Synergy Hair Salon is the best place to get your hair done in Manukau. They're such nice people and…read morethey always do a great job on my hair. They make you feel welcome when you walk in and they always have small talk ready to go. You get the cut you want and they're the ones who do the cutting.

After some dreadful experiences with cheaper salons, I decided it was time to put a bit of money…read moreinto obtaining a hairstyle I actually want. Synergy is a reasonably new shop in the Manukau mall, and right across from Kess Hairdressers, so there's some competition there. It's not a huge competition though, as Synergy charges more or less the same price, but include an espresso coffee in the deal. They make lovely small talk, cut your hair specifically how you like, and make sure you're happy with it throughout the process. It was an absolute sense of joy when I wondered out of there with the hairstyle I'd been looking for, because about 3 other hairdressers just didn't get it right. Synergy knows what they are doing, and have plenty of smiles to offer you throughout your stay.

You'd be surprised how much skill is required of a barber who is asked for a razor fade…read more I've been getting razor fades for 20 years now. My very first razor fade was at Kim's Cuts, now called Cutting Crew on Lincoln Road in Henderson. There were numerous barbers there who were marvellously skilled in the dispatching of a weeks hair growth to keep our heads not coiffured...but crisply clipped and shaved using Wahl Clippers and Bic shavers. It's a clean and sterile haircut as all tools were kept clean using barbicide antiseptic and then Bay Rum cologne was slapped onto freshly shaven heads with momentary stinging sensations. The fade was smooth...cropped to perfection. These guys were artists and their patrons the canvas. On the advice of a trusted friend, I went to an upmarket salon. I was told I had a great shaped head for cutting, and my hair was perfect for detailing. So I decided to try it. The male hair dresser spoke to me about a whole lot of cutting theory. Honestly, this guy should have been an academic, his application of cutting principles left much to be desired. He cut my hair ignoring what I had asked for. I paid an exorbitant price and felt like I'd just been assaulted and robbed. I chalked that one up as being one of life's experiences. I went travelling and living overseas for three years. As you would imagine, the hair of a young virile male grows without surcease. Being away from the masterful barbers of West Auckland, I became paranoid about entrusting complete strangers with cutting my hair. In England, I went to two hair salons where they call a fade a "blend." What I got couldn't have been further from the truth. The blend was chunky and uneven and not as closely cropped as I had asked. In Mexico I asked for a razor fade and got a Mike Tyson straight razor haircut, resplendent with a semi vertical line across my fringe. I was okay with it, the barber couldn't speak English and I couldn't speak Spanish. My bad. Then in eastern Turkey, another barber gave me the same straight razor haircut! This time, my Turkish was even worse than my Spanish and so was the barbers English. I should have taken a picture of what I wanted. Again, my bad. After that I let my hair grow out. Back in London, I discovered a barber in Harlesden and later another in Acton. My prayers were answered! Not only was I getting a razor fade, but it was done with a straight razor, sharpened on a strop. In Nanjing, China, I got a shoulder massage and wash. Then I was sat in the cutting chair where I waited a couple of minutes. Without word of a lie, the male hair dresser slid in behind me from stage right...comb in left hand, cutting scissors in right hand. If there was an International Hair Cutting Idol, this was China's entrant. He couldn't speak English and I can't speak the local dialect, Nanjingese. The haircut I got was really good though. Once he had cut my hair for a paltry ten minutes, he slid out...stage right. Then I was moved back to the other chair where I got another wash and dry followed by another massage. This salon was in the lobby of our five star hotel yet cost about the same as my haircut in Mexico. #chineseefficiency I've been back in New Zealand for 10 years now. I've looked around and found a barber that I trust with my razor fade. He's been cutting my hair now since 2008 and I've followed him to Freedom Hair from his last workplace. The reason I have written of my international experiences in getting razor fades is to qualify my review. You might not get the drama and mystique of other salons either here or abroad but you get a bloody good haircut. I've paid a lot more and got a lot worse in the same "upmarket" place. Rakesh is the guy to ask for. He even does detailing like koru, spiderwebs etc. If you're after a razor fade or just a normal cut, you're in good hands with Rakesh. When he's not there I get Nia to cut my hair. That's about all I have to say about that.

Normally a fan of these guys/lady's due to always having the fijian guy cut my hair in a…read moreprofessional way but today it was done by someone else. Ask for the same hair cut but straight away i can see it being done totally different. Didn't realize how aweful my back was done until i used the mirror at home. Tomorrow getting it finish somewhere else..