Manaaki Hair and Beauty is a welcoming salon on Mountain Road in Mangere Bridge, Auckland, built around a simple mission: delivering exceptional care and service and creating 'an experience like no other'. The name reflects the ethos — manaaki, care — and it shows in everything from the nau mai, haere mai welcome to the way each service is tailored to the person in the chair.
The salon is owned by Liana, an advanced stylist with more than 15 years of industry experience and six years at the helm, who says helping clients feel confident and beautiful is her ultimate joy. She leads a talented, creative team that embraces every challenge, from a fresh new look to complex colour corrections, with the goal of sending every client out the door with confidence and satisfaction.
Services cover all colours and highlights — tint retouches, global colour, toners and glosses, partial, half and full foils, balayage and bleach work — alongside cuts for adults and children, seniors' cuts, wash and blowaves, and keratin smoothing treatments. Pricing tiers reflect each stylist's experience and expertise, so clients can choose the stylist and service that suit them best.
The team's cultural roots run deep. Shayla, the senior stylist, is a passionate blonde and lightening specialist; Lua, an intermediate stylist and long-time member of the salon, especially loves welcoming Pacifica clients and chatting in Samoan and Tongan. Reviews regularly mention the warmth here — from curly-cut transformations to the staff who made an elderly guest a cup of tea and sent her home feeling 'like a million dollars'.
On Mountain Road in Mangere Bridge, Manaaki Hair and Beauty has quietly become the kind of salon people describe with words like 'whānau'. Nau mai, haere mai — welcome — is how the team greets the year and every new client, and the salon's name, which speaks to care and hospitality in te reo Māori, sets the tone for everything they do. Their stated mission is simple: deliver exceptional care and service, and create 'an experience like no other'.
The salon is owned by Liana, an advanced stylist with more than 15 years in the industry and six years at the helm. She describes helping clients feel confident and beautiful as her 'ultimate joy', and she brings whakapapa connections to Hauraki, Ngāti Tamaterā, Ngāpuhi and Ngāti Rangiwewehi to a workplace where Māori and Pasifika identity is proudly woven through the team.
Manaaki runs on a small, close-knit team with clearly defined strengths. Shayla, the senior stylist, is the salon's blonde specialist — an 'excellent colourist' who loves colour corrections, balayage and anything involving lightening. Lua, an 'OG' of Manaaki who recently returned after three years living abroad, is the intermediate stylist and enjoys highlighting and colour work. Of Samoan and Tongan descent, she especially loves welcoming Pacifica clients, with conversations in both languages so your vision is 'understood and taken great care of'.
That mix matters when you're booking: each stylist has their own service menu and pricing tier based on experience and expertise, so you can choose the level that fits your hair and your goals. Lua works select dates only, so it pays to contact the salon if you'd like to book with her.
If there's one thing Manaaki is known for, it's colour. The menu covers all colours and highlights: tint retouches, global colour, toners and glosses, partial, half and full highlight packages finished with a blowave, balayage, regrowth bleach and toner for blondes, and full bleach transformations priced by consultation. The team 'thrives on creativity' and embraces complex colour corrections — the jobs other salons sometimes shy away from.
Cuts are just as considered: fringe trims, children's cuts, seniors' cuts, standard and custom layered re-styles, wash and blowaves and dry-offs, with straightening or curling irons available as add-ons. Keratin smoothing treatments come in short, medium and long options. If your hair is particularly thick or long, some extra charges may apply — the salon is happy to offer a consult or quote first.
Unsure what would suit you? That's part of the service. The stylists will help you choose a style and book the right service — just call or email.
Manaaki keeps things fresh with regular offers. The Autumn Glow Package bundles foils, a gloss toner, an intensive repair treatment and a blowave for hair that's faded and dulled over summer. A weekday special offers a half head of highlights, toner and blowave, booked Tuesday to Friday with Shayla and not available after 3pm. There's also a Refer a Friend programme: when a friend books and mentions your name, they receive a discount on their first visit and you receive a credit towards your next one.
What really comes through in client reviews, though, is the care. One family shared how the team looked after their elderly mother — making sure she was comfortable and making her a cup of tea — leaving her feeling 'like a million dollars'. Another client came in with what she called 'an actual bush head' and left with 'the cutest' curly cut. A third sums it up: 'the level of execution is remarkable'.
Manaaki Hair and Beauty is open Tuesday to Thursday from 9am to 5pm, Friday from 9.30am to 7pm, and Saturday from 9am to 3pm; hours can change without notice and public holidays may affect them. Book online, phone the salon on (09) 281 1467, or email [email protected]. And if you leave with a look you love, they'd love you to tag them in your photos.