Pinup Studio sits on Falls of Neuse Road in North Raleigh, in a converted barbershop Christina Kirkey bought from its previous owner in 2018 and grew the salon out of. Christina, a Raleigh native, opened her first one-chair studio in 2015, expanded the building to ten chairs three years later, and added a sixteenth chair plus a dedicated bridal suite in 2024. The previous owner of the barbershop, Randy, stayed on staff through the renovation. A small detail that says something about how the salon was put together.
The work the salon is best known for is color. Blonding, balayage, dimensional color, and correction. The team is structured into a formal Level 1 through Level 4 stylist ladder, with two named Educators on staff and a Lead Educator (Hannah) overseeing the program. An in-house training structure that is uncommon for an independent ten-person salon and that shows up in the consistency of the color work across stylists. The salon also designs and sources its own hand-tied extension line, called PS Wefts, rather than carrying a third-party brand. Installs are quoted only after an in-salon consultation. Color corrections are priced hourly, with explicit language up front that a single session may not be enough.
Booking starts with an online matchmaking quiz that surfaces three suggested stylists based on a few questions about the kind of work you want done. From there clients book directly through the salon’s Phorest portal. There are no published price ranges, but the tiered stylist structure means cost reflects who is in the chair, and that is how the salon talks about it. Hours run Tuesday through Saturday. Closed Sundays and Mondays. There is also a bridal department that travels for wedding-day work. If that is the service you are booking, ask for the trial-day timing in writing.
