Salute Hair Skin Spa brings an award-winning hair salon and a results-driven day spa together under one roof at Queensgate Mall in central Lower Hutt, within easy reach of the wider Wellington region. The site describes the space as a sanctuary of elegance and tranquillity, and the team has gathered multiple accolades across both the salon and spa industries.
On the salon side, the talent runs deep: Chinney Yeap has been named AHFA NZ Hairdresser of the Year two years running, taking the 2024 title with a Geisha-inspired collection of strong silhouettes and striking colour placement, while Michael Beel won AHFA Editorial Stylist of the Year 2024 — the first New Zealander to do so in the awards' history. Clients come for cutting-edge hair transformations, freehand-painted balayage and editorial-grade styling.
The spa and skin retreat focuses on achieving Real Visible Results using the acclaimed Ultraceuticals brand, backed by multiple international skin transformation awards. Offerings span a 15-minute Skin Health Check and full diagnosis, results-driven facials, massage, body scrubs in the vichy room, thorough spray tanning, brow and lash services, and packages such as the Man Escape for gents. With free four-hour parking, gift vouchers, take-home product ranges and the Salute Rewards Programme, a visit is designed to be seamless and stress-free from arrival to farewell.
Salute Hair Skin Spa does something few salons manage: it runs a genuinely accomplished hair salon and a serious, results-driven day spa under the same roof at Queensgate Mall in central Lower Hutt. Marketed proudly as Wellington's finest, the business has built its reputation on two things — award-winning hairdressing talent and skin treatments that aim for what the team calls Real Visible Results.
The practical touches start before you even reach the door. Parking at Queensgate is free and hassle-free for four hours, so a colour appointment that rolls into a facial never becomes a parking headache. Inside, the tone shifts: robes, a retreat room, and a team that regulars describe as welcoming from the front desk through to the basin.
The salon's trophy cabinet is not decorative. At the 2024 Australian Hair Fashion Awards — held at Sydney's Star Casino and widely regarded as the pinnacle of hairdressing excellence in the Southern Hemisphere — two Salute names took out major titles. Chinney Yeap was named AHFA NZ Hairdresser of the Year for the second year in a row, with a collection inspired by Geishas and the artwork of her youth, all strong silhouettes and striking colour placement. Michael Beel won AHFA Editorial Stylist of the Year, the first New Zealander to do so in the awards' history, recognised for a portfolio spanning campaigns, celebrity work and fashion shoots; one judge praised the modernity, effortlessness and beauty throughout his collection.
What matters for a first-time visitor is how that editorial pedigree translates to an ordinary weekday appointment. Reviews consistently point to colour as a standout — clients describe proper, freehand-painted balayage so natural-looking that other hairdressers refer their own clients to Chinney. Cutting-edge transformations and styling round out the salon offering, delivered with the same care as a magazine shoot.
Across the floor, the spa and skin retreat is built around the acclaimed Ultraceuticals brand, and the team has collected multiple international skin transformation awards along the way. The philosophy is upfront: treatments should deliver real, visible change, not just a pleasant hour.
Every skin journey starts with a Skin Health Check and full diagnosis, a 15-minute consultation whose cost is fully redeemable on any take-home skincare — a low-stakes way to get a professional read on your skin. From there, specialists build a personalised treatment plan around your needs and goals. The menu covers results-driven facials, therapeutic massage, body scrubs in the dedicated vichy room, thorough spray tanning, and brow and lash services. Men are well catered for too: the Man Escape package combines a vichy body scrub with a facial and massage, and reviewers who have tried it are already planning the next one.
The ovations on the website tell the story better than any marketing copy. Clients talk about facials that feel like a mini holiday — robe on, retreat room, a massage so relaxing they nearly drift off — delivered by therapists with years of experience and no hesitation about giving solid skin advice. Others rave about spray tans so thorough they have abandoned every other salon, or brows and lashes done by a team that remembers you. The common thread is genuine care from people who clearly love the work.
A few things are worth knowing before you book. Join the Salute Rewards Programme and mailing list and a $25 voucher arrives as a welcome gift. Gift vouchers are available for anyone who would rather let someone else choose, and the team retails the products they believe in, including Ultraceuticals online and a curated salon range through The Homecare Collective.
Booking happens online or by phone on 04 560 3222, and it pays to plan ahead: when two of your stylists hold Southern Hemisphere titles, the calendar fills. Whether you come in for a single refresh or surrender an entire afternoon to the spa, the pitch is the same — step out of daily life for a while and leave with visible proof it was worth it.