5. Salon size and layout, what to consider?
Size of your shop
You’ll need four separate areas in your hair salon: Reception and retail, shampoo, cutting/service, and storage. The largest of these, of course, should be your salon services area, which should take up about 50 % of the floor space. About 20 % of the space should be allotted for retail/reception, 10 % for the shampoo area, and the remaining 20% for storage and an employee break/lunch room area. The employee/client restroom and your office also should be located in this area.
Any retail products you sell should be displayed in the reception area and placed near the cash register for easy access. The shampoo area is usually located toward the back of the salon and is equipped with shampoo sinks (either free-standing or affixed to the wall) and chairs.
Each station should also have a “back bar,” or cabinet, for storing products used in the salon, like shampoos, conditioners and deep-conditioning treatments. Naturally, these should be the same products you sell in the retail area, and your stylists should be trained to discuss each product used with the client as a way to spur sales.
Layout
If you decide to include spa services as part of your salon, then the overall layout of your salon should be created by a professional designer or an architect. That’s because unlike a hair salon, which tends to be a large open area with few partitions or walls, a spa needs to be somewhat compartmentalised.
However, if you’ve worked in or visited enough spas in the course of your career, or you have good visualisation skills, you may already have a good idea of how you want your spa to look. In that case, it may be possible to work with a draftsperson to draw up plans for the spa, and then hire someone to build the space for you.
Spas are usually divided into a series of rooms that are used as changing and showering facilities, treatment rooms, consultation rooms (for discussing treatment options and post-treatment care), and so on.
The consultation room may also be used as an office when not in use by an aesthetician and a client, although we’ll assume you will have your main office in the salon area. There also should be a retail area that’s separate from the hair salon’s retail area (so customers aren’t confused or distracted by products that don’t relate to spa items).
The spa and the salon can share a reception area, however, as long as it’s centrally located and easily accessible to both sides of the business. Ideally, the reception area will be in the centre, with the salon and the spa radiating out to either side.
If possible, incorporate a supply room into your spa area. If that’s not possible, spa products can share storage space with salon products, but strive to keep them separate and organised for easy accessibility.
Separate treatment rooms are needed for wet and dry services. While good overhead lighting is needed in treatment rooms both before and after services are rendered, it should be softly diffused. During procedures like massage and hydrotherapy, the overhead lights should be turned off and an alternate, softer light source should be turned on to create an atmosphere of relaxation and peace.
Adequate ventilation is also a must, as is hot and cold running water so aestheticians can mix dry products or dampen towels during treatment without leaving the room. Finally, the treatment room should have its own sound system, on which relaxing music or nature’s sounds should be played. No rap or heavy metal!