d&m Hair Design sits at 1C Redmond St, at the start of Redmond Street near the Herne Bay end of Ponsonby — an established fashion and dining hub in Auckland. Nearly twenty years after it first opened, the salon remains a modern space with what its own team calls a lively atmosphere and infectious energy. It is the home of the ten-time consecutive New Zealand Hairdresser of the Year (2016–2026), the first and only appointment to the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to hairdressing, and a team that has won nineteen international awards since 2020, including the AIPP Grand Trophy — the first awarded outside Europe in twenty years.
The salon was founded by Danny Pato MNZM and Michael Sisaengrath, and has grown into a multicultural team of thirteen. Both founders still work full-time on the salon floor, alongside training the team, shooting fashion editorials and supporting charity projects. d&m is famed for its creative collections and runs a comprehensive in-house training programme that keeps the whole team abreast of international trends and techniques.
Beyond the craft, d&m works hard to ensure beauty doesn't cost the earth: through Sustainable Salons, 95% of salon waste is recycled, and Davines — the salon's main supplier — produces its products with minimal environmental impact, including a permanent colour system that is 86% naturally derived and carbon-neutral. The team also gives back actively, supporting KidsCan, Mercy Hospice Auckland, the Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders and other charities.
Tucked at the start of Redmond Street, near the Herne Bay end of Ponsonby, d&m Hair Design operates from one of Auckland's most established fashion and dining hubs. The salon describes itself honestly: modern, lively, with an energy its owners call infectious. But the plain facts behind that welcome are remarkable. This is the home of the ten-time consecutive New Zealand Hairdresser of the Year (2016–2026), the first and only appointment to the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to hairdressing, and a team that has collected nineteen international awards since 2020.
d&m was founded by Danny Pato MNZM and Michael Sisaengrath, who have grown the salon into a multicultural, close-knit team of thirteen. Danny, who grew up in Greece with five sisters — the women who first sparked his love of hairdressing — is Creative Director and still works full-time on the salon floor, juggling team training, fashion editorials and industry commentary. Michael, Business Director, is the team leader whose humour and advanced skill hold d&m together. Both are on the floor every day.
What sets the salon apart, beyond its trophy cabinet, is discipline. d&m is famed for its creative collections and runs a comprehensive in-house training programme built on well-researched inspiration and trade discipline, keeping the whole team current with international trends and techniques.
The honours list is long. d&m has won NZ Hairdresser of the Year ten consecutive times across the Hair Expo Australasia and ANZ Hair Industry Awards. In 2025, Danny Pato was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to hairdressing, and the salon took out the AIPP Grand Trophy in Madrid — the first winner from outside Europe in twenty years. Other wins include International Hairdresser of the Year at the Spanish Figaro Awards (2021), International Hairstylist of the Year at Contessa in Toronto (2021), International Hair Shot of the Year from the British Fellowship of Hairdressing (2022 and 2023), and the 2024 Haute Coiffure Française Trophée for Best Avant Garde in Paris. Closer to home, the salon has been named Best Hair Salon at the Metro Best of Auckland and NZ Best in Beauty Awards.
For all the accolades, d&m is a working hairdressing salon first: cuts, colour and styling for everyday clients, delivered by a team whose creative work is recognised worldwide. Davines is the salon's main supplier. The permanent colour system used in-salon, Mask with Vibrachrom, is made with fairtrade organic quinoa, is 86% naturally derived, carbon-neutral, and biodegrades quickly in waterways — while still delivering long-lasting colour that leaves hair shiny and soft. Clients can take the products home too: d&m stocks Davines and runs its own online store.
Sustainability is central to how d&m operates. Through a partnership with Sustainable Salons, 95% of the salon's waste is recycled. Working with Davines, the team ensures that what goes on clients' hair is produced with minimal environmental impact. As the salon puts it, they want to be part of the green revolution.
Community support runs deep. The whole team takes part in charity projects: raising more than $28,000 for KidsCan by auctioning one-off prints from a decade of collection images, opening for a Haircuts for Hospice day that raised over $7,000 for Mercy Hospice Auckland, gifting a full day's takings of $8,000 to humanitarian, wildlife and volunteer fire-fighting groups during the Australian bushfire crisis, and donating $7,000 to the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders.
d&m Hair Design is open Tuesday to Friday, 10am to 8pm, and closed Saturday, Sunday, Monday and public holidays — the late evenings make after-work appointments easy. Bookings can be made online, by phone or by email. Come for a cut, enjoy the atmosphere, and leave styled by one of the most awarded salon teams in the country.