The year is 1993 and Carol Walker has opened her very own hairdressing salon “Carol’s Hair Salon” at 206 Maunganui Road. Thirty years on and we sat down with Carol to hear about her journey and to celebrate this amazing milestone for the now branded CHS Hairdressing.
Let’s take it back to the start.
Where are you from and who was Carol before Carol's Hair Salon?
“I was born in Te Aroha in the Waikato. My hairdressing career started when I was just 13 years old, working after school and late nights in a local salon, I found it was my absolute passion and was lucky enough to gain an apprenticeship at a salon in Te Aroha and went from there.”
With an apprenticeship and hairdressing experience under her belt, the now 20-year-old Carol married her husband, Ken. At this time, she leased a little salon in Waitoa, a small dairy town in the Waikato (blink and you’ll miss it).
“It was a busy farming community and, in those days, ladies would come in every week for a shampoo and hair set, as well as a lot of perms!”
Carol then hung up her scissors for a while to start their family. Her and Ken went into share milking, and they had three children in four years, a huge achievement, while managing the farm. During this time, Carol still did some hairdressing at home on the side.
Share milking had its moments and the couple experienced heartbreak when they lost a number of cattle due to disease. This was a pivotal moment for the 20 somethings Carol and Ken, as their young family were faced with having to start again.
Luckily, it’s about who you know, and their accountant had a batch at the Mount and told the family to go there unwind, reset and work out what they want to do.
Needing any kind of income, Ken got work at the Anchor Inn (located where the new Quest Mt Maunganui is), a bar that opened in the early hours for the wharfies coming off the ships in addition to helping a neighbour with his milk run.
Again, it helps to have connected mates. The neighbour that ran the milk run, knew a guy who was wanting to sell his little barber shop which was located down the Mount Mainstreet. It was a no-brainer for Carol to start her next venture in the Mount. So, for $500 the lease and equipment was hers!
Carol ran the barbers at 107 Maunganui Road for eleven years. So in actual fact, Carol has been a business owner and hairdresser on our Mainstreet for 40+ years!
“This was the time when the wharfies filled the town. They were waiting at the door in the morning for a cut. I ran the barbers shop on my own and on my busiest day, I did 50 cuts!”
By now their children were getting into their teenage years and Carol was ready to take a break, selling the barbers and supporting Ken in his own business venture (a bike and mower shop on Central Parade).
Carol soon realised retail wasn’t for her and the scissors were calling again! This time she wanted to create her own salon, so she took on the lease at 206 Maunganui Road. Ken and Carol fitted it out into a salon, and that was the beginning of Carol’s Hair Salon!
So Carol's Hair Salon (CHS Hairdressing) was started and you’re now celebrating 30 years in business. When you look back, what do you think your secret is? How are you still thriving?!
“A motto I have tried to stick to is “a happy place to work”. My staff have been with me for many years, some left to start their families and have returned. We all keep in touch and are great friends. Good staff is key to a successful business.”
This is evident as I look around the salon and everyone is smiling, laughing, chatting and really enjoying being at work.
Throughout my chat with Carol, it is clear to see that there is a common thread. It all revolved around Carol wanting to create a great culture and environment for her staff to work in. Carol and her staff have grown together as the business has grown, they are more like a family than colleagues.
If your staff are happy, then this rubs off onto your customers and the service they are getting.
“Almost every second Wednesday I cook the team breakfast, we all eat together in the salon. This is a great way to check in, see how everyone is going and have a good catch up. It’s our form of team meeting.”
To give you an example of staff longevity, there is Lesley she’s been with CHS for 24 years and Nicola approx. 17 years. Amy and Kyla started as apprentices , left to have their family’s, came back in between kids, and now back into permanent roles, and also Sumi who is hitting the 8 years mark! Now that is saying something!
Customers are getting consistency along with their great service, from happy staff!
What are you passionate about?
