12 Top Hairdressers in Cape Town

Uncovering the Mother City hair salons and barbershops that are a cut above the rest

Below is our list of top hairdressers in Cape Town

Last Updated: 6 October 2020

It’s no secret that the state of your locks can affect your whole look, not to mention your self-esteem. And since what works wonders for some may be near disastrous for others, it’s vital that when you decide on a hairdresser to tend to your precious tresses, you pick one that suits your tastes and needs. Fortunately, Cape Town isn’t short on top-drawer places to glam up your ‘do.

What follows below is a selection of some of the top hair salons in Cape Town. With this guide, which includes everything from kid-friendly studios and upscale hair havens to weave and wig specialists and old-school barber shops for men, the perfect trim, colour, cut or style is but a click and a snip away.

BEST HAIR SALON & HAIRDRESSER IN CAPE TOWN

Shaids Hair And Beauty

Shaidshair.co.za is a leading beauty salon in the Western Cape & South Africa’s choice when wanting to buy beauty accessories, tools, equipment, and accessories online. Shop a variety of brands and use one of our safe payment methods like credit, debit card, Pay & then Collect and EFT. Shopping carts over R500 qualify for 15% off their next online purchase. Opt-in for delivery at an additional charge of R100, depending on your location. Plus try our Pay and Collect option for optimum convenience.

They say that women and cosmetics go together like love and marriage. So do Shaids Hair Beauty and you. Welcome to your one-stop-shop for all things personal care. We are here to help you get out into the world with a look that will have you feeling confident from morning till night. From hair equipment to hair tools, nails, beauty, hygiene products, and furniture. We’ve got products for your everyday look, night out, special occasion, and even students that are studying hair, cosmetology & beauty.

Click here to book your appointment at Shaids hair & beauty for more beauty and more choice.

Opening Hours: Monday – Friday: 9am – 6pm; Saturday: 9am – 3pm
79 Belgravia Road | Athlone | Cape Town | +27 (74) 7651746

Excentric Hair Salon
The brainchild of award-winning hairstylist Florin (Flo) Neacsu, this Sea Point salon opened its doors in 2014 to cater to those who dare to be different. That said, the cool, contemporary house of beauty isn’t about out-there, off-the-wall looks (although this can also be done); rather, it’s more focussed on creating transformations for those in search of a change. Flo prides himself on matching a person’s hairstyle with every aspect of their lifestyle (career, eye colour, personality, budget, workout routine etc). Along with their extensive brochure of hair treatments, Excentric also offer manicures and pedicures. Not to mention, the surprisingly spacious venue also has Wi-Fi and clients are served complimentary tea, coffee, wine and champagne. Click here to book your Excentric appointment.

Opening Hours: Monday – Friday: 9am – 6pm; Saturday: 9am – 4pm
85A Regent Road | Sea Point | Cape Town | +27 (0) 21 434 1413

Scar
Easily the trendiest hair salon in Cape Town, Scar, which rests in a double-storey Cape Dutch-style house on Kloof Street, is where the hip, the alternative and even the outrageous go to refresh and reinvent their look. While all 16 of the parlour’s talented stylists are skilled in offering a wide assortment of hair-related services – from cutting and colouring to extensions, masks and Global Keratin treatments – they tend to specialise in the avant-garde, the experimental and what can only be termed ‘hair couture’. The edgy salon also does styling for weddings, editorial and commercial shoots, and, always being ahead of the game, has developed its own product range, aptly titled Scar Dark, which is sulphate, paraben and fragrance free and infused with argan oil (read wonderfully good for your precious locks). As a bonus, the hair haven also offers tea and coffee gratis to all customers, gives free consultations to walk-ins and does complimentary fringe trims for clients, no appointment necessary.

Opening Hours: Monday – Tuesday: 9am – 5pm; Wednesday – Friday: 9am – 6pm; Saturday: 9am – 4pm
22 Kloof Street | Gardens | Cape Town | +27 (0) 21 422 5900

Yemaya Spa & Hair Addicts
Resting in Sea Point’s new, swish The Point shopping centre, Yemaya Spa & Hair is a combined beauty and hair salon that offers many of the standard options – gents’ and ladies’ haircuts, highlights, tints, perms, up-styles, colouring, relaxers and extensions – as well as a few more unusual ones, like the revitalising La-Brasiliana blow-dry and the Yuko Hair Straightening System (a Japanese treatment that permanently straightens locks). What’s more, alongside a commitment to accommodating even those with unpredictable, busy schedules, the urban sanctuary prides itself on stocking a vast array of premium products from internationally renowned brands, like Kerastase, L’Oréal and Paul Mitchell.

