Everything peopleask at the desk.

Two to four hours for most people, and longer if you are going significantly lighter or your hair is past your shoulder blades. If you have to be somewhere afterwards, say so when you call rather than when you sit down, and you will get an honest answer about whether it fits.

Foils wrap sections of hair so the colour lifts evenly from the root down, which gives you brightness all the way up and a regrowth line to maintain. Balayage is painted on freehand and left softer at the top, so it is less bright at the root and much more forgiving as it grows. Plenty of people end up with both: foils around the face, balayage through the rest.

Lifting colour out of hair costs something every time, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling. What changes the answer is how far you go in one sitting. We would rather take you lighter across two visits and hand you hair you can still brush than hit the photo on the first day and wreck it.

Please do. A photo settles in ten seconds what a conversation takes ten minutes to get wrong. Text one to the salon before you come in and somebody can tell you whether it is reachable from where your hair is now, which is a better thing to find out beforehand than in the chair.

Fewer than most people assume. If your hair is usually down and you want it brighter around your face, a face-framing set does it. If you want lift everywhere you can see, that is a half head. A full head is for brightness underneath as well, which matters if you wear it up. Describe how you actually wear it and somebody will tell you which one you are describing.

Every six to eight weeks for most people, because foils go right to the root and the root keeps growing. That is the trade: more brightness than balayage, more upkeep than balayage. If the maintenance is the problem, say so, and the answer is probably a mix of the two.

Yes, and a lot of people should. Foils around the parting and the face for brightness where it is seen, balayage through the rest so the grow-out stays soft. It is one appointment, not two.

Usually, and often without putting any more lift through your hair. Brassiness is a tone problem rather than a lift problem, so a toner is frequently the whole answer. If it turns out to be more than that, it is colour correction, and that conversation happens before anything starts rather than after.

Usually, and it is one of the most common things that walks in. Box dye deposits more pigment than a salon colour and it does not come out evenly, so the honest answer depends on how many boxes, how long ago and what colour. Send a photo and say what you used, and you will get a straight answer rather than a hopeful one.

Between one and several, and the difference is decided by your hair rather than by your schedule. Going a shade or two is often one appointment. Coming out of black, or off a heavy band, is usually more, because the only way to do it faster is to keep lifting past the point where hair survives it. You will be told which one you are before you book.

Sometimes, rarely in one visit, and not always all the way. Black box dye in particular can take several sessions spread over months, and on some heads of hair the honest answer is that a dark blonde or a rich brown is where it safely stops. We would rather tell you that at the start than take your money and find out together.

Daylight, no filter, hair down and dry. One from the back and one from the front if you can, and one close to the roots so the band is visible. Then tell us what has been on it and roughly when. That is usually enough to give you a real answer without you leaving the house.

Both work, and walk-ins are rather the point of being on the ground floor of Melbourne Central. If you want a particular stylist, or a longer service, call ahead so the time can be held for you.

Yes. Roi has cut, coloured and styled for men and women since 1991. Same chairs, same team, same booking, and no separate price list for a shorter haircut.

Yes, and plenty of people do, usually before something happening that evening. It is a walk-in service like the rest, though if it is for an occasion with a hard start time, call ahead rather than taking the chance.

A cut and blow-dry is usually under the hour. The honest version of this answer depends on the day and what is already in the chairs, so ring the salon and ask before you walk down rather than after.

No, and that is the point of it rather than a shortcoming. A smoothing treatment takes out the frizz and brings down the volume while leaving your hair able to hold a wave. If what you want is permanently straight hair, say so, because you are describing a different treatment.

A few months for most people, and it fades out gradually rather than stopping. How long you get depends on your hair and on how you wash it, and the stylist will tell you what to expect on your particular head before you leave.

It depends on the product used on the day, so you will be told before you leave rather than guessing from something you read. Some systems need a few days before the first wash and some do not, and getting that wrong is the most common way people shorten a treatment they paid for.

Often yes, though the order matters and so does what the colour is. Mention the colour when you call, including anything done at home, and you will be told whether to have them in the same visit or separate ones.

As far ahead as you can manage. An upstyle needs a held chair rather than a walk-in one, and the obvious dates go first, so a date you have known about for six months is worth ringing about now rather than in the week of.

Photographs of what you want, and of the dress if you have one, because the neckline decides more than people expect. Anything that is going in the hair on the day, a comb, a veil, a clip, should come with you rather than being described.

No. Come with hair washed the day before. Day-old hair holds a pin and freshly washed hair fights it, which is the one piece of preparation that makes the most difference and the one most people get wrong.

Call and ask with the numbers and the date in front of you. How many people can be done, and by when, depends entirely on what is already in the book for that morning, so it is a real conversation rather than a yes or a no on a web page.

The 1 or the 6 tram down Swanston Street, which takes about ten minutes and stops at Melbourne Central. On foot from south Carlton it is roughly twenty minutes down the same street. Either way you arrive at the corner with the shot tower, and the salon is on the ground floor on the Lonsdale Street side.

Come down. Walk-ins are most of what happens here, which is the advantage of being above a station rather than on a suburban strip. If you want a particular stylist or you are having colour, call ahead so the time can be held.

There is parking at Melbourne Central, and from most of Carlton the tram will beat it. The salon sits directly above the station, so public transport is genuinely the faster option rather than the virtuous one.

The 35 or the 70 tram along Latrobe Street, or one stop on the train from Southern Cross to Melbourne Central. The salon is on the ground floor of the centre, directly above the station concourse, on the Lonsdale Street side.

A cut and blow-dry usually fits. Colour usually does not. Ring the salon before you leave the office and ask what is in the chairs, because the honest answer depends on the day rather than on the service.

Until six most days, and until eight on Thursdays, which is the evening worth knowing about if you cannot get away during the day. The salon is closed on Sundays.

Two stops on the train into the loop, through Flagstaff to Melbourne Central, and the salon is on the ground floor directly above the concourse. The 57 tram down Elizabeth Street also works: get off at Lonsdale and walk a block and a half east to number 300. On foot it is about twenty-five minutes through the market.

From the chair to the platform you are inside the building, and after that it is two stops. If it is pouring when you sit down, say so, and you will get something finished to last the walk at the other end rather than something that looks right for ten minutes.

Yes. Saturdays are a walk-in day and the salon is open ten until six. If you want a particular pair of hands, or you are having colour, ring 0499 927 027 first so the time can be held.

The 1 tram up St Kilda Road and Swanston Street, about ten minutes, stopping at Melbourne Central. Walking over Princes Bridge and up Swanston takes about twenty-five minutes and is flat the whole way. The salon is on the ground floor on the Lonsdale Street side.

Yes, and that is worth ringing about rather than walking in for. Upstyles and occasion hair need a chair held for them, so call 0499 927 027 with the date and somebody will tell you honestly what is possible and how long to allow.

Saturdays, ten until six. The salon is closed on Sundays. Thursday is the late night, until eight, which is the one worth knowing if a weekday evening suits you better than the weekend.

Walk down Lonsdale Street. It is ten to fifteen minutes on the flat with no turns, and it ends at number 300 on the ground floor of Melbourne Central. If the weather is against you, Parliament station is one stop from Melbourne Central and you come up inside the centre.

It is one straight street and no hills. The only thing worth knowing is that Lonsdale gets busier the further west you go, so allow fifteen minutes rather than ten if you are coming at lunchtime.

Yes, and ring ahead for it. Upstyles and occasion hair are held appointments rather than walk-ins, so call 0499 927 027 with the date and the time you have to be somewhere, and somebody will tell you what is realistic.