When the alarm clock goes off on a Saturday morning, most of us are tempted to hit the snooze button. But with a 9am appointment at Toni & Guy in Cheltenham scheduled for a root-to-tip makeover there was more incentive than usual to pull off the duvet.

While I pictured arriving as the doors to the Ormond Place salon were just being unlocked by sleepy staff, the town centre palace of preening was buzzing with efficient activity by the time the clocks chimed nine. Greeted by an impeccably presented receptionist with a pearly white smile, within minutes I was sipping a much-needed latte while my tresses were given the once over by technical director Alex Burgess and style director Pina Santorelli.

‘What will we be doing for you today?’ was a simple enough question for someone sitting in the salon’s black leather chairs, and while my blank face betrayed that I hadn’t really thought about it – the calm smiles reflected in the tall mirror were reassuringly patient, before a few options were suggested for my out-grown style and embarrassing tell-tale roots.

As stylish staff bedecked in black purposefully sashayed around the busy salon with combs and scissors in their hands, my locks were carefully washed using Toni and Guy’s own Label M line of shampoos and conditioners by a confident young trainee – before I was back in front of the mirror with a pile of aspirational glossy magazines for entertainment.

Alex, complete with a give away lilac-tinged crop, talked expertly about matching skin tones with hair shades, this season’s hottest catwalk colours, and what we’re more likely to be wearing on the high street this year. Tomato red was a colour he was convinced would be ‘in’, but playing-it-safe we went with an all-over rich dark brown, a shade or so darker than nature intended for me, to add shine and uniformity to my lacklustre locks, which I admitted I had done a dubious DIY dye-job not so long before.

Alex began smothering my partings with a cold dye applied by a thick paint brush, before he explained that the special formula ‘locked in’ shine in a technological way that I confess I didn’t completely understand, before my hair was wrapped in a turban – complete with thick wads of cotton wool around my forehead. As I sat in the chair positioned in the front window, I kept my fingers firmly crossed that no-one I knew would be out shopping this early!

A blast of the hot air dryer later and I found myself watching Fashion TV on the screens once again as my head was placed back in the sink. A conditioning treatment and head massage followed, before I was ready for my long locks to undergo a bit of downsizing courtesy of Pina’s well-trained talons.

I hardly noticed the hair piling up below me, as Pina and I chatted about everything from her entering a prestigious styling competition in London and her specialism in bridal hair to eating out in Cheltenham and holiday plans – all of those awkward silences sometimes suffered when a stylist has a pair of scissors in their hands were avoided, and I was completely relaxed.

While I nattered, my dry, damaged ends were lopped-off with precision, there was the slicing of some sleek long layers and the snipping of a stylish side-swept fringe, before blow-drying and a squirt of smoothing cream resulted in a flattering, up-to-date look with a healthy shine – not to mention a huge smile across my face.

Whether you’re looking for a completely new look or a quick trim, Toni & Guy in Cheltenham might not be cheap – and the sheer number of customers waiting to take their turn in the chair will immediately tell you that booking as far in advance is more than advisable – but despite the buzz of activity going on in the ridiculously popular salon, thanks to friendly staff, plenty of caffeine and a super new hairstyle my Saturday morning outing was far more relaxing than a lie-in.

Toni & Guy in Cheltenham is a unisex salon, with a cut and blow dry starting from £31 and colouring starting from £37.

Michelle Byrne