“All things hairdressing, even 50 something years on! but specifically, hair straightening. I’ve always struggled with my curly hair, so I’ve always kept it very short. I’m only now starting to embrace my curls. Many years ago when the team and I were at a hair expo in Sydney (basically the Fieldays of hairdressing), I found a Japanese hair straightening technique and fell in love with it. I brought this back to the Mount and trained everyone up, in those days everyone wanted to get their hair straightened. Nowadays, we do this more as a medicinal service, helping people to tame their curls and be able to enjoy their hair. This is something we offer in the salon today and I’m still very passionate about it, however we use a L’Oreal treatment now.”
What is your point of difference at CHS?
“We pride ourselves on providing a professional service and achieving excellent results for our clients, we encourage great open communication, and welcome and reward our loyal clients back time and time again.
We have always been exclusive stockists in the Mount for L’Oreal and Kerastase, which is the industry leader in hair products.
On my first trip to Paris 10 years ago, I just had to visit L’Oreal Paris headquarters, to see where it all happens – they ensure we are up to date with the latest trends and feed my enthusiasm and passion.”
The CHS Experience: what can you expect when you come to CHS?
It was only fitting that I tried CHS out for myself. I’m a blonde and find it hard to change hairdressers, but recently my hairdresser hung up her apron, so I had to branch out and try something new. So, I booked with Amy at CHS and she was amazing! The colour blended so well, I even had my sister and best friend comment on how nice it looks (they can be very honest!). So, after those compliments, I’ll be booking again! The salon is full of natural light, great chat and has such a friendly vibe to it!
While I was at the colour table (which I found to be more comfortable than sitting in front of a mirror looking like you’re warding off an alien invasion with all the foils in your hair) you get to meet other friendly customers, sit back and enjoy the magazine selection with a hot drink and watch the world go by (or in my case, pull out the laptop to get some work done at a comfortable desk).
I had a metal detox treatment put through my hair and I could really feel the difference, this is something they do for all coloured hair treatments.
Overall, I found my CHS experience to be light hearted, fun, great chat from customers and staff alike, professional service and high quality colour at a great competitive price point. I’ll be back!
Where to for CHS Hairdressing?
Carol put her scissors down a couple of years ago, to give her body a rest. Now she can work on the business and support her team, which she has really loved, while still interacting with clients.
Carol is taking control and learning new business skills, reviewing her business model, and seeing where improvements can be done to ensure her clients and staff benefit. She is looking forward to encouraging new clients into CHS. Business has changed post covid, you need to pivot to keep up and that’s exactly what Carol is doing!
CHS will continue to use market leading products and providing professional results to their clients.
Must have staple products
One hair product Carol can’t live without is the Kerastase curl spray. Defines her curls, now that she is embracing them
Curl Manifesto Miracle Curl Refreshing Spray.
Own your curls in-between washes with the Curl Manifesto Refresh Absolu spray for curly hair, very curly hair and coily hair. Use the curl refreshing spray to re-hydrate and re-activate second-day curls
for weightless, defined curls.
$67 from CHS Hairdressing
I purchased this shampoo and conditioner set from CHS when I got my hair done. This has been a game changer for me, it has my hair feeling and looking so much healthier.
L’Oreal Absolut Repair Shampoo & Conditioner.
Infused with GOLD QUINOA + PROTEIN, the professional formula of the Instant Resurfacing Shampoo immediately cleanses and restructures sensitized hair, while leaving it with a lightweight touch. Combined with Absolut Repair Conditioner, hair is left shinier and smoother.
$89 each from CHS Hairdressing
This is what Amy used on my hair and wow, did I notice the difference!
L’Oreal Metal Detox Shampoo and Masque.
Metal particles accumulate inside the hair fibre from exposure to water during regular washing. This negatively impacts colour results and enhances the risk of hair breakage during colouring services. L’Oréal Professionnel introduces a ground-breaking solution to this problem with the Metal Detox Hair Protocol, a member of the Serie Expert collection of targeted hair care products developed to meet specific hair concerns. Using Metal Detox as part of your hair regime will improve colour vitality while reducing hair breakage.
Available with treatments from CHS Hairdressing
Article written by Claudia West, Destination Marketing Manager, Mount Mainstreet.