Jabula Salon
An ideal one-stop shop for the stylish African woman, this slick salon specialises in selling, fitting and styling clip-in hair extensions, lace front wigs, weaves and braids. While the brand does stock synthetic products, the Jabula umbrella – there’s a salon in Bellville and an emporium comprising four stores in the Cape Town CBD – prides itself on using predominantly high-quality human hair, sourced from the best suppliers in Brazil, India, China and Europe. Customers can select their desired hair piece in store and have it applied there and then by one of the international team’s skilled, professional stylists. To maintain their new glammed-up look, clients then also have the option of purchasing a range of top-notch branded products – relaxers, shampoos, gels and more – right off the adjoining shops’ shelves.

Institute Aesthetic
Based out in Somerset West, Institute Aesthetic, a top-drawer hair and beauty studio that boasts a minimalist, all-white interior, is a leader in creating eye-catching ‘dos that reflect global trends. To stay on top of cutting-edge practices, Head Stylist Dawid Kriel and the team of hair miracle-makers travel widely overseas, bringing back the best in cutting, colouring and styling techniques. As the parlour, which claims a separate Calm Zone, Colour Bar (where shades are chosen) and Colour Zone (where application takes place), is the first Redken Loft Salon in the Western Cape, it uses and sells only top-quality products from this renowned brand’s range. In fact, one of their key services is the Redken Chemistry System Treatment, a revitalising hair therapy that comes with a complimentary relaxing massage. Those who are keen to freshen up more than just their locks can also opt for a skin or nail treatment; as an establishment that focuses on improving aesthetics all round, this studio does it all.

Institute Aesthetic
Opening Hours: Tuesday – Thursday: 8am – 5pm; Saturday: 8am – 1pm
15 Stellendal Road | Somerset West | +27 (0) 21 851 4789

Absolut Hair
Officially inaugurated in 2009 by our Western Cape Premier, Helen Zille, this luxurious salon in Cape Town’s Southern Suburbs is set on offering world-class service in a world-class setting. While Absolut Hair, which is owned by acclaimed and highly experienced Master Stylist Steven Phillips, does standard cutting, styling and colouring, what sets it apart from many other salons is the unique six-step consultation it offers to all new clients. This complimentary advisory service takes skin tone, face shape, hair condition and length into consideration to suggest appropriate treatments and products (they stock Sebastian Professional and exclusive Wella ranges). Another distinctive feature is the washing area, which is sealed off from the rest of the salon, and much like its own little meditation room, comes complete with calming music and a massaging chair. Even the basin operators are trained in shiatsu massage and are adept at working on those tight pressure points.

Kids Hair Studio
If your little one’s lustrous locks are in need of a trim, this three-part family-friendly hair salon (there’s a section for newborns to 8-year-olds, one for those aged 8 to 16 and one for adults) is the perfect choice. Set on injecting fun into the experience, the brightly coloured parlour strives to give every child, even the screaming, kicking ones, the perfect haircut, blow-dry, treatment or up-style while still keeping him or her entertained. Kids can select a Noddy car, train, tractor or motorbike to sit on while having their tresses attended to, and the salon is also filled with toys and boasts TVs showing Disney movies. What’s more, the stylists, who all have children of their own, are very capable of handling young’uns’ hair, and have the energy and patience to deal with them. If moms and pops want to tame their manes at the same time, there’s also a grown-ups facility that offers the full range of hair services. And if a salon that caters to the whole family isn’t fabulous enough, it also prides itself on being an entirely eco-friendly, chemical-free studio, with all products, from shampoos to relaxers, being as gentle on the environment as they are on wee ones’ hair.

