The best of
Auckland. Ranked.

Director Adrian was named Auckland's Best Colourist for Blondes — this Viaduct salon is built almost entirely around getting blonde tones right, from subtle lift to full platinum transformations.

A proper old-school barbershop that's held its ground on Victoria Street since 2003 — full scissor and clipper work, beard trims, and none of the fuss. Walk-ins welcome, appointments preferred.

Greg Murrell opened Ryder back in 1999 and it's still one of the city's defining salons — a heritage building in Britomart hung with Michael Parekowhai art, full of young and established stylists doing properly individual cuts.

Vintage chairs, cowhide rugs and a beer-and-banter atmosphere tucked into Ponsonby Central — old-school barbering values with a modern edge for clipper cuts, beard trims and hot towel shaves.

Walk-in-only with a virtual queue app so you're not standing around — Ponsonby's heaviest-trafficked barbershop, built on skin fades, beard line-ups and a hot towel finish on every cut.

Owner PJ Asar built a reputation as the city's go-to for curly and afro-textured cuts, from soft waves to tight coils — a skill set plenty of salons still don't bother training for. Relaxed CBD spot, free brownie included.

Māori-owned premium barbershop founded by Adrian Evans, now planted in two of the CBD's busiest precincts. Sharp Director's Cuts and beard work for the lunch-break corporate crowd.

Founded by Josh Pfaff in 2018 and now run with his brother Roo across two CBD shops — walk-in only, seven days a week, with a stack of five-star reviews for sharp fades and proper royal shaves.

The salon NZ's fashion and editorial crowd has called on for two decades. Newmarket base, sustainable-salon credentials, and a team trusted with the kind of hair that ends up on a runway, not just a selfie.

Two suburban shops with a genuinely huge pile of five-star reviews behind them. Skin fades, tapers and hot towel shaves done properly, without the CBD price tag or the wait.

A boutique, craft-first studio rather than a volume salon — multi-award-winning colour technicians whose stylists also work fashion weeks and editorial shoots between Ellerslie appointments.

Owner Kelly Manu's studio took out NZ Hair Salon of the Year, with her own international L'Oréal Style & Colour titles to match. Lived-in colour and shape-driven cutting in a tightly edited Kingsland space.

Running since 2007 out of the Ironbank building and a long-time Urban List readers' pick. Trend-led cuts and colour from a crew who clearly keep one eye on what's happening overseas.

Senior stylist Abbey has picked up Denizen's Top Blonde Colourist title and kept it for years running — this is the East Auckland salon serious about balayage, foiling and getting blondes exactly right.