Year).

Are the staff paid to work in The Salon?
Yes - they are paid a recognised industry salary according to their position.

What happens at the end of each day – do the staff live together as well?
No. All the staff have made their own living arrangements, which they pay for themselves. As in any job, it is up to them if they choose to socialise with their colleagues out of working hours.

What happens if a staff member wants to leave?
As in any job, staff are free to leave at any time if they wish. And also as in most jobs there is a probationary period for staff. Any staff member who fails to perform their job to the desired standard will not pass the probationary period.

Who has the final say in any staff disputes?
Manager Paul will be the person to handle any problems encountered by his staff.

When can I see The Salon on TV?
On C4
There are half hour daily shows every weekday at 6pm and a late night version of the show will be broadcast once a week, featuring material not suitable to show at teatime. During T4 Saturday, a one-hour omnibus edition will feature all the highlights of the previous week's shows.
On E4
E4 viewers can follow all the action direct from The Salon during opening hours. Live streaming will be broadcast between 10am and 5pm and again between 6.30 and 7pm when The Salon closes.
On Interactive TV Fans of The Salon can press the red button on their remote control while watching C4 or E4 through Sky Digital and launch C4's new Four Active interactive TV service. Here you'll find all the latest news on the show, background information, profiles on the stylists, competitions and fun polls.
Website Web users can watch all the action as it happens live from The Salon online during opening hours via the 4Broadband streaming service. The website is open 24/7 with news, pictures, competitions, polls, exclusive Staff diaries and live chat and forums.

Is footage from the The Salon on the website suitable for my children to watch?
The live streaming shown on the web site is live from the The Salon. No part of The Salon is scripted or planned, and so the audio may contain language that is not suitable for family audiences. We recommend that children are supervised.