Habit. Hair Studio is a modern hair and makeup studio at 47 Arawa Street in the heart of Matamata, founded in 2021 on a simple idea: make luxurious hair your habit. The studio offers expert cuts, colour and styling in a private, welcoming space, where every appointment comes with a refreshing drink, great conversation and unhurried attention.
The team of four — owner and director Rebekah Bell, manager Sam Webber, senior stylist Kirsty Cunningham and intermediate stylist Renee Robinson — continually refine their craft to deliver bespoke hair designs that complement each client's lifestyle. Rebekah brings more than 15 years of experience and a specialisation in blondes and balayage; Sam adds a decade in the industry with the same blonde and balayage passion; Kirsty contributes seven years behind the chair and a keen eye on the latest trends; and Renee, the studio's rising star, loves creating blondes, coppers and brunettes.
Colour is the studio's calling card, with a full menu of foils, balayage and global colour packages — and every colour service includes a gloss, blow dry and styled finish. Hair health is looked after too, with Kérastase Fusio-Dose and Première treatments, scalp scrubs and nanoplasty smoothing, all backed by quality products from Kérastase, Redken, Pureology, Matrix and Angel en Provence.
Whether it's a global touch up or a full restyle, a maintenance trim or a transformation, all hair needs are covered under one roof, and free consultations are on offer for anyone not quite sure where to start.
Walk down Arawa Street in Matamata and you'll find a studio that treats hairdressing as something a little more indulgent than the usual quick trim. Habit. Hair Studio, founded in 2021, is a modern hair and makeup studio built around a simple motto: make luxurious hair your habit. Appointments here come with a refreshing drink, easy conversation and the privacy of a boutique studio — a deliberately curated experience rather than an assembly line.
The studio is led by owner and director Rebekah Bell, a stylist with more than 15 years in the industry who specialises in blondes and balayage while embracing all aspects of hairdressing. She's joined by manager Sam Webber, who brings a decade of experience and the same love of blondes and balayage; senior stylist Kirsty Cunningham, with seven years behind the chair and a dedication to staying on top of the latest trends; and intermediate stylist Renee Robinson, the studio's rising star, whose passion runs to blondes, coppers and brunettes.
Together they describe their work as bespoke hair design — styles shaped around your hair story and your lifestyle, not a cookie-cutter look. The team continually upskills and refines its craft, and it shows in the results clients walk out with.
If there's one thing Habit. Hair Studio is known for, it's colour. The blonding and balayage menu runs from partial foils through the hairline and partline to half head and full head foils in both retouch and full-length options, plus balayage packages scaled for half heads, short, medium or long hair. Global colour is equally thorough, from a T-section and blow dry to full colour packages sized for short, medium or long hair, or a retouch combined with partial foils.
A detail worth knowing: every colour price is a base price that already includes a gloss, blow dry and styled finish — so you leave with hair that looks finished, not just coloured. Haircuts and any extra product are the only additions.
Beautiful colour needs a healthy canvas, and the studio takes that seriously. In the basin you'll find Kérastase Fusio-Dose and Première treatments — bookable alongside another service or as a treatment-plus-blow-dry package — along with a scalp scrub and Fusio-Dose combination and nanoplasty smoothing treatments for those chasing sleeker, more manageable hair.
Consultations are encouraged: the team recommends sitting down to discuss your hair story and goals and building a treatment plan together, and those consults are free. Quality products back it all up, with the studio working with brands it trusts — Kérastase, Redken, Pureology, Matrix and Angel en Provence — so clients can cover all their hair needs under one roof.
The word "studio" is doing deliberate work in the name. Rather than a bustling open salon floor, Habit. offers privacy and a sense of luxury — arrive to a refreshing drink, settle into great conversation, and enjoy a service paced around you. It's the kind of place people book a transformation cut for when they want to mark a new chapter, as well as for the maintenance haircut, blow dry and style that keeps everything in check between big changes.
Habit. Hair Studio is at 47 Arawa Street, Matamata, open Monday to Friday from 9am until late and closed on Saturdays and Sundays. You can book online through the studio's website, call or text 027 260 7250, or email hello@habithairstudio.co.nz. If you're not quite sure what you're after, the team's advice is simple: call and book a free consult, and work out your hair goals together before any scissors or foils come out.