'Hairdressers feel this heartbreak right away': Vancouver salon asks locals to watch for costly stolen items

A worker at Kokopelli Salon, which was broken into over the weekend, shared surveillance images on social media showing a man inside the business. (Facebook/ Jade Chow)

A Vancouver hairstylist is asking locals to be on the lookout for tools that were stolen from the East Vancouver salon she works at over the weekend.

Kokopelli Salon was broken into in the early hours of Saturday, sometime between 2:30 a.m. and 5:30 a.m., according to a social media post.

“Tools and devices were stolen, all of one stylist’s tools are gone, another’s was thankfully recovered from a dumpster in the alley,” Jade Chow wrote on Facebook Sunday.

“Fellow hairdressers feel this heartbreak right away,” Chow continued. “Our tools are a part of us and what we do…not to mention the thousands of dollars they cost and the time and work we put in to earn them.”

Chow is asking for people to keep their eyes peeled for the stolen items—including multiple pairs of shears, clippers, a point-of-sale system and a Parlux hair dryer—while browsing online marketplaces and pawnshops.

Online, the lowest priced Parlux hair dryer is $239.99, while the most costly is $336.

“Message me if anything can be one of the items gone,” wrote Chow, who says Kokopelli Salon is in the process of filing a claim with their insurance company.

She also posted a screenshot of security video online, showing a man in a toque and light coloured zip-up jacket with a hood.

Chow described another man recorded in the store as "tall and lanky" with a buzz cut.

Speaking to CTV News on Tuesday, the owner of the salon said about $6,000 worth of tools were stolen, while replacing the POS system will likely cost $1,000.

“Luckily, because of proximity to exit, they only hit the first two (styling) stations and the spa,” Lorri Dar said.

She says that one of the men in the security video concentrated on stealing items, while the other one “ripped apart stuff and threw stuff around, broke through the fire door, flipped things over, etc.”

Dar estimates the salon will have to pay $2,500 to cover the vandalism.

CTV News has reached out to the Vancouver Police Department for more details, as Dar says officers attended the break-in at 2052 Commercial Drive.