What salons usually offer
Most salons cover cutting and finishing for all hair types alongside colour work. Beyond that they tend to specialise: some concentrate on colour correction or blonde work, some on curly hair, some on extensions, and some on occasion and bridal styling. Barbers are listed separately in this directory.
- Cuts, restyles and blow dries
- Full colour, highlights, balayage and toning
- Colour correction
- Treatments and smoothing services
- Extensions
- Occasion and bridal styling
Describing what you want when you book
The length of an appointment depends on what you are asking for, so salons need a reasonable idea up front. Colour in particular can be the difference between an hour and most of a day.
- Whether it is a cut, colour, or both
- What has been done to your hair before, especially box dye, bleach or a smoothing treatment
- How long it has been since your last appointment
- Reference photos, which are more useful than describing a shade in words
- Roughly how long your hair is and how thick it is, which affects timing
- Whether you have a hard finish time
Colour appointments, patch tests and timing
Many salons ask for a consultation before a significant colour change, and some require a patch test a set period before a colour appointment. Ask about that when you book rather than on the day, because it can mean two visits.
If your hair has been coloured at home, or has had bleach or a smoothing treatment, say so. It changes what is achievable in one sitting, and a stylist would far rather know in advance than discover it part way through.
Finding a salon near you
Unlike a mobile trade, you travel to the salon, so location genuinely matters. Use the suburb filter to find salons in a particular part of Christchurch, or near work rather than home if that suits your week better. A small number of stylists work mobile and come to you; where that is the case the business will say so on its own site.
Qualifications and what this directory checks
Hairdressing is not a licensed trade in New Zealand in the way plumbing or electrical work is, so there is no public register to check. Salons and stylists may hold formal qualifications and many do, but that is something to ask about rather than assume.
This directory does not verify qualifications, training or insurance, and there are no reviews or ratings on this site. A listing is not a recommendation.