Kokomo Haircutters has been a feature of Ponsonby Road for over 30 years, and from its home at number 51 it remains one of Auckland's most trusted destinations for colour and cutting. The salon is a specialist colouring and cutting studio that works exclusively with senior stylists — the stylist who greets you personally creates your new look from beginning to end, from the application of colour through to cut, style and blow wave.
As a Schwarzkopf Colour Professional salon, Kokomo is dedicated to ongoing training, education and keeping up with what is new in the hair and fashion industry. That commitment has been recognised with an Urban List vote as one of Auckland's top 10 salons six years in a row. Every appointment begins with a free consultation, where the team makes suggestions to suit your individual face shape, hair type and lifestyle, and your hair is cleansed, conditioned and treated using Schwarzkopf Professional products — complete with an indulgent head massage.
The service menu covers the full spectrum: women's cuts and blow waves, men's overhauls and maintenance trims, children's cuts on weekdays, the Dry Bar, hair-up and bridal styling, smoothing treatments like QI QI and Keratin Complex express blowouts, and colour services spanning global colour, foils, balayage and freehand painting, toner glosses and creative colour. Signature Pamper Packages bundle a cut, blow wave, head massage and bespoke prescription hair treatment, while Fibre Clinix and Epres bond repair treatments restore hair health at a molecular level.
Owned by Richelle Gott, Kokomo aims to make having your hair done a relaxed, fun and enjoyable experience — clients arrive as individuals and leave as part of the Kokomo Collective. Afterpay is available in salon, and gift vouchers, including bespoke vouchers for special occasions, can be arranged.
For more than 30 years, Kokomo Haircutters has been a fixture of Ponsonby Road — the kind of salon Aucklanders grow up with, move away from and keep coming back to. From its home at 51 Ponsonby Road, the team has built its reputation on two things done exceptionally well: colour and cutting.
What sets Kokomo apart is simple: there are no junior hands on your hair. The salon works exclusively with senior stylists, and the stylist who greets you is the stylist who personally creates your new look from beginning to end — from the application of colour through to the cut, style and blow wave. That continuity shapes everything from the first consultation to the final mirror moment.
Every appointment starts with a conversation. The team consults on ideas and makes suggestions suited to your individual face shape, hair type and lifestyle, and all consultations come at no charge. Once you are in the chair, your hair is cleansed, conditioned and treated using Schwarzkopf Professional products, with what the salon calls an indulgent head massage to set the tone.
Colour is where Kokomo truly shows its depth. As a Schwarzkopf Colour Professional salon dedicated to ongoing training and education, the team offers the full spectrum: global colour, half and full-head foils, foils combined with global colour, lighten-and-tone services, toner glosses and creative colour toners like Fabuloso and Colour Pro. The Balayage Package offers a guided introduction to hand-painted, lived-in lightening, complete with a bespoke gloss or toner, bond protector and a blow-wave finish.
That commitment to education shows in the results: Kokomo has been voted one of Auckland's top 10 salons by Urban List six years in a row.
Hair health gets equal attention. The salon's Fibre Clinix treatments use Schwarzkopf Professional's triple bonding and C21 technology with ultra-concentrated boosters, delivering bespoke, hyper-customised repair that leaves hair up to 10 times stronger. Alongside it sits Epres, the next-generation bond repair created by the scientist behind Olaplex, which re-bonds the structure of hair at a molecular level to repair chemical, thermal and mechanical damage — available in-colour, as a standalone treatment, or as take-home care. For smoothing, QI QI straightens, relaxes or enhances curls for up to five months.
The Kokomo Pamper package distils the salon experience into a single visit: a consultation, cut and blowave, a wonderful head massage and a bespoke prescription hair treatment. The Kokomore Pamper adds a prescribed Schwarzkopf shampoo and conditioner to take home. Men are looked after with a full overhaul or a quick maintenance trim, and children's cuts run Tuesday to Friday for the kids of Kokomo customers. When an occasion calls, the Dry Bar and hair-up styling cover everything from a polished blow wave to bridal hair.
Owner Richelle Gott sets the tone: a creative, relaxed environment where the aim is to make having your hair done a fun and enjoyable experience. Clients, the salon says, arrive as individuals and leave as part of the Kokomo Collective — a phrase that has clearly stuck, given the decades-long relationships the street's regulars will happily tell you about.
Practicalities are easy. Afterpay is available in salon, and gift vouchers — including bespoke vouchers for special occasions — can be arranged year-round. Because colour pricing can shift when extra products or services are added, the team encourages you to ask for a pre-quote on your colour service so there are no surprises at the counter.
Whether you are after a precise maintenance trim, a full balayage transformation or the healthiest hair of your life, Kokomo Haircutters brings three decades of Ponsonby craft to the chair. To book or enquire, call 09 378 9225 or email kokomo@haircutters.co.nz.