35 Unique Salon Service Ideas – How to Make Your Salon Unique

Unique salon service ideas – how to make your salon unique. Among these ideas are a few tips and tricks that will help the business overall before these creative services elevate your salon to the next level.

9 Tips for BEFORE You Apply Unique Salon Services…

Before you apply these unique salon service ideas to your salon, consider utilizing these marketing techniques first.

✔️ Is your salon in Google ‘Salon Near Me’ search results?

Your salon needs to be easily found online to gain new clients. Google is your friend, if your salon isn’t listed in Google businesses simply set up a business profile.

✔️ Can your clients leave reviews for your salon?

Once your business is listed on Google, be sure that your guests can leave reviews for your salon. Reviews speak volumes! I, personally, have gained new clients come to me and say that they read my name over and over in the google reviews so they requested to see me for their first visit to the salon.

✔️ If you have a salon website, how is its SEO (Search Engine Optimization)?

It might be worth hiring a professional to help you make your website rank online so that it pops up when potential customers search for salons in the area.

It also might be worth considering re-vamping the website to make it easier to navigate and appeal to potential customers.

✔️ Does your salon offer online booking?

✔️ Build an email list and start a monthly newsletter

Newsletters are a great way to get promotions out and even add tips and tricks for styling hair, events coming up, or when there is a new face in the shop and you can introduce them in the newsletter.

✔️ Always have extra business cards on hand, you should NEVER run out

Hand-held advertisements for yourself, your stylists or barbers, and the business as a whole. I always give my clients extra cards and tell them that if they recommend us to a friend and give that card away, I’ll give them a new one.

I also use my business cards to write my schedule on, so that clients aren’t surprised when I am not available certain days.

✔️ Incentivize client feedback

Like mentioned above, reviews are a big deal! Not just Yelp reviews, but Google reviews because they are the most accessible for clients to read. If you want reviews to say all good things, it’s wise to ask for feedback in your email lists when you send newsletters, or when guests are still in your salon.

One idea is to offer clients a 5% discount (usually $5 or less), or a complimentary service or beverage, if they fill out a feedback form while they are waiting for their service, or before they leave the salon. But more on that later.

✔️ Host a class for other stylists in the area

Does your salon have a specialist on staff? Someone especially good at color, beard grooming, or specific cutting techniques? Ask if they would be willing to teach a class hosted in your salon for other hair professionals in the area.

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✔️ Offer discounts

Seasonal promotions are key. Utilize holidays and seasons to incentivize clients to come to your salon. It’s important to change up the promotions regularly.

It might surprise you how much ‘money’ you have to give away in discounts that will help you gain a steady clientele that will talk about you to all of their friends. In the moment it feels painful, but when you have a reputation for excellent services, it is so worth it and you make back the ‘money lost’ in the long term clients you gain from offering those discounts.

✔️ Make it personal with clients

Build a relationship with your clients. Be personable and personal, but just enough. Don’t talk just about yourself but get to know your clients. Ask about their interests and take notes on upcoming vacations or family events.

Your guests will feel remembered and cared for if they don’t feel as though they are just another number to you.

✔️ Surprise clients with day-of discounts at the check out

Everybody loves saving money. Especially when you expected to spend a lot but get a discount! Have a specific number in mind, like the 5th client of the day, or draw numbers out of a hat.

This engages the clients and makes them excited to see if they might be the lucky customer this time or not.

✔️ Celebrate with clients on social media by occasionally sharing their posts

If your salon or stylists are active and engaged with the salon on social media like Facebook or Instagram, encourage them to follow clients, and the salon’s professional profile follow clients and comment on their victories, celebrate with your clients, even share their posts every once in a while.

It’s important for clients to feel like individuals, not just patrons to be counted or only served by the business.

✔️ Be available for your clients

For hair professionals that booth rent or are self employed, be available to your clients. Stay a little late or come in early for that one customer that needs it. Allow clients to send you messages about their appointment or photos of ideas they might have for their hair.

With that being said this DOES NOT mean that it is appropriate to allow clients to invade all of your personal time or family time away from the salon. Set a specific time to stop responding to client messages in the evening. And know how to set boundaries with clients that text incessantly or inappropriately with you.

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✔️ Offer holiday rewards and raffles free-of-charge

Like mentioned above, an excellent idea is to have numbers in a hat, a raffle of a sort, for clients to draw out of for possible discounts on the day of.

Or engage clients by rewarding those that buy product or refer their friends by entering their name in a free of charge raffle, and the prize is a complimentary service or gift card.

✔️ Be consistent, both with your work and with your salon brand (logos and such)

In other words, your website logo should be the exact same as the logo on social media and on your brochures and business cards in the salon. Consistency with the brand communicates with the client exactly what the salon offers without any confusion with other brands.

✔️ Create a selfie-wall for Insta-happy customers to use for their own stories and posts. Might as well let clients (your walking billboard!) get the word out about your services

In your salon, it could be fun to have a designated selfie wall for both your stylists to take photos