Medusa Hairdressing

What Medusa Hairdressing does

Medusa Hairdressing, trading as Medusa Musselburgh Ltd (Scottish Company Number SC194027), is a private multi-site hair salon group founded in 1994 and headquartered in Edinburgh. The company operates six salons across Edinburgh and East Lothian — Teviot Place, Broughton Street, Hanover Street, Bread Street, Elm Row, and Raeburn Place in Stockbridge, plus a Musselburgh location — providing professional haircutting, colouring, styling, smoothing, conditioning, and special-occasion services. Two locations (Elm Row and Broughton Street) also offer beauty services including skincare, facials, nails, brows, lashes, and massage.

The company's service offering is anchored by a deep partnership with Wella Professional, which provides the colour systems (Illumina Colour, Blondor, BlondorPlex, Colour Touch, SHINEFINITY), in-salon treatments (Fusion, Invigo Nutri-Enrich, Ultimate Repair), and homecare retail products used across all locations. Medusa claims one of the highest concentrations of Wella Colour Master Experts in the UK and has won multiple Wella TrendVision Awards and the 2024 Fellowship for British Hairdressing 'Salon Business of the Year'. Specialist service lines include K18 molecular bond repair, Alfaparf Lisse Design Keratin Therapy, Wella Smooth Filler demi-permanent smoothing, and a trichology/hair-loss offering delivered in partnership with registered trichologist Wil Fleeson of Trichology Scotland.

The business model is direct-to-consumer walk-in and appointment-based service revenue, supplemented by retail (Wella homecare, GLOWWA supplements), promotional pricing (25% off first visit for new clients, 20% ongoing student discount), and ancillary studio space hire at the Bread Street location. Distribution is via the physical salon network and an s-iq.co online booking portal. The company is founder/management-owned (no external investors or PE disclosed), led by CEO Colin McAndrew (a Wella Brand Ambassador for UNICEF), and headquartered in Edinburgh with headcount estimated at 11-50 across the group.

Name

Medusa Hairdressing

Legal name

Medusa Musselburgh Ltd

Website

https://medusahair.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Medusa Hairdressing is a private, multi-site Edinburgh hair salon group operating six locations across Edinburgh and East Lothian, offering haircuts, colouring, Wella-led treatments, beauty services, and trichology consultations to general consumers and students under a premium, award-winning positioning.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Hair Salon Services

NAICS

Beauty Salons (812112), Hair, Nail, and Skin Care Services (81211)

akta.pro primary industry

Haircutting & Styling Services (HSALAAAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Hair Coloring & Highlights Services (HSALAAAE), Conditioners & Hair Masks (CRABABAB), Professional Hair Color (CRABALAA)

Keywords

• Professional hairdressing services
• Hair coloring services
• Hair cutting styling
• Hair treatment salon
• Beauty salon services

Headquarters

HQ city

Edinburgh

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Haircutting and Styling Services: Core revenue from cutting, styling, and finishing services for all hair types including cuts, blow-dries, and special occasion styling.
2. Hair Colouring Services: Comprehensive colour services including full colour, highlights, balayage, glossing, toning, and colour corrections using Wella professional products.
3. Hair Treatment Services: Professional treatments including Wella Fusion, Nutri-Enrich, Ultimate Repair, K18, smoothing/keratin treatments, and scalp/hair loss treatments offered as standalone or add-on services.
4. Studio Space Rental: Bread Street salon's mirrored basement studio available for hire at £20+VAT per hour for fitness classes, seminars, beauty courses, photoshoots, and meetings.
5. Beauty Services: Beauty and wellness services at Elm Row and Broughton Street locations including skincare, facials, nails, brows, lashes, and massage.
6. Hair Product Retail: Sale of professional hair care products including Wella shampoos, conditioners, masks, styling products, and GLOWWA hair supplements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Medusa Hairdressing operates six award-winning hair salons across Edinburgh and East Lothian delivering professional haircutting, colouring, styling, and treatment services using Wella Professional products. The offering extends to specialised smoothing and bond-repair treatments (K18, Wella Ultimate Repair, Alfaparf keratin), trichology and hair loss consultations, special occasion styling, and beauty services (skincare, nails, brows, lashes, massage) at select locations, complemented by retail sale of professional homecare products and supplements.

Product overview

Medusa Hairdressing operates six award-winning hair salons across Edinburgh and East Lothian, offering a comprehensive suite of hair services centred on cutting, colouring, and styling. The core offering consists of Hair Cutting & Styling and Hair Colouring services using Wella Professional products. Treatment services include Hair Smoothing (Wella Smooth Filler and Alfaparf Lisse Design Keratin Therapy), Wella Professional Treatments (Instant, Luxury, Specialist, Ultimate Repair, and Ultimate Colour treatments), K18 molecular bond repair, Conditioning Treatments, and Trichology Services for hair loss. Specialist offerings include Special Occasion Hair Styling and Beauty Services (skincare, nails, brows, lashes, massage) at Elm Row and Broughton Street locations. Retail products include GLOWWA Hair Food Supplements and Wella Homecare Products. Additional services encompass an Online Booking System, Salon Studio Space Hire, and promotional programmes (Student Discount and New Client Offer).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Hair Cutting & Styling

Quantifiable outcome

• Wella Ultimate Repair makes wet detangling up to 6x easier
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Trichology Scotland (Wil Fleeson)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegistered trichologist and Board Member of the Association of Registered Trichologists providing face-to-face and online consultations at Broughton Street salon. Offers advanced diagnostic tools and ethical, science-based treatment plans for hair loss and scalp conditions.
• Wella ProfessionalcoreTechnology or IntegrationPrimary product partner providing professional hair colour (Illumina Colour, Blondor, BlondorPlex, Colour Touch, SHINEFINITY), treatments (Fusion, Invigo Nutri-Enrich, Ultimate Repair), and professional development. Medusa has one of the highest numbers of Wella Colour Master Experts in the UK.
• GLOWWAminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAward-winning hair supplement brand stocked in all Medusa salons. Colin McAndrew joined the Glowwa Insider community. Supplement supports hair growth, scalp health, and overall wellness.
• UNICEF (via Wella Brand Ambassadorship)minorOthersCEO Colin McAndrew serves as a Wella Brand Ambassador for UNICEF, participating in charity education initiatives.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Blue Tit London: Independent multi-site London salon group with award-winning creative positioning and multiple neighbourhood locations. Comparable as a similarly sized, design-led multi-salon group targeting fashion-forward urban consumers.
• Nicky Clarke Hairdressing: Celebrity-endorsed UK salon brand with multiple high-end locations and premium services. Comparable as a similarly positioned UK premium salon group leveraging brand recognition and celebrity association.
• Trevor Sorbie Salons: Established UK salon brand with multiple locations known for precision cutting and creative work. Comparable as a legacy British multi-site salon operator targeting premium clients.
• Rush Hair & Beauty: UK-wide multi-site salon chain offering cutting, colouring, and treatments across major UK cities. Comparable as a similarly scaled British salon group with multiple locations, professional product partnerships, and a fashion-forward positioning.
• Daniel Galvin Salons: Premium London colour specialist with multiple locations, renowned for high-end colour services. Comparable as a UK multi-site salon group whose reputation centres on colour expertise and premium positioning.

Others

• Idan Raichels Salon: Edinburgh/UK-based hairdresser with a strong personal brand. Not a direct competitor in terms of scale but represents the local Edinburgh premium stylist cohort against which Medusa competes for talent and clients.

Broad incumbents

• John Frieda Salons (UK): UK salon offering affiliated with the John Frieda brand portfolio. Comparable as a broader brand-backed incumbent in the UK premium salon category.
• Regis UK: UK arm of the large international Regis Corporation salon group, operating numerous high-street locations. Comparable as a broader incumbent with multi-site salon operations across the UK.
• Toni&Guy: Global salon franchise headquartered in the UK, offering cutting, colouring, and styling services with a strong education programme. Comparable as a larger, established player in the same UK professional hairdressing category with a franchise/salon chain model.

Emerging players

• Josh Wood Colour: London-based colour specialist with at-home and in-salon services, focused on premium colour and at-home product lines. Comparable as an emerging UK colour-led brand with overlapping premium colour positioning.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/medusahairdressing
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/medusa-hairdressing-limited

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Medusa Hairdressing