Walking into the Mood Studio, Nina Nordskov’s bespoke Silkeborg salon, feels more like walking into a luxury spa. The first thing you notice is the sense of calm and tranquility created by the open spaces, natural wood interior, bamboo screens and soft fabrics. It looks completely different from any hair salon you’re likely to have been in. But then, having your hair coloured by Nina is also completely unlike an appointment at a regular hairdresser.
In just four years, Nina Nordskov has built an enviable international reputation, a large social media presence and ever-growing client base that includes one of Denmark’s biggest TikTokkers, Kelly Louise Killjoy. Her customers travel from as far as the south of Germany and Italy for an appointment with her and sing her praises online. She is a brand ambassador for several high profile hair-care companies and her work is often shared online by US stylists with millions of followers. Last year, she was even profiled on Danish television channel TV2. It’s seriously impressive, given Nina, who grew up in Herning, Jutland, is still only in her late 20s. But what she finds the most rewarding is when a client puts their trust in her and leaves the Mood Studio with the hair colour of their dreams. “My clients tell me people stop them in the supermarket and the street to ask them about their hair!” Nina says.
“I thought, If I can’t find a place for me, I’ll need to create it.”
So how does a colourist differ from a normal hairdresser? It’s a job that Nina had to almost invent for herself in Denmark, taking inspiration from her travels abroad and online research. It started with her early passion for blue hair. When she found that her four-year hairdressing education wouldn’t teach her how to create such unusual colours, Nina pursued online training alongside her studies. The day after qualifying as a hairdresser, aged 20, she flew to Dubai to work, where she still didn’t learn how to create blue hair but did learn a lot about her skills and determination, and doing things differently.
Still in her early 20s and after a spell working in London salons, a series of health challenges ironically helped her achieve her dreams. After being advised by doctors that she could not physically cope with full-time, traditional hairdressing and she would effectively need to retire from her vocation, she decided she would be a colourist instead. Everything happens for a reason, she believes. Her research and travels had convinced her there was a market in Denmark for a specialist colourist, who could create beautiful hair in all shades of the rainbow as well as more conventional colours. She was told no such job existed. “I thought, if I can’t find a place for me, I’ll need to create it,” Nina says.
“I see what I do as a form of art”
This mindset has informed everything about the Mood Studio. Nina’s approach is client-led, centred on taking the time to talk with clients and provide a tailor-made, high quality experience in a comfortable environment so people get the hair of their dreams. “Hairdressing here can be like a fast-paced service industry, like a restaurant or a beautician, and I would compare it much more to being a tattoo artist. It’s a creative field. I see what I do as a form of art,” Nina says. “It’s a whole new way of working and luckily a lot of people find that very interesting and exciting.” Nina approaches every client with an open mind, prepared to be creative: “In a traditional hairdresser, you’ll choose from a menu, book online, get your standard time-slot. The client is being made to fit a box. Whereas I’ll say to clients, ‘Yes, I can do that. It’ll take seven hours but it is possible!’ I’m always open-minded about what might be possible because I’ve seen it in other countries.”
The results last longer too: Nina’s clients typically visit her only a few times per year. “In a traditional salon you might pay 2000 kr for highlights and a cut and two weeks later you have obvious regrowth, so you have to go back and repeat the process very soon afterwards. When you compare that cost to what we offer, you can see it’s more expensive to go with the traditional approach,” Nina says.
“You always have to keep learning and keep getting better. I owe that to my clients.”
Last year, the salon had grown so much that Nina was able to realise her dreams of opening a custom-made space, which is now the Mood Studio. She designed it herself, drawing inspiration from American salons – big, open, light, light and warm colours. “I wanted a place that felt homely and intimate,” she says. “The wellness of the experience is something I thought about a lot, and client comfort. People will come for the first time and say, ‘Is it supposed to be this quiet?’” she laughs. “But it really is!”
The new salon has also enabled the growth of the Mood Studio team so Nina can train new colourists in her approach. “I thought, there’s clearly so much need because I’m fully booked all the time,” Nina says, “So why not make it possible to expand the business?” She’s delighted to count Julie Krogsgaard, who first approached Nina a year ago, as part of the team. Nina eventually hopes to divide her time 50/50 between working with her own clients and educating future colourists. “I want to be a mentor and help younger people because I didn’t have that when I was training,” Nina says. “There’s still barely anybody that teaches how to create blue hair in Denmark and it’s been ten years!”
Nina also continues to learn and develop herself, always alert to what’s happening in her field internationally. “I’m still learning and that’s really a mantra for me. You always have to keep learning and keep getting better. I owe that to my clients – in the end what they’re paying for is my time and my expertise, and they deserve the best.”
