DENVER — A new crime ring is targeting hair salons in Colorado. Thieves have stolen from several stores in the Denver area and one in Grand Junction.

However, it’s not money that’s being stolen. Instead, it’s thousands of dollars worth of products that are being swiped from salon shelves.

Amy Thomas recently thwarted the thieves in her salon, Centre Spa and Salon in Westminster.

Thomas had recently read about the thieves in a post by an Aveda salon representative on Facebook.

“A lot of product and a lot of big-ticket items were stolen,” Thomas explained.

Thousands of dollars worth of face creams, shampoos and conditioners were stolen from a salon in Grand Junction.

Then, it was $5,000 worth of product from a salon in Littleton and $1,600 worth of products from a salon in Lone Tree.

From the get-go, Thomas says something just didn’t feel right when a group of women walked into her store.

“They did have very large oversized bags. They had large oversized skirts that had deep pockets. As soon as they started picking up multiple pieces of our products, that’s when I went up and confronted them,” she said.

Surveillance cameras captured the interaction. Thomas asked the women to hand over all of the items they were holding. After one woman scheduled a bogus appointment, the group abruptly left.

It turns out, the women were the same thieves spotted elsewhere. However, this time, they were thwarted thanks to a vigilant salon manager who was expecting the unexpected.

“In the salon industry, you’re never going to just watch people like a hawk because you never expect anything like this,” Thomas said.