Located at 272 Tay Street beside Turnbull Thomson Park in Invercargill, Dela Llana salon is a family friendly hair and barbering salon run by owner-operator Romel Dela Llana, a hairdresser and master barber with over a decade of experience in the hair industry. With three barbers and a hair stylist on the team, the salon puts out the best service for reasonable prices in a clean, welcoming space.
Each team member brings their own speciality. Sherwin Espina, senior hair stylist, is the salon's ladies expert in treatments and colours and works Wednesday to Sunday. Rodel Ramilloza, a master barber and cut throat specialist with well over a decade under his belt, works Wednesday and Thursday afternoons and full days on Friday and Saturday. Romel holds the fort alone on Monday and Tuesday, making those days a quieter session that suits people who like the calm — and kids who are new to haircuts.
The service menu covers men's cuts and zero fades, beard trims and cut throat work, haircuts with tattoo designs, children's and high school cuts for boys and girls, women's cuts, colour and perms, keratin and rebond treatments, and wash and blow dry. Longer chemical services begin with an in-salon pre-consultation so pricing and booking times can be confirmed before the appointment.
Bookings can be made online, gift vouchers are available in an amount of your choosing, and the salon is open 10am to 5pm on Monday and Tuesday, then 10am to 7pm Wednesday through Sunday.
Dela Llana salon sits on Tay Street beside Turnbull Thomson Park in Invercargill, and it keeps its promise simple: three barbers and a hair stylist putting out the best service for reasonable prices. It is a working neighbourhood salon rather than a glossy chain — the kind of place where the same faces cut your hair each visit, where kids are welcome, and where the atmosphere is clean, easy and family friendly.
The salon is led by owner-operator Romel Dela Llana, a hairdresser and master barber with more than a decade in the hair industry. Around him works a small, specialised team: Sherwin Espina, a senior hair stylist who is the salon's ladies expert in treatments and colours, and Rodel Ramilloza, a master barber and cut throat specialist with well over a decade under his belt. Between them, most of what a household needs — from a preschooler's very first trim to a full keratin treatment — happens under one roof.
One of the most useful things to know before you book is who works when, because each team member keeps their own rhythm. Monday and Tuesday belong to Romel, who works alone on those days. That makes early in the week the quiet window at Dela Llana — ideal for anyone who likes a calm chair, and especially good for children who are new to haircuts and might need a little patience and space.
From Wednesday, the full team is in play. Sherwin works Wednesday through Sunday and is the person to ask for when it comes to colour and treatments for women. Rodel keeps barbering hours: Wednesday and Thursday afternoons, then full days on Friday and Saturday. His speciality is the cut throat — traditional barbering craft applied to beard work — though as a master barber he is an all-round safe pair of hands for any men's cut.
Barbering is at the heart of the menu. The classic men's dry cut sits alongside the mens zero fade, the skin-tight fade that has become a default for plenty of Southland men. A beard trim only is on the list for those who just want a tidy-up, and the combined hair cut and beard appointment lets the barber shape both in one sitting. For something more individual there is hair cut with tattoo design, where lines and patterns are etched into the cut — the quote depends on the style and the complexity of the design.
Kids and teens get their own lanes on the menu, with separate preschool and primary services for boys and girls, primary and high school zero fades, and standard high school cuts. Durations are honest: most of these are 30-minute appointments, which parents of fidgety youngsters will appreciate.
For women, the salon offers a cut and quick dry, a wash and blow dry, perms and colour — the women's colour booking is a two-hour appointment. Sherwin, as the senior stylist, is the expert in treatments and colours, making clients look and feel fabulous.
Longer transformations are also on offer. Mens perm and mens colour sit beside women's perm and colour, and there are two big treatment services: keratin treatment, a three-hour appointment, and rebond treatment, a four-hour one. Both require a pre-consultation — you pop into the salon so pricing and booking times can be confirmed before the appointment is locked in. It is a sensible step for services of that length, and it means no surprises on the day.
Dela Llana salon runs its bookings online, and the booking system is the easiest way to lock in a chair with the right person at the right time. Gift vouchers are available too, in an amount of your choosing — a handy answer when a hard-to-buy-for person is on the list.
Hours run from 10:00am to 5:00pm on Monday and Tuesday, then stretch to 7:00pm from Wednesday through Sunday, which makes the back half of the week friendlier for anyone working a nine-to-five. The salon is at 272 Tay Street in Turnbull Thomson Park, Invercargill, and can be reached on 022 690 7094.
Whether it is a school-holiday round of trims, a zero fade before the weekend, a cut throat beard shape with Rodel or a colour with Sherwin, Dela Llana salon keeps things straightforward: skilled hands, fair prices, and a chair for every member of the family.