Chantal Landais is an Auckland hair stylist with decades of experience, including many years managing her own hair studios in Ponsonby and Herne Bay. She has since downsized her operations and now works two days a week — Wednesdays and Fridays — from a chair inside Inspirations Hair Designers at 167a Jervois Road, Herne Bay.
Her service list is deliberately simple: cuts paired with blow waves, tiered by hair length (short, medium and long), stand-alone blow waves across the same three lengths, and colour in two forms — global colour for all-over coverage, and bespoke colour styling, which is priced at the time of consultation depending on the results you're after.
The smaller, appointment-only setup means clients book with one established stylist who carries the appointment from first conversation to final blow wave. Bookings are made online through the Fresha link on her website.
Every Wednesday and Friday, a chair inside Inspirations Hair Designers at 167a Jervois Road becomes the working studio of Chantal Landais. After decades spent managing her own hair studios in Ponsonby and Herne Bay, Chantal has downsized her operations — trading the full-scale salon for a more focused way of working, while continuing to provide the same exceptional experience from her new location.
Chantal's career in Auckland hairdressing spans decades, much of it spent at the helm of her own studios in two of the city's most style-conscious inner suburbs: first Ponsonby, then Herne Bay. Managing a salon for that long doesn't happen by accident. It means building a clientele through repeat visits and word of mouth, where the business lives or dies on the quality of the last appointment as much as the promise of the next one.
The decision to downsize changes the setting, not the service. Instead of a large team and a full week of trading, clients now find an established stylist working two dedicated days from a chair within Inspirations Hair Designers. For anyone who has followed a trusted hairdresser between addresses before, the arrangement will feel familiar: the person you book with is the person who does the work, from the first conversation through to the final blow wave.
A downsized studio also suits a particular kind of client: people who would rather see one consistent stylist than take whatever chair happens to be free. It is a model that trades volume for attention, and after decades of running studios, it is the way Chantal has chosen to keep working.
The menu is deliberately clear. Cuts come paired with a blow wave and are tiered by hair length — short, medium and long — so you can book the service that actually matches your hair. Blow waves are available on their own too, again across the three length tiers, for clients who want shaping and styling between cuts.
Colour runs in two streams. Global colour covers all-over colour work, while bespoke colour styling is customised to the individual client. Its pricing may vary at the time of consultation depending on the expected results — which makes the consultation a genuine part of the service rather than a formality. If you're considering a significant change, arriving ready to talk through the result you want is part of the process.
There is something practical in that structure. Because services are split by length and colour work is confirmed at consultation, the pricing conversation happens before scissors or foils come out — a clear sense of what the appointment involves before you commit to it.
Chantal works Wednesdays and Fridays only, and appointments are made through the Fresha booking link on her website. Because those are her only two days at the chair, booking ahead matters — particularly for a Friday slot. The salon sits inside Inspirations Hair Designers on Jervois Road in Herne Bay, the bays suburb next door to Ponsonby, where Chantal spent much of her career. Walk-in availability isn't something the site suggests, so treat the Fresha link as the front door.
There is a particular appeal to a downsized, appointment-only hairdresser. The day is built around fewer clients, the stylist sets the pace, and nothing about the visit is hurried through a queue. For Herne Bay locals it puts decades of experience effectively around the corner; for former Ponsonby clients, it is a reason to travel a couple of suburbs for a stylist they already trust.
Whether it's a routine cut and blow wave or a colour conversation starting from scratch, the offer is easy to summarise: an experienced solo stylist, a clear length-based service list, two dedicated days a week, and a consultation that treats your expected result as the starting point for the work.