May 18, 2023

Cut Above Academy graduate, Kayla Olsen,
has joined forces with her mum to open a new barber shop in Snells Beach.
The mother-daughter duo is combining their
industry ready skills and experience to run Flames Barbers – located under
Storage & More on Hamatana Road.
Deborah Bellis says it’s “no wonder” her
daughter decided to follow in her footsteps after watching her cut hair all her
life.
Kayla studied at Cut Above Academy in
Auckland for nine months before jetting off to Lancaster in the United Kingdom
to train with the same barber who taught her mum.
Kayla told local newspaper, Mahurangi Matters,
that a barber haircut is quite different from that of a hairdresser.
“Barbers are trained to get the sharp edges
that men like and know how to work specifically with short hair. Clippers and
razors are our tools of trade,” shared Kayla.
She says one of the best parts of the job is
observing how significantly a 15 to 20 minute barber cut can uplift the
confidence of her clients.