Toogees Hair Design is a long-standing salon in the hub of Birkenhead Village, welcoming clients since 1973. Owned by Tanya since 2015, the team mixes young, emerging talent with stylists who have years of experience in the industry — and one of the original owners, Gareth, can still often be found in his familiar spot, snipping away.
It's a one-stop pamper shop where hair and beauty happen under one roof. The service list covers haircuts, keratin treatments, long hair work, foiling, balayage, blonde and creative colouring, colour correction, hair treatments, permanent waves and permanent straightening, with a gallery full of sun-kissed balayage and full heads of babylight foils for inspiration.
The salon works with Keune colour ranges, including the ammonia, paraben and sulphate-free So Pure line with over 50 shades, and retails New Zealand-owned Lust Haircare — vegan, cruelty-free and PETA certified. Emphasis is placed on thorough consultations: stylists take time to understand what you want, prescribe exactly what you need, and don't try to sell you anything you don't.
Settle in with a freshly ground coffee, a delicious tea or a hot chocolate, and leave feeling positive and confident. Supervised apprenticeship training sessions are also available by appointment, with prices ranging from discounted to complimentary depending on products used and level of training.
Tucked into the hub of Birkenhead Village, Toogees Hair Design has been a fixture of Auckland's North Shore since 1973. From the street it's a neighbourhood salon; step inside and it's a one-stop pamper shop where hair and beauty treatments happen under one roof — ideally with a freshly ground coffee, a pot of delicious tea or a hot chocolate in your hands while you settle in.
Whether you're reinventing yourself with a new style and total colour change, or just need a trim, the invitation from the team is the same: come in and talk it through with one of their talented stylists.
Few local businesses can claim fifty years of history. Toogees was established in 1973, and Tanya has owned the business since 2015, leading a team that ranges from young new talent to stylists with years of experience in the salon industry. There's even a living link to the beginning: Gareth, one of the original owners, is often in his spot, still snipping away.
What keeps the salon flourishing, they say, is the atmosphere and the attitude. The team strongly believes in education and keeping ahead of the trends, and there's great satisfaction in seeing clients walk out the door feeling positive and confident.
Colour is where Toogees truly shines. The service list reads like a colourist's toolkit: colouring, foiling, balayage, blonde work, creative colouring and colour correction, alongside keratin treatments, haircuts, long hair work, hair treatments, permanent waves and permanent straightening.
The salon's gallery offers a taste of what's possible — sun-kissed balayage, full heads of babylight foils, permanent waves — and the stylists are happy to help you find your own version of these looks.
Toogees uses Keune colour ranges, and it's a partnership with values behind it. Keune is a sustainable, eco-friendly company, and the salon adores the results from the ammonia, paraben and sulphate-free ranges. The So Pure line, developed with plant essential therapy, offers over 50 shades and up to 100% grey coverage in a mild, aromatic in-salon experience.
On the retail shelves sits Lust Haircare as well — proudly New Zealand owned and operated, cruelty-free, 100% vegan and PETA certified, with formulations free from SLS, sulfates, parabens and other harsh chemicals. Can't make it in to restock? Keune products can be ordered online through the salon's dedicated page, with contactless delivery plus product information and hair tips.
Ask what sets Toogees apart and the emphasis on thorough consultations stands out. Stylists take time to understand your needs and how you'd like your hair to look, prescribe exactly what you need — and don't try to sell you anything you don't. Healthy hair and scalp are treated as the key to beautiful hair, with products chosen to keep both in the best possible condition.
Beyond hair, Toogees doubles as a beauty destination, with nails and beauty treatments available in the same Birkenhead Village location — handy if you want to tick more than one thing off the list in a single visit.
For those happy to spend a little longer in the chair, the salon runs apprenticeship training sessions by appointment. You'll work with new and emerging talents under the supervision of the in-salon educators, with prices ranging from discounted to complimentary depending on the products used and the level of training.
Open Tuesday through Saturday, with late nights on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Toogees is easy to slot into the week. As the team likes to say: life is too short to have boring hair — come and see them today.