Gimmy's Hair Design is a neighbourhood hairdressing salon on Tamaki Drive in Mission Bay, Auckland — two minutes from the beach and part of the local strip for years. It's a family salon in the fullest sense: cuts, colour and treatments for the whole household, from children's haircuts to full colour changes, all delivered by a small team that treats a quick trim and a full transformation with the same care.
Owner Gimmy works alongside stylists Laura and Tom. The service list covers the essentials and then some: women's and children's haircuts, blow drys, root and full head colour, half and full head foils, balayage, keratin treatments, permanent hair straightening and curly hair styling. Pricing depends on hair length, condition and the service, and the team invites you to call for current prices rather than guess.
Walk-ins are welcome — no appointment necessary — though booking ahead is recommended, especially on Saturdays. The salon is open 9am to 6pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 3pm on Saturdays, closed Sundays. Regulars rate it 4.9 out of 5 across 27 reviews on Fresha, calling out friendly, professional service at a fair price.
Gimmy's Hair Design is the kind of salon every neighbourhood hopes it has: small, friendly, and quietly good at what it does. You'll find it on Tamaki Drive, two minutes from Mission Bay beach, in the middle of the strip locals drift along on a sunny afternoon. It has been part of that strip for years, and the regulars who keep returning — 27 of whom have rated it 4.9 out of 5 on Fresha — are the clearest evidence that it's doing something right.
The salon is a family business in the truest sense. Gimmy, the owner, works alongside stylists Laura and Tom, and between them they cover everything from a child's first haircut to a full colour change. The team's own description captures the character of the place: they know the difference between a trim and a transformation, and they treat both the same way — properly. Nobody is rushed out of the chair, and there's no hard sell waiting at the till.
The services fall into three groups. Cuts and styling covers women's haircuts, children's haircuts and blow drys — the bread and butter of a family salon where parents, teenagers and grandparents can all be seen in the same week.
Colour is the most involved part of the list. There's root colour for refreshing your base between appointments, full head colour, and both half head and full head foils for lightness and dimension. Balayage rounds it out for anyone after the soft, lived-in look that grows out gracefully and asks for fewer maintenance visits.
The third group — texture and treatments — is worth knowing about if your hair has a mind of its own. Keratin treatments and permanent hair straightening are on offer for anyone battling frizz or stubborn wave, and there's dedicated curly hair styling for clients who want their curls handled by someone who works with them, not against them.
Pricing is handled the straightforward way: it depends on your hair's length and condition and on the service you're having, and the team would rather you ring for current prices than guess from an out-of-date list. It's a small policy, but it says a lot about how the salon operates.
Walk in without an appointment and you'll most likely be looked after — the salon welcomes walk-ins, no appointment necessary. That said, the team will tell you themselves that it's always better to book ahead, particularly on Saturdays, when the day runs from 9am to 3pm and chairs fill quickly. Monday to Friday the salon opens 9am to 6pm, and it's closed on Sundays.
What regulars mention, again and again, is the combination of friendly, professional service at a fair price. Those are the qualities the Fresha reviews keep circling back to, and together they describe exactly what a neighbourhood salon should be: somewhere the standard is high, the welcome is warm, and the bill doesn't surprise you.
There's also the setting to enjoy. The salon sits on Tamaki Drive, so a visit slots neatly into a Mission Bay day — an appointment, then a walk along the waterfront or fish and chips on the beach while your colour settles. Locals know the routine; visitors work it out quickly.
Gimmy's Hair Design is at 17/35 Tamaki Drive, Mission Bay, Auckland 1071. To book, call 09 578 1333 — you can ask about services, timing and current pricing in one call. Walk-ins are welcome, but a quick call ahead is the reliable way to lock in a time, especially for colour work or a Saturday slot.
Whether it's a five-minute trim between paydays or the balayage you've been thinking about for months, the promise is the same: hair, done properly, by the water.