Inside the L’Oréal Professionnel Salon Designation, and What It Means for You
When Wynyard Therapy opened in 2022, one of the first things Alice put the salon forward for was L’Oréal Professionnel Salon status. We were recognised the same year, and that designation has shaped how we approach colour ever since.
If you’ve walked past a salon with the L’Oréal Professionnel name on the window before now and wondered what it actually signals, here’s the proper answer. What goes into the partnership, what we had to demonstrate to get it, and what it changes about your appointment when you sit down with one of our hair team.
What a L’Oréal Professionnel Salon actually is
L’Oréal Professionnel is the salon-only arm of the L’Oréal Groupe, the brand that supplies professional colour, care and styling products to salons around the world. The designation isn’t something a business can buy. It’s a partnership granted to salons that meet the brand’s standards on technical capability, ongoing stylist education, the in-salon experience, and using L’Oréal Professionnel ranges exclusively at the chair.
In practice, a salon carrying the designation has been assessed and accepted into a network. Access to the newest products, training programmes and colour systems comes with it, and in return the salon upholds the brand’s standards every day on the floor.
“It isn’t a badge you put up once and forget about. It’s an ongoing commitment to education, technique and the products you put on a guest’s hair.”
What the standards actually cover
The framework behind it is more involved than most clients realise. These are the pillars we work to as a L’Oréal Professionnel Salon:
Stylist Education
Ongoing training through L’Oréal Professionnel’s academy programmes, covering colour theory, formulation, technical application and new product launches.
Exclusive Product Use
The colour and care systems we use at the backwash and in the chair are L’Oréal Professionnel’s salon-only ranges, not retail-grade alternatives.
Consultation Standards
Every colour service starts with a proper consultation: lifestyle, hair history, condition assessment and a plan agreed before any product is mixed.
Safety & Compliance
Allergy Alert Tests for new colour clients, accurate product handling, and the technical and safety guidance L’Oréal sets for each formulation.
The product ranges we work with
Being inside the network gives our stylists access to the full L’Oréal Professionnel portfolio rather than a limited shelf. These are the systems we reach for most often during a hair appointment.
Colour
Majirel is the classic permanent colour line, and the one we use most for grey coverage, tone correction and full-head transformations. INOA is an ammonia-free, oil-based permanent colour we tend to use for clients with sensitive scalps or anyone who prefers a gentler application. Dia Light is an acidic demi-permanent system that’s ideal for tonal refreshes, gloss services and laying translucent colour over balayage.
Care & Treatment
Série Expert is the professional shampoo and conditioner range, with formulations built around specific hair concerns like dryness, colour fade or breakage. Metal Detox is a pre-colour treatment that neutralises metal particles in the hair shaft. It reduces the risk of breakage during lightening and helps colour stay truer for longer.
Styling & Finishing
Steampod is L’Oréal’s professional steam styling tool. We use it for blow-dry finishing when a guest wants a sleek, smooth result without the heat damage of conventional irons. Alongside it, the Tecni.ART range covers everything we need for hold, texture and shine.
The levels of service this unlocks
Different appointments call for different combinations of these systems. Here’s how we structure colour work across the hair menu.
Gloss & Toner Services
A Dia Light gloss or toning service to refresh colour between bigger appointments. Quick, low-commitment, and ideal for adding shine or correcting brassiness between balayage visits.
Root Touch-Ups & Half-Head Colour
Permanent colour with Majirel or INOA on regrowth, blended through where it needs it. This is the standard six to eight week appointment for clients with established colour.
Full-Head Colour, Highlights & Balayage
Multi-process appointments that combine lightening, toning and gloss. Most run two to three hours, and we’ll add a Metal Detox pre-treatment for clients with previous colour history.
Colour Correction & Restorative Work
This is senior stylist territory. It’s where we work with clients addressing colour build-up, banding, or returning to natural after years of lightening. A pre-consultation is essential, and the work usually runs across more than one appointment.
What this means when you sit in our chair
From the client side, the L’Oréal Professionnel Salon designation translates into a few specific things you’ll notice on your visit to the salon at Wynyard Village.
A proper consultation. Not a quick chat at the basin, but a sit-down conversation about what you want, what your hair will allow, and what the plan looks like across one appointment or several. Every colour service for a new client starts here.
Formulations tailored to your hair. Having the full Majirel, INOA and Dia Light ranges available means your stylist mixes for your tone, lift level and hair condition rather than reaching for the nearest match on the shelf.
An Allergy Alert Test before first colour. A small skin test at least 48 hours before your first colour appointment. It’s a manufacturer requirement and a sensible safeguard, and we don’t bypass it for anyone.
Stylists who keep training. Education through the L’Oréal Professionnel academy is part of how our team progresses, and you can read a bit more about each of them on our Meet the Team page.
The wider salon picture
The L’Oréal partnership sits alongside the rest of what we do at Wynyard Therapy. Since 2022 we’ve added a dedicated Skin Clinic with treatments like HYDRO2 facials, CACI facials and Dermalux LED light therapy. We’ve launched our SKIN CLUB® membership, partnered with AlumierMD on medical-grade skincare, and brought Remi Cachet in for luxury hair extensions. Our wider beauty menu covers everything from NEOM massages through to manicures, pedicures and brows.
Hair is one strand of what we do, but it’s the strand that started the business, and the L’Oréal designation is a meaningful part of why guests trust us with it. If you’ve been considering a colour change, a transition out of long-standing colour, or you just want a consultation with a senior stylist before you commit, we’d be glad to have the conversation.
Ready to experience a L’Oréal Professionnel Salon?
Speak to our team about a consultation, or book online in a few clicks. New colour clients will be invited for an Allergy Alert Test ahead of their first appointment.
Frequently Asked Questions
A L’Oréal Professionnel Salon is a hair salon officially partnered with L’Oréal Professionnel, recognised for meeting the brand’s standards in technical skill, education, service quality and the exclusive use of L’Oréal Professionnel products. The designation is invitation and standards-based, not something a salon can simply buy into.
Wynyard Therapy was recognised as a L’Oréal Professionnel Salon in 2022, the year the business was founded by Alice C. I’Anson Widdows in Wynyard Village, Billingham.
It means every colour service, treatment and finishing product used on your hair has been formulated and tested by one of the world’s leading professional haircare brands. Our stylists are continuously trained through L’Oréal’s education programmes, so the techniques you receive reflect current global standards.
Our team works across L’Oréal Professionnel’s colour systems including the Majirel, INOA ammonia-free and Dia Light ranges, alongside Série Expert care, Steampod styling technology and Metal Detox treatments. The exact products selected for your appointment depend on your consultation and hair condition.
Not at all. New clients are welcomed and will be invited for a complimentary consultation before any colour service. For first-time colour clients, an Allergy Alert Test (skin test) is required at least 48 hours before your appointment in line with manufacturer safety guidance.
We’re based at 128-130 The Stables, Wynyard Village, Billingham TS22 5QY, serving guests across Wynyard, Stockton-on-Tees, Hartlepool and the wider Teesside area. We’re open Tuesday to Saturday, with late appointments available on Thursday and Friday evenings.
Visit Us
128-130 The Stables
Wynyard, Billingham
TS22 5QY