40 years Christiaan

This week (31-05 to 05-06), customers at Christiaan will receive a free goodie bag to take home. Of course, they’re not doing this for no reason…

Christiaan is celebrating its 40th ANNIVERSARY this week! 40 wonderful years in the business, and Janine and Adri are still going strong!

It all began when Adri started working at Christiaan in Amsterdam in 1974, during a time of innovation, rebellion, and going against the established order. Not just in politics, culture, music, and fashion—everything had to and did change. At that time, we were one of only three salons in the Netherlands where cutting and blow-drying were the main focus. With our own cutting style, we served fashion-loving Netherlands, and also did a lot of work for magazines and fashion events.

HaarKunst Rotterdam

Adri brought this foundation to Rotterdam in 1981. "Together with Amie and Pieter, we chose the Nieuwe Binnenweg, a street on the rise," Adri explains. "We focused here on fashion in Rotterdam and were the first salon here without perms and hood dryers. Our philosophy was not to wash the hair, hardly any styling, but still to make something special out of it." Adri says that this is how Christiaan became known as “HaarKunst Rotterdam” at the time. "In 1983, we also joined Spectrum, a group of hairdressers who are extremely fascinated by high-level hair coloring. This aspect of the profession is still very important to us."

In 1992, Janine said goodbye to her own successful salon in Friesland and also moved to Rotterdam. "In addition to her craftsmanship, knowledge, experience, and make-up skills, she especially brought a feminine touch and a sense of fun," says Adri. "That year, we also started working with the Aveda brand." This made Christiaan the first concept salon on the European mainland.

"Even the hair is composted and ends up back on the land"

A new path

In 2008, Christiaan embarked on a new path. The brand [ comfort zone ] was added to the range, and they started offering total care, such as pedicures, manicures, skin improvement, massages, and so on. A complete city spa. And so the name changed from Christiaan Kappers to Christiaan Lifestyle Salon & Spa.

"With great enthusiasm, we still attend trainings, courses, and webinars at home and abroad, allowing us to keep developing in every area." Adri says that the vision has also changed, and Christiaan has become more sustainable in its thinking and operations. This is reflected in the products they use and sell, such as Aveda, Zenz, Authentic Beauty Concept, and The Green Scissors, which ensure that used color tubes, foils, plastic packaging, and bottles are recycled. Even the hair is composted and ends up back on the land.

“Becoming never ends”

To all employees and customers: thank you!

The past 40 years have been wonderful, and we have truly enjoyed them. But rest assured, the end is not in sight, and we will tirelessly continue to offer relaxation and artistry to our customers. Of course, none of this would have been possible without our employees, who have worked with us over the years. And not without the customers, some of whom have been coming here for 40 years. We would like to thank them all sincerely!

Janine and Adri,