How Love Hair Was Built

How a girl from London built two of Asia’s most-trusted salons and turned Love Hair into the cult favourite everyone wants to keep secret, even though they can’t stop talking about it!

The first time Toni opened her doors to clients in Singapore, they weren’t walking into the beautiful salon they know and love today. They were walking into her home. A single chair in the spare room. Just Toni, no other stylists, nor assistants. And still, appointments filled up faster than she could open her calendar.

"Remember when I used to come to your house?" they still say, 5 years later, sitting in the elegant, light-filled space that is now the new Love Hair Singapore. From humble beginnings to fully booked schedules, it might seem like overnight success. But that would erase the years of grit, graft and gut instinct that came before it.

Letting life lead, from London to Hong Kong

Toni never planned to open a salon. Not in Hong Kong, and certainly not in Singapore as that wasn't even a dream on the horizon yet. When she left her career in London to move to Hong Kong, it was meant to be for one or two years (the oh so common expat story!) It was a time to explore, travel and enjoy life for a bit.

A backpacking trip when Toni was 21 took her through Southeast Asia for six months, including a ten-day visit to Hong Kong to stay with a friend. She instantly fell in love with the city. From that moment, she knew she wanted to live and work abroad.

It took another five years to make it back. After returning to the UK, she began working at one of the prestigious Charles Worthington salons. But the yearning to move to Hong Kong never left her. “I knew that if I didn’t go now, then I’d never go.” So she moved back in with her mum, saved every penny, and set off travelling through South America for six months, eventually landing in Hong Kong to begin building her new life.

Initially, Toni just rented a chair at a Hong Kong salon. She had no team, no training and there was very little marketing for the salon. It was just her skills, a pair of scissors and the challenge of building a client base from scratch. And she did. Fast. She was out and about all the time, socialising, playing sport and ‘networking’ in the most fun ways to build her own client list.

Hong Kong was supposed to be temporary. But it started to feel like home. The longer she stayed, the more she realised she was craving something she couldn’t find: a space to grow professionally. She dreamed of a salon that matched her values and ambitions. One that put education and client care first. But it didn’t exist in Hong Kong.

So she decided to build it. No

Creating Love Hair Hong Kong

Toni used the savings she and her then-boyfriend,  now-husband, had been putting aside for a future house deposit. With his full support, she channelled it into a different kind of home. Love Hair Hong Kong opened in 2016. The doors opened with five stylists and a simple but radical mission: to do things better.

Toni worked seven days a week. With no receptionist in those early days, she made sure the salon doors were open exactly when advertised. Back then, they accepted walk-ins, so she stayed on the floor as much as possible to make the most of every opportunity that came through the door.

She wanted a more environmentally conscious way of running a salon, more transparency and a real commitment to education. Not just for herself, but for every stylist on the floor. Over time, the salon expanded to take up three floors, adding an education programme that could take someone from beginner to senior stylist. 

What helped to make Love Hair Hong Kong so famous? Balayage. Once rare in Hong Kong, this became a key speciality. With Toni’s advanced training and commitment to learning new techniques she was able to build a client base who were seeking these kinds of modern colour methods and styling with intention.

Another powerful driver of success was the community Toni was building. Her clients became ambassadors. Her team became a family. There was no rush to grow for growth’s sake. It was a steady evolution, fuelled by integrity.

Allergic to hair dye

Toni started to experience health issues well before Love Hair began. In fact, they were one of the reasons she created the salon.

When she left the UK, she had no known allergies. But after moving to Hong Kong, she began experiencing strange symptoms. Brain fog. Fatigue. Trouble regulating her body temperature. She spent 18 months seeing doctors, running tests and gradually removing toxins from her personal life, from her food, her home, her products, but nothing seemed to work.

Eventually, she found a naturopath who specialised in Traditional Chinese Medicine and nutrition. He found high levels of mercury and lead which were clear signs of toxicity. Her body, and more specifically her liver, was overloaded. She had done everything she could to cleanse her lifestyle. But the real issue, it turned out, was her work.

“I’d been colouring my own hair and reacting to it. I just didn’t realise that was the trigger,” Toni says. “Once I knew, I couldn’t un-know.”

It was a turning point. Should she stay in Hong Kong and open her own salon, where she could finally have control over her environment? Or return to the UK, where those symptoms had never been an issue before? 

“I didn't want to give up my whole career. It’s all I’d ever known. So I had to find a way to make it work,” Toni remembers.

And make it work she did.

That's when her and her partner put their savings together and made the leap.

Research became her obsession. Every product used in the salon was scrutinised, the source, the company’s ethics, the ingredients, how it interacted with other formulas. She quickly learnt which brands aligned with her values, and which ones had to go.

What started as a personal health journey soon became a mission to protect everyone around her. Hair stylists spend hours on their feet in enclosed spaces, often breathing in harsh chemicals. For Toni, creating a safer, more conscious environment went beyond a preference. It became non-negotiable.

