The following story inspired Richard Kavanagh to create his own professional styling tools including the famous Richard Kavanagh straitener- About fifteen years ago I had an incredible experience. While working in a small salon in Devonport, Auckland I was witness to the transformative power of a great hairdo. A woman came to the salon to have a haircut. New to the salon and painfully shy, she literally skulked into the salon hugging the walls and trying to make herself as small and invisible as possible.