The Colour Club

Cathrine Gail De Jager practically grew up in a hair salon in South Africa as her mother was a hairdresser.

“In fact I was there right from the start – when my mother was pregnant with me!” she says. No surprise then, that hair styling came easy to Cathrine – “it felt natural, I held a blow wave brush before I could hold a spoon,” she says.

But despite this, and the fact that she qualified as a beautician with distinction in hair dressing, she did not take up the profession until she had a revelation while helping out in her mother’s salon.

“I was working at Estee Lauder at the time, and just helping mum out – but that day, it all clicked,” she says.

She went on to work in salons, before taking almost a decade out to be a fulltime mum to her three children.

When times were tough and she was a solo parent working three jobs to make ends meet, a friend suggested she rent a chair at a salon.

Her skills were in hot demand, and she had found a way to put food on the table for her family.

“I tried other jobs, but always came back to hairdressing,” Cathrine said. “Being a hairdresser fills my cup, I don’t see it as a job but a passion.

After moving to NZ four years ago, Cathrine “found her tribe” renting a chair at Ōrewa’s Hair Studio. But she has always wanted her own place, and on July 1, she opened The Colour Club in Ōrewa. She was joined by hair stylist Amber Purvis, and they operate as a rent a chair salon.

She describes her salon as “a safe haven, filled with heart and soul”.

“You can drop in and help yourself to coffee – everyone is welcome to use the space for time out,” she says.

Business Directory: The Colour Club