It seems like only yesterday we were painting the walls, putting mirrors up and adding the final touches to our salon, before getting ready to open our doors in 1976 at our first branch in Wolverhampton’s Queen Square.

40 years on and we’re delighted to be celebrating our milestone 40^th birthday and we want you to join in the fun!

A big thanks to the Zaks team

Thanks to our fabulous team we’re thrilled that we’ve since become one of the Midlands leading colour specialist salons with seven Wella Master Colour Experts in the team. We also have the honour of being national finalists at the prestigious Wella Trend Vision Awards twice.

The long hot summer of ’76…

Did you know that when when we first opened our doors in 1976, Britain experienced the hottest summer on record with temperatures reaching up to 35.9°C (96.6°F) in some parts of the country?

It was a year of celebrations as John Curry became Britain’s first gold medalist in skating at the Winter Olympics. Pop was tops as we were bopping along to classic chart hits “Dancing Queen” by Abba and “If You Leave Me Now” by Chicago on the nation’s favourite music show Top of the Pops. The year also spawned one of film’s most iconic characters in “Rocky”.

1976 was also a diverse year of hairstyles. Farrah Fawcett-Majors was a major influence when she hit our screens in Charlie’s Angels with her long feather cut and big flicked hair, as was Jane Fonda’s androgynous shag, Barbra Streisand’s perm, Cher’s tumbling sleek black locks, Bo Derek’s cornrows and Diana Ross’s awesome afro which have all since gone down in the hair hall of fame.

Fashionista’s were split into two different directions: one was rich fabrics, glowing colors, billowing skirts and puffy sleeves, while other was the clean-cut All-American look that borrowed stylings from classic sportswear.

Our very own Wolverhampton Love Story

And who can forget only a year after opening in 1976, Zaks even spawned its very own modern love story when, Sharman joined the Zaks team in 1977 as a hairdressing apprentice and went on to marry Owner, Gary shortly after.

“What can I say, she realised I was a good catch” jokes Gary. Gary and Sharman are now responsible for the day-to-day running for their two salons.

Gary and Sharman

*Header image sources Diana Ross Farrah Fawcett Toni Tennille