Still today, Toni personally researches every product used and sold in the salons. All are carefully selected for their reduced chemical content, and there is a strong focus on minimising the environmental impact of salon life. Reducing waste and operating more responsibly is not just a nice-to-have. It is a core brand value. You can read more about that here.

All because of the way Toni is 

Love Hair isn’t a cookie-cutter chain or a high-turnover business model. It’s a reflection of Toni’s values. 

• Simplicity
• Skill
• Sustainability
• Education
• Connection

It’s why skin tests are non-negotiable. 

Why training for all stylists is a continuous process. 

Why they don’t offer nails or beauty services. Only hair. Done exceptionally well.

"Clients come back because they align with what we stand for," Toni says. "They support the way we do things and the vision we have."

Those values run deep. From eco-conscious product choices to structured training programmes, Toni has built a business that looks after its people and the planet. She brings in international educators. Sends her team overseas. Or teaches them herself.

The next chapter, building on success 

As with lots of expat lives, they move on to pasteurs new. Toni and her family chose to relocate to Singapore. But this time around upon arriving in a new country, Toni wasn’t starting from scratch. She had five years of experience running a business under her belt, a clear vision and a quiet confidence that came from having to do things the hard way and seeing them work.

Still, opening a second salon in the middle of a pandemic? Not exactly ideal timing!

She couldn’t fly back to Hong Kong. The borders were closed. With a baby on the way and a toddler in tow, she set up a chair in her house and began taking appointments. From March to September 2020, it was just Toni, her clients and a whole lot of determination. Lockdowns came and went. But by June, once restrictions eased, she was fully booked.

"It was never meant to be a home salon, I always envisaged it being more," she says now. "But that’s where it started."

Finding the right space and the right people

Toni didn’t want to open just any space. She wanted to honour Singapore's heritage and create a character-filled space, not a sterile office unit or mall space. She spent months peering through shophouse windows, unable to visit places in person due to Covid restrictions. She eventually found what she was looking for in Tanjong Pagar, a central spot with soul.

The next challenge was finding the right people for the Singapore salon. Much like in Hong Kong, Toni quickly realised that the level of training in Singapore wasn’t comparable to what she knew from the UK. Stylists could cut and colour hair with significantly less formal education. Her mission wasn’t just to hire the most technically skilled, it was to find people with the right attitude, curiosity and drive. Some had strong foundations, others simply had the spark but she knew she could teach them. Her training programme was already thriving in Hong Kong, and she believed in its ability to shape raw potential into real expertise.

The human side of leadership

Running a salon is more than cutting and highlights. It’s work passes and HR, product purchasing, scheduling, marketing and endless admin. It’s being the boss, the mentor, the problem solver and the person who cares even when she’s exhausted.

"Managing people has been the hardest part to learn," she admits. "And I’m still learning."

Toni never wanted a business partner to shoulder the responsibility or split the cost for investment. “When you partner with someone they bring their ideas and beliefs and I had such a clear vision that I didn’t want to dilute any of that.” she says. Her husband, though not from the hair world, has always been there as a sounding board. He’s not a creative so his advice is often rooted in solid business strategy which helps Toni have a balanced view on situations. 

And her team? Many have stayed for years. Some started from scratch under her wing. That says everything.

Motherhood, burnout and boundaries

Somewhere in all this, Toni had three children in six years. For a long time, there were no proper days off. She did admin on holidays. Took work calls in the supermarket. Updated the marketing team with voice notes whilst driving the kids to appointments. 

It took years to put boundaries in place. Now, she works three days in the salon, takes one day for admin per salon and has weekends more or less to herself (well, there’s always something to catch up on, so mostly the weekends are off!) Her newest boundary that she put in place this year, a separate work phone, so she can switch off if needed.

"I still love doing hair," she says. "It’s the part I never want to give up. But I also want to be present for my kids. That balance has taken a long time to find."

The Singapore salon, reimagined 2025

What began as a single chair in her home in 2020, then moved into a charming little shophouse in 2021, has now grown again. The new salon is in the same area, in a stunning heritage shophouse with ground floor access. The new Love Hair Singapore is more spacious, filled with natural light and rich in character. It perfectly reflects Toni’s unwavering commitment to creating salons that feel just as good as they look.

The interiors came together with the help of Janelle from The Willow Project, a long-time client from Hong Kong who’s been part of the journey from the beginning. The build was led by the same contractor Toni first worked with when she arrived in Singapore five years ago. There’s trust built into the walls, literally.

With almost double the number of chairs, the new space has allowed her to expand the team, welcome more clients and offer more flexibility with appointments. The training programme is thriving and the demand continues to grow.

But Toni isn’t one to rest on her laurels. She’s always exploring new ideas, finding better ways to evolve, and seeking out fresh audiences, ensuring more people can experience the warmth, care and craft that define Love Hair.

What Comes Next

Toni isn’t looking to franchise. She doesn’t want 20 locations or a global empire. She wants one brilliant salon in each city. A place where people feel cared for. A place where stylists stay and grow. A place where hair is taken seriously, but people are taken to heart.

In 2026, Love Hair Hong Kong turns 10.

It started with one chair. But the dream was always so much more!