There aren’t too many hair follicles in Te Puke that Wayne Reid hasn’t seen. Apart from a short break away from barbering, Reid has been cutting hair in Te Puke since he was 17.

But he will trim his last head of hair on Christmas Eve as he finally hangs up his clippers, comb and scissors.

It was February 3, 1971, when Reid walked out of John Sheahan’s Jellicoe St barbers with an apprenticeship. Keeping Te Puke’s men stylish wasn’t Reid’s first choice of career.

“I wanted to be a builder to start off with, but in those days there were no apprenticeships in the area,” he said.

His mum told him about the one on offer at the barber’s. “Mum said: ‘Do you want to go for an interview?’ and I said: ‘Might as well’.”

He’s largely never put down the clipper since. Reid said there were lots of challenges, and lots of different skills and techniques to learn t back then.

Long hair

“It was the days of long hair and gentlemen, older men, had short back and sides in those days.

“There were different styles – from flat top, short back and sides to long hair trims. It was mainly men. We did a few ladies as well, but not many.”

Tuesdays and Fridays were the busiest days. Tuesday was the day the saleyards at the bottom of No 1 Rd were in full cry, bringing farmers to Te Puke from far and wide. Friday was payday.

“And we worked ‘til half past eight, or nine o’clock at night.”

A couple of years after Reid started his apprenticeship, the shop was sold and bought by someone not sufficiently qualified to train him, so he cancelled his apprenticeship. “I knew what I needed to do to continue to upskill.”

Cigarettes, Golden Kiwis

In 1975, Reid bought the shop and named it Wayne Reid Hairdressers and Tobacconist.

It was the days of selling cigarettes, tobacco and Golden Kiwi tickets.

“It was quite a male domain – old school, and you could smoke. Pipes and cigarettes – it was very different.”

He owned the shop for 18 years, but, deciding he needed a break, sold it, worked for the new owner for a while, then moved to Mount Maunganui and worked for Intalok.

“I also became a solo dad and looked after my children [Belinda and Adrian]. Then I met my wife Lynette and got back into hairdressing again.

“I did a bit of kiwifruit work – which wasn’t inspiring me – so we had a talk and went into business.”

He and Lynette started Clippers in the shop that is now He’s and She’s Cuts on Commerce Lane.

They sold it after five or six years and that owner sold it to current owner Diane Hopkins, whom Reid works for.

The people

“It’s a passion and the people are the key – helping people meet their needs as much as you can,” he said.

Often, quick thinking is required.

“We get strange requests all the time. I try and treat each haircut as a challenge. If somebody tries to explain it to you, you try and see in your mind what it’s going to look like, that’s the way I work – it gets results and people are happy.”

As the shop faces the Commerce Lane carpark that is used by freedom campers, there had been plenty of transient people through the doors.

“I find it interesting to talk to these people. I’ve worked here for so long I’ve got to know all the different nationalities that come in. They all have their own little stories and everyone is different – they are all human beings and they all have stories to tell you and they all have different ideas for their haircuts

“I could write a book – confessions of a hairdresser,” laughed Reid.

Shave for a Cure

He and Lynette have hosted 17 international students over the years and that led to him at times volunteering to be the clipper man at student Shave for a Cure events at Te Puke High School.

“One girl in particular, put her hair into four plaits and I did a number three on it,” he said.

In the days of the Kiwifruit Festival‘s beard-growing competitions, Reid would be the one shaving off the beards at the end.

He said there had been many regulars over the years and now the third or fourth generation of some families were coming to him to have their hair cut.

But there isn’t always the time to dwell on the memorable ones.

“You might get one special one sometimes, but it only stands out for a short time, then it’s back into the next one.”

Now 72, Reid said he felt it was the right time for him to finish.

Reid’s daughter, Belinda, said she never thought she’d see the day her dad fully retired from cutting hair.

“I’m an ’83 baby and I remember being with him in the salon when he had that and I would try and sweep up the hair and make more of a mess, and him opening up Clippers which is where He’s and She’s is now.

Helped many

“He’s helped a lot of people over the years,” Belinda said. “For me and my brother, it’s been part of our core memories, helping dad clean the shop or being at the shop – it’s just something that’s been part of our lives forever.”

Reid already works as a volunteer tending to the gardens of the Orchard Church and said he may spend more time there in retirement.

“I intend to enjoy life.”