This year’s collection focuses on the idea of individuality, as Creative Director Natalie Kasses explains. ”Playa is about a community where everyone can express themselves freely. The ethos of the community is acceptance, which in turn encourages complete freedom of self-expression. You are free to be who you are or whoever you want to be, without fear of judgement.”
Georgie is the Manager of our Jumeirah branch and she has been with Pastels for 13 years and manages and supports our team of 45 staff.
With over 23 years of experience in the industry, being a manager and an experienced stylist and the Senior Art Director for the salon, Georgie is driven by educating others and sharing her years of knowledge with her team and her clients.
Georgie’s aim is to always ensure every client has a wonderful experience in the salon and all of their needs are taken care of. She also aims to ensure that the staff are happy in their roles and continue to develop and grow.
Originally from Scotland, Rachel joined the Pastels’ team in 2015. Rachel completed courses with Wella and L’Oreal after completing a 2.5-year apprenticeship. After time spent on a six-star cruise ship, she relocated to Dubai. She loves travelling and making her clients feel good about her hair.
Armed with a L’Oreal Professionel Colour Specialist Degree, Ruben has an unrivalled knowledge of all aspects of colouring and how to use the industry’s latest techniques to achieve a colour that will be most flattering to your complexion. Aside from colour, Ruben is a hair extensions maestro, and can use them to truly transform your look. After completing his education in London, Ruben worked in elite salons in London, Ibiza and Marbella before relocating to Dubai. With his Mediterranean charm and relaxed manner, Ruben is a stylist who will put you firmly at ease while he works his magic to make you look and feel your absolute best!
Winner of South Africa’s Hair Stylist of the Year 2001, Natalie Anne worked as a salon manager for more than 20 years before relocating to Dubai. During this time, she completed a wide range of training courses, including sessions with Schwarzkopf for colour and cutting to ensure she kept up-to-date with the latest trends in the hair industry. Her expertise includes highlights, cuts, updos and creative colour.
Scottish stylist Danielle Stewart launched her hairdressing career in 2005, working in a high end trendy salon in Glasgow before relocating to Kuwait, where she honed her expertise in hair colouring. Passionate about the industry, Danielle loves working with talented stylists and is focused on education and enhancing her skill set, having regularly attended L’Oreal Middle East’s education and business seminars.
South African Tanya completed training with industry giants such as Wella, Schwarzkopf, Redken and Paul Mitchell to name but a few. Her great achievement was travelling to Malta as part of a Redken team and she also loves participating in shows such as Fashion Forward where she gets to work with the entire Pastels’ team. She views every day as a new challenge and gets immense satisfaction when a client leaves her chair happy!
Jean is one half of our office administration team. Every bit of paperwork and maintenance is organized by Jean and she is super dedicated to the smooth running of both branches.
Nereah is the organizational master of the Ritz Carlton Branch, she is super organised and has the most lovely smiling face when you enter the salon. She is Karl’s partner in running the salon day-to-day and they are the ultimate dream team.
Nereah has been part of our team for 5 years and she has a gift in making sure every client’s appointments are accommodated and booked in. She also coordinates all the schedules and makes sure everyone is where they are supposed to be.
Nereah is a boss lady and will get the job done! She is adored by the clients and her team alike.
Karl is the Assistant Manager of the Ritz Carlton Branch and has been part of our team for 7 years.
As well as being a super talented stylist, Karl is a client experience expert. He is very attentive to all our clients needs and is always making sure that they are having the best time in the salon.
With 18 years of experience in the industry, Karl is very efficient and wants to ensure the salon is running smoothly. He has everyone is on point so they can ensure their clients have the confidence to conquer their day.
Shiela is our Salon Coordinator and she is an organizational queen and she is Georgie’s right-hand in running our Jumeriah branch. She has been with us for 12 years and we can’t imagine the Salon without her.
Sheila organizes our salon from top to bottom, side to side, from clients to staff and everything in between. You name it and she will sort it.
Sheila is in her element at our reception area, she builds wonderful rapport with our clients and she is dedicated to caring for all their needs. She is brilliant as booking you for any service you may need and is very knowledgeable on all of the services we offer.
Sheila is loved by our clients and the team and she is known to get the job done and we couldn’t run the salon without her.
Emma’s role is to support and develop all areas of the business. From managing the Management Team, supporting and development of the staff, through to making sure our clients have the best total Pastels Salon experience. With 25 years experience in the industry, from an Artistic Director achieving the highest acclaimed Loreal Colour Specialist Degree through to an International Business Consultant traveling UK, Ireland, UAE & GCC.
Acclaimed as a L’Oréal Professionnel international ambassador and trainer, Natalie regularly hosts workshops, shows and seminars throughout the Middle East and beyond for hair industry professionals. Passionate about her craft, Natalie is only one of a clutch of stylists from the Middle East to hold the l’Oréal Professionnel Colour Specialist Course, the highest award in colour that a stylist can receive. As well as being the creative genius behind Pastels Salon’s in-house annual photoshoots, Natalie’s skills are in demand as a fashion show stylist – she has given her creative touch backstage at Dior and Dolce e Gabbana. She has been the Creative Stylist for Dyson in the Middle East since 2017.
Steven Chan is the Co-founder of the highly successful and award-winning Pastels Salon brand. After completing educational programmes in London and Paris, he worked in Barcelona, Hamburg and his native Singapore, before relocating to Dubai in the 90s. After working with Ruksher Malik at his salon, The Hair Shop, the two decided to team up together and with their unique vision and passion launched the Pastels Salon brand in 2004.
Since establishing the Pastels Salon brand with business partner Steven Chan in 2004, Ruksher has emerged as a leader in the Middle East’s hair community. She won Professional Beauty GCC’s Business Director of the Year award in 2019, as well as co-winning the EIDEAL-Santi Business Leader of the Year in 2017.
Under her strong, kind and compassionate leadership, she has ensured the award-winning Pastels’ brand is recognised as a pioneering force in the hair industry, as well as a firm favourite with beauty editors, influencers and hair& beauty lovers in the UAE.
Roselle is the other half of our office administration team. She makes sure all ordering and stock is in place for the salon to run and guarantees our clients have access to the best products on the market.