Emma Frances is a personal hair salon on Jervois Road in Ponsonby, led by stylist Emma Bryce, whose career stretches from London's Nyumba salon — where she trained under Michael Charalambous and worked with clients including Daphne Guinness, Claudia Winkleman and Shilpa Shetty — to Salon Director at Stephen Marr Takapuna. Along the way she has been part of creative teams behind New Zealand Fashion Week and Marr Factory shows for designers like Karen Walker, NomD, Zambesi and Kate Sylvester.
The service menu covers cuts with a luxury head massage and blow-dry style, a full colour menu from partial and half-head foils to full head highlights, global colour, toners and hourly lightening for bigger transformations, with balayage and bespoke colour booked as a generous full-head package. Treatments include Cezanne keratin smoothing and the OWAY Herbs and Clay Cleanser, while extensions are offered as micro bead wefts and nano tips with colour-match consultations and twelve months of pre-booked maintenance. A blow dry membership covers ten blow-dries over six months, and wedding bookings reserve Emma exclusively for the bride and up to four bridal party members for the whole day.
Appointments are booked online and secured with a deposit that counts toward the day's total. The salon is open Tuesday to Friday, with Saturdays by appointment only, and every appointment carries a $3 Green fee to Sustainable Salons.
Tucked along Jervois Road, Emma Frances is a small, personal hair salon built on a career that runs from one of London's most upmarket postcodes to the runways and studios of New Zealand fashion. At the chair is Emma Bryce, whose path moves from Nyumba in London to Salon Director at Stephen Marr Takapuna before opening her own room — a background that shows in carefully planned colour, unhurried appointments and finishes that always include a blow-dry style.
Emma began hairdressing in June 2008 at Nyumba, a salon in one of London's most upmarket and stylish neighbourhoods, working as a junior stylist under Michael Charalambous. The clientele was globally diverse and of varying social standing, exposing her to different hair types, cultures and demands — an education she credits with letting her move easily between salons, and between London and Auckland. The names on the books included Daphne Guinness, Claudia Winkleman, Shilpa Shetty, Saffron Aldridge and high-end magazine editors.
After moving to New Zealand, Emma joined Stephen Marr, which she describes as one of the best learning experiences of her career. As part of the creative team she worked on shows and shoots for many of the country's leading designers: Marr Factory in 2014 and 2015 with Karen Walker, NomD, Zambesi, Kate Sylvester and Workshop (Helen Cherry); Fashion Week shows including D'Monic Intent, Ivy Blu, Sean Kelly and Lela Jacobs; lookbooks and campaigns for Cybèle, Kate Sylvester and Willa and Mae; editorial work for 1AM and Monster magazines and Remix, a Sniffers blog shoot with Broods' Georgia Nott, and Aaradhna's Brown Girl in 2016. She worked her way up to Salon Director at the Takapuna salon, learning to lead a team of talented stylists before opening her own salon environment.
Cuts are a full ritual: both women's and men's cuts include a luxury head massage and a blow-dry style. The colour menu runs from partial and half-head foils to full head highlights, global colour, multi-tonal work, re-touches and toners, with an hourly service for lightening and bigger colour changes. Balayage and other bespoke colour is booked as a full head highlights package so the timing is generous, and every colour service finishes with a haircut or a blow dry.
Treatments lean gentle and effective. Cezanne keratin smoothing — offered in a standard version and one for longer, thicker hair — is always followed by a blow dry, while the OWAY Herbs and Clay Cleanser cleanses hair and scalp without chemical agents, performing a light peeling that encourages delicate renewal. Extensions come as micro bead wefts or nano tips, chosen and colour-matched at a first consultation, with maintenance pre-booked across the following twelve months. Regulars can join the blow dry membership — ten blow-dries valid for six months — which the salon also recommends for keeping extensions in the best condition.
Wedding bookings reserve Emma exclusively: the bride plus up to four members of the bridal party, with looks worked out together beforehand and no rushing on the morning itself. Travel and accommodation for weddings further afield is discussed when locking in the date. Alongside the salon, Emma also sells her own line of EF Hair Styling Tools online.
Appointments are made online and secured with a non-refundable deposit that counts toward the total on the day. Cancellations inside 48 hours carry a 50% fee — minimum $50 — with the deposit forfeited; the same applies to no-shows, and the fee must be settled before future bookings can be made. Every appointment adds a $3 Green fee to Sustainable Salons at checkout. New clients can use a voucher for 50% off their first cut, valid three months and usable alongside a colour service. The salon opens Tuesday to Friday, with Saturdays by appointment, and independent stylist Paige Davies Hair also works from the same Jervois Road address with separate bookings.