Mohawks, pompadours, seagulls, beehives — after half a century of cutting hair, Kathleen MacDonald has done them all.
But no more. The Mosgiel hairdresser recently retired and sold her business.
Looking back on her 51-year career, she admits she has found herself in a couple of hairy situations.
What was meant to be dark blonde ended up as Karitane yellow for one well-known Taieri local.
"She wanted a particular colour but I didn’t know she had used a metal base colour prior.
Having owned Headway Design for 28 of her 51 years in the industry, Mrs MacDonald said she had learned to expect the unexpected.
While she was proud to have kept the number of hair disasters to a minimum, she believed it was a crucial step of her journey.
"We’ve all had a hair disaster— you’re not a hairdresser unless you’ve had one."
Her journey began in 1972, as an apprentice at a salon in the radio charter building.
When she was little, she watched her mother get her hair done and knew that was what she wanted to do.
Mrs MacDonald said while hairstyles were a sign of the times, some things never went out of fashion.
"You watch the rugby players today and have the kids coming in wanting a mullet just like them," she said.
"They’re slightly different today, but it’s still a mullet. If they’re cut smartly they look quite cool."
Once she has finished training her successors, Mrs MacDonald is looking forward to trading her scissors for a paintbrush in retirement.
She considers hairdressing its own art form, transforming people into who they were meant to be.
She said it was the people she would miss the most, and knew her regular Mosgiel clientele would be sad to see her leave.
"A lot of my customers have been with me for probably 40-plus years.
"That’s what our job does. People like to stick with you."
tim.scott@odt.co.nz , PIJF cadet reporter
