The want to look and feel attractive is an enduring human desire, so it’s not surprising that the beauty industry in the United States generated over $56 billion in revenue in 2015, and it continues to grow – in 2016 salon retail sales and services have grown by 3%, generating +$60 billion. With hair care leading as the largest industry segment, opening a salon is an enticing business option for entrepreneurs with a passion for beauty and hair styling.
Opening a new salon or running an established hair salon requires a significant amount of organizing, planning and hard work. Acquiring all of the necessary equipment and supplies to be able to begin adequately servicing clients and keeping current with essential hair stylist supplies on a daily basis as they are used is key to running a smooth operation. A startup checklist can help make it easier to determine important detail relevant to acquiring funding, as well as assist you in keeping track of their ordering schedule. The following is a comprehensive list of the various types of equipment and essential supplies every salon owner and stylist needs to have on hand to offer coloring services.
Color Processing Equipment
In addition to the standard salon furniture and basic furnishings required for other services such as facials, cuts, extensions, waxing, chemical straightening and styling, many stylists find that it helps to have designated furnishings specifically for color processing procedures such as:
- Shampoo bowls
- Shampoo chairs
- Bleach-proof and color-safe towels
- Designated storage for hair coloring supplies
- Color bar
Hair Coloring Basics
For color processing, a well-stocked salon will need the following hair stylist supplies available:
- Brushes and combs
- Spray bottles
- Latex and vinyl gloves
- Timers
- Clips
Color Preparation
A well-stocked color bar will keep all of your color supplies and tools neat, clean, organized and easy to find. Set up properly, you’ll be able to tell at a glance when items are running low and need to be re-ordered. Along with basic hair stylist supplies and hair dye supplies, your color bar needs to have an ample supply of color preparation tools such as:
- Plastic protective capes
- Color mixing bowls
- Color brushes
- Tube squeezers
- Bleach applicators
- Color removal wipes
- Cotton rolls
- Cotton balls
- Neck strips
- Foil
- Tint applicators
- Highlighting, weave, processing and neutralizing caps
- Stylist aprons
- Mixing whisks
Hair Dye Supplies
While hair-coloring trends for men and women change with the seasons, some looks are timeless, so it’s a good idea to have a good base of standard colors on hand as well as the latest fashion styling necessities. The hottest hair coloring trends in 2016 include bright hues, dip-dyes, babylights, platinum and ombré applications. Additionally, anything natural and organic is the rage. In order to be able to deliver the latest hair coloring requests, keep the following hair dye supplies on hand:
- Bleaching products
- Developer
- Permanent color
- Semi-permanent color
- Party tints
- Hair color stripper
- Hair color protection
- Henna
- Peroxide
- Gray hair color products
- Highlights
- Lowlights
- Peroxide
- Specialty color shampoos and conditioners
By having all of the tools, hair dye supplies and basic hair stylist supplies needed to perform any client request on hand when they walk through the door, you’ll position your salon as a reliable and accessible destination for the fashion-oriented crowd. For more information about how the professional salon supplies from Intrinsics Naturally can give your salon a cutting edge, request your free resource book today.
Swear by any other hair stylist supplies that are not listed? Let us know in the comment section. We'd love to hear our audience's thoughts!