Kess Hair & Beauty

Kess Hair & Beauty: online sale of professional hair and beauty products in New Zealand

Kess Hair & Beauty is an online retailer of hair and beauty products based in New Zealand. The company presents itself as the country's number one retailer in its category and claims to have more than 100,000 satisfied customers, over twenty years in business and a network of 26 salons distributed throughout New Zealand. Its catalogue consists of professional-quality products, with fast and free shipping on orders over 85 New Zealand dollars.

Catalogue of hair and personal care products

The online store organises its offering into several main categories. In the hair care section you will find shampoos, conditioners, treatments, styling products and accessories. Shampoos are classified according to hair needs: anti-dandruff, for blonde hair, clarifying, colour, for coloured hair, curly or wavy, damaged, dry, fine or straight, frizzy, hair loss, thermal protection, oily, sensitive scalp, split ends and breakage, fine hair and thick hair. Conditioners follow a similar classification, including leave-in versions.

The treatments section covers anti-dandruff products, bond repair, detanglers, growth and thickening, hair masks, oils and serums, leave-in treatments, scalp treatments and exfoliants, and products for split ends. Styling items are also offered, such as gels, hairsprays, heat protectants, setting products, foams, pomades, sea salt sprays, serums, shine oils, texturisers, waxes, volumising products and dry shampoos.

The catalogue also includes a skin care category with facial exfoliants, cleansers, body mists, deodorants, hand creams, lip balms and perfumes. For men there is a specific section with shampoos, conditioners, hair and scalp treatments, beard products, shaving accessories, clippers, trimmers, razors and brushes. Oral care products such as toothpastes, toothbrushes, mouthwashes and gift sets are also sold.

Brands represented

Kess Hair & Beauty distributes a wide range of professional and consumer brands. Among the hair and beauty brands in its catalogue are Wella, Schwarzkopf, ghd, Color Wow, Joico, K18, Olaplex, Redken, Moroccanoil, Kevin Murphy, American Crew, Reuzel, Layrite, Goldwell, Sebastian, Matrix, Paul Mitchell, Nioxin, Pureology, De Lorenzo, Davroe, Evo, Eleven Australia, Fanola, Milk Shake, The Body Shop, Slick Gorilla, Organica, Skala, The Bluebeards Revenge, Taylor of Old Bond Street, Marvis, among others. The store organises brands alphabetically and has a featured brands section.

Salon network and physical presence

In addition to its online store, the company has 26 salons distributed throughout New Zealand. The salons are grouped by area: Auckland (Albany, Botany, Glenfield, Manawa Bay Airport, Manukau, Milford, Onehunga, Ormiston, Pakuranga, St Lukes, Sylvia Park, Royal Oak, West City), Hamilton (Chartwell, Centre Place), Lower North Island (New Plymouth, Palmerston North), Wellington (Lower Hutt, Porirua) and Christchurch (Hornby, Christchurch CBD, Northlands, Shirley). There are also Express format salons in Mangere, Otahuhu, Peachgrove (Hamilton) and Manurewa. The company offers a salon finder on its website.

Shipping, payments and customer service

The store offers free standard shipping on orders over 85 New Zealand dollars and same-day dispatch for orders placed before 2 pm. It accepts payment with Afterpay and Zip, which allow you to buy now and pay later. Customer service is available via chat. For new customers, the site indicated a 10% discount code on the first order.

Loyalty programme and vouchers

Kess Hair & Beauty has a customer rewards programme and sells vouchers redeemable in its salons. The store also groups its products into gift packs, value packs, travel sizes, duos and trios, with price options ranging from under 29 to under 199 New Zealand dollars.