Earlier this month, Bare Waxing’s Grey Lynn location opened its doors to a full salon makeover. We caught up with Bare Waxing owner Vivianne McIntosh to find out more.

“We’ve been thinking about it for 18 months or so, and seriously planning for the last six months,” says Vivianne.

“Our Grey Lynn salon has been open for nine years now and it had seen a lot of treatments. We just felt like it was getting tired and that clients deserved a more beautiful space for their treatments.

“We did ‘um and ah’ as to whether we could get away with a lick of paint and some new furniture, but in the end bit the bullet and took the opportunity to reconfigure the salon to allow more space in the treatment rooms.

“We also had a flash flood last winter that meant overflow from the stormwater drains on our street ran into our salon, doing some damage to the floors.

“In terms of planning, being able to give our clients notice of a three-week shut down was key. We crunched the numbers to try to work out a three-week period that would have the least impact, and the wider team worked out whether they would take leave or work in another salon during that timeframe. The plan that was executed pretty much to the wire (!) by our building team Nova Construction.

“In terms of what we did:

Full demolition of salon interior including removing all framing and ripping up the floor

Polish and grind of the concrete floors

Reframed treatment rooms and re-did our electrical plan to ensure power was where the team needed it to be

Installed custom made cabinetry and retail shelving thanks to Allen & Chapman

Fresh paint and wallpaper and all new furniture and furnishings

“Our Glen Innes Salon Manager, Michelle, was integral in selecting and sourcing a lot of the furnishings and designing the space.

“We had some very long days and evenings getting everything done in time for re-opening, but the Grey Lynn team were amazing. Coming in on their days off or after completing a shift at another salon to help clean and get things set up.

“We are so happy with the new space, and considering we managed it and designed it internally as a team, I am also super proud of the work our team did on this.

“As well as our clients having a lovely new salon, it’s a real boost to the team to have a brand new space that they feel genuine pride in. My one request to them – no wax on the new walls!”

For more Professional Salon news and updates, subscribe to our weekly newsletter.