Opening Hours: Monday – Friday: 8:30am – 5:30pm; Saturday: 8:30am – 3pm
42 Southfield Road | Plumstead | Cape Town | +27 (0) 21 761 1557

Barnet Fair
Described as the sort of place the Ocean’s Eleven team might be expected to meet, Barnet Fair is where distinguished, on-trend men go for grooming. Though the original salon is based in a Bree Street church basement, the traditional yet modern barber shop now also boasts an outlet in Shortmarket Street which, though a little bigger and hipper, offers the same old-school services: hot towel shaves, straight razor shaves, beard trims, buzz cuts and both classic and contemporary haircuts. Both male-only salons stock first-class imported products that are tailor-made for men, like the Bluebeards Revenge shaving range that reduces and softens beard regrowth. And as another highlight, no appointment is necessary at either establishment; as Barnet Fair works on a first-come-first-serve basis, customers are welcome to simply pop by whenever necessary. The wait is generally not long, and even if it is, these barber shops are the type of spaces any man might want to chill in (the Bree Street spot offers coffee and tea, and the Woodstock site claims a multi-functional exhibition-cum-hang out area at the back).

Opening Hours: Bree Steet: Monday 8am – 6pm, Tuesday – Thursday 8am – 7pm, Friday 8am – 6pm, Saturday 9am – 3pm.

FRINGE Retro Salon & Barber Shop
Now moved to Sun Valley Mall in Noordhoek, this charming destination salon doesn’t simply spoil customers with quality hair trims and treatments, it treats them to a full-scale experience. The retro themed interior takes you into a time warp of escapism and is complete with movies and music from the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. Expect the unexpected with services like hot towel shaves, natural hair colouring, head massages and access to their range of organic products. As dynamic as she is creative, owner, Chantelle Thackwray states, “I opened this salon with a vision of a place that encourages individual style and creativity.” This salon is proudly eco-friendly and socially responsible. Pop in for some locally roasted coffee, a head massage and a haircut. The team at FRINGE offers you a unique salon experience that is all about authentic hairdressing. Plus, customers can take comfort in the fact that by giving your mop a makeover, they’re contributing positively too – the business donates a portion of all profits to worthy social initiatives. Visit their website www.FRINGEhair.co.za.

FRINGE Retro Salon & Barber Shop
Opening Hours: Monday – Saturday: 8.30am – 5.30pm
Sun Valley Mall | Noordhoek | Cape Town | +27 (0)21 785 2809 or +27 (0)82 372 8090

Style Bar
The affordable unisex parlours offer everything from cuts, blow-drys and up-styles to highlights, foils, perms and tints; cater to kiddies below the age of six; and even give pensioners (over 65 years of age) a significantly discounted price on cuts and blow-drys on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Elders aren’t the only ones who save though; Tosca also runs weekly giveaway competitions and clients can win great deals, top-notch products, free treatments, ghds and more. Worker bees and those with a tight schedule needn’t worry if they can’t make it to the salons on weekdays – they’re all open on Sundays, and the Brackenfell and Durbanville branches take clients until as late as 7pm most days of the week. They have recently added four more salons, check them out at Stylebar.co.za.

Style Bar

Opening Hours: Claremont: Monday – Friday: 9am – 6pm, Saturday: 9am – 5pm, Sunday: 9am – 1pm; Durbanville: Monday – Friday: 9am – 7pm, Saturday: 9am – 5pm, Sunday: 9am – 3pm; Brackenfell: Monday – Saturday: 9am – 7pm, Sunday: 9am – 5pm
Palmyra Junction | Palmyra Road | Claremont | Cape Town | +27 (0) 21 671 18300
De Ville Centre | c/o Wellington and Main streets | Durbanville | +27 (0) 21 975 8440
CapeGate Shopping Centre | Brackenfell | Cape Town | +27 (0) 21 981 5040

Boy Girl Hair
Run by off-the-wall owner Gunther Theiss (a man who oozes passion for his trade), Boy Girl Hair Salon in Bo Kaap treats customers to a truly tailor-made experience. Every visitor to the unisex salon is seen as a unique individual, paid personal attention and given a whole heap of time (expect to be there for several hours) out of the quirky hairdresser’s day. Not to mention, as both Gunther and his co-stylist see hair as an art medium waiting to be turned into a masterpiece, clients are bound to leave both looking and feeling incredible (perhaps just one reason why the parlour regularly gets visits from several famed local musicians and bands). The salon works on a by-appointment basis (hence, it doesn’t cater to walk-ins) and the staff is willing to cater to very busy clients after hours.

Boy Girl Hair
Opening Hours: open by appointment and he’s available Sundays too; phone ahead to make an appointment.
5 Jordaan Street | Bo Kaap | Cape Town | +27 (0) 81 472 4641

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2019/2020/2021 Best Hairdressers and Hair Salons in Cape Town

12 Top Hairdressers in Cape Town

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