Beauty: The Hive Salon

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The Hive Salon
1 Dame Lane, Dublin 2
thehivesalon.ie

Making an appointment to get my hair, makeup or brows done comes with a lot of groundwork. It only takes one bad dye job to make you realise that you don’t go where’s convenient, you go where’s good. When you’re in a wheelchair, where’s good isn’t always accessible, so you go where’s convenient.

Dublin is a Georgian city and, as a result, so many places of service are upstairs or downstairs with rarely a lift in sight. Occasionally, there will be a lift but it’s usually out of order, with a wait time of six weeks for new parts that never seem to arrive.

There’s entire streets in Dublin that are no use to me if I want to get my nails done or get my eyebrows threaded. Take a mental note of everywhere you to for your beauty and wellness appointments and then assess if I could visit there too. If you think I can, let me know and I’ll book myself in. Cats can have a little salami sometimes, you know?

It’s not unusual for me to travel great distances for my appointments. I go to Navan every six or eight weeks to get my hair bleached with the absolutely amazing Louise, who operates out of Mask Hair in Dublin (it’s up a flight of stairs with no lift, but it has some of the best hair stylists in the city) and Esme Hair Salon in Navan, a ground floor salon in the town’s centre. I’ve been with her for six or seven years now and, honestly, I’d walk through fire if she asked, let alone drive to Navan for her.

I had been on the lookout for a good brow gal, and had been stalking eyebrow wizard Kath Mulhall for a couple of years. When she started renting a chair in The Hive, I could finally make an appointment for my brows in a place that’s both great and convenient.

Me and Kath, the brow wizard

It is very hard to people working in beauty to find affordable and accessible spaces to work from, making it even harder for disabled people to find someone that they trust. But the fact that more salons are open to the idea of renting out chairs to individual people like Kath and Louise, the days of being committed to one venue are dying out and you can commit to your beauticians instead.

Brows by Kath

The timing could not have been more on my side with Kath. I came across her during Covid when we couldn’t make appointments, but just as the world opened back up again, she relocated to The Hive. Aphrodite and Athena, the goddesses of beauty, were obviously rooting for me.

I will be writing more about access and wellness culture for another publication in the coming weeks, but for now, let’s give praise to Kath and Louise for making me look good - and feel fantastic - in fuss-free accessible spaces.

Hair by Louise

What has it got?

Entrance: The entrance is on the ground level - hurray!

Lift: No lift necessary because everything is on one level.

Doors: The front door is a little heavy to push open but because the front is all glass, whoever is on reception will see you and can grab the door for you if you get their attention.

Seating: Every seat is moveable, so if you are in a wheelchair, you can stay in your chair. The chairs are sturdy, leather chairs with arms rests. They are on a swivel, so if you are transferring, you might need someone to hold the chair steady for you. They also have a higher and lower lever, which can be adjusted for you.

Tables: The treatment tables are large, marble counters with loads of space underneath them. The tables don’t have legs throughout, so my wheelchair fits perfectly underneath without catching on anything or making me feel like I’m squished in.

Mirrors: This feels like a mad thing to add but a lot of the time when I am getting beautified, I can rarely see my own reflection. The mirrors here are so big that it’s easy to see what’s going on to your beautiful face. Each counter also has a hand-held mirror, making it even easier to check yourself out.

Space: There is a lot of room here, even if every countertop has a client sitting at it. But to calm any nerves when making a booking, just ask to be placed at an easy-to-access spot.

Service: Honestly, top-tier. Very sound, very accommodating, very talented.

Bathroom: There are two bathrooms here, with one being slightly bigger than the other. Although it is not a devoted wheelchair bathroom with bars, handrails or hoist, it will fit a wheelchair.

Parking: The closest paid parking to Dame Lane is available in the Trinity Street multi-storey car park, but there is also on-street wheelchair parking available on Drury Street, just outside Brooks Hotel.

Surrounding areas: There are no cobblestones in and around the Dame Lane area. The footpaths on Trinity Street can be a bit rough n’ dodgy, so I recommend coming from the Stag’s Head side as it’s partially pedestrianised and relatively bump-free.

Access rating: 8/10

What it lacks: The only challenge to The Hive is the heavy entrance door but the glass front really helps with that. It’s so rare to find a city centre salon that is almost fully accessible, so if you’ve been let down by other places, maybe The Hive is the one for you.