Two masked thieves broke into a salon. What they were after wasn’t cash

September 10, 2026 — 3:08pmTwo masked thieves smashed the glass doors of a salon in Port Melbourne, triggering a blaring alarm. One of the men ran past a nearby till – a plastic tub in hand – headed towards something far more valuable than cash.The man cleaned out two racks lined with hair extensions before shoving about $50,000 worth of custom-made wigs, hairpieces and styling tools into a large duffel bag.A nearby cupboard and drawer were emptied. Some of the wigs that were stolen had been specially made for clients diagnosed with cancer.Startled by a ringing telephone – triggered by the owners who were woken up by a phone notification – the masked pair grabbed as much as they could before sprinting out the door.They drove to a second hair salon 10 minutes away and ransacked the premises for more premium hair extensions, products, styling tools, cash and a stereo.Stuart Lawson, who opened the Port Melbourne salon with his wife Carla in 2017, said he was deeply frustrated by Wednesday’s burglary.He believes he and the second hairdresser were specifically targeted for their premium stock.“I think they’re obviously looking for high-value items – I can’t imagine it would be easy to sell on a black market,” he said.“Yesterday we spent most of the day contacting clients and telling them their items had been stolen. Some clients are asking for refunds because some items they’ve ordered are for special events.”Lawson said he was disappointed by Wednesday’s burglary. He and wife Carla opened the salon in 2017. He said they had another break-in around 18 months ago.In July, a group of thieves broke into two hair salons in Cranbourne West, in Melbourne’s outer south-east, and made off with tens of thousands of dollars worth of packaged hair extensions.Another specialist hair salon in Melbourne’s north was burgled in a similar fashion in 2018, in which $100,000 worth of human hair was stolen.Hair & Beauty Australia chief executive Jan Gawel said there was a strong black-market appeal for packaged wholesale human hair.“We would say that this is a theft to order, or for a foreign market,” he said.“There’s no serial number on a weft of hair, so it resells easily for cash and can’t be traced back even if someone were intercepted with it. It’s a striking illustration of value per kilogram, but it also isn’t a crime that scales,” he said.Police are investigating the two incidents reported on Wednesday.They have asked anyone who witnessed the incidents or with information to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.Get alerts on breaking news as it happens. Sign up for our Breaking News Alert.More:CrimePort MelbourneSouth MelbourneFor subscribersCrimeFrom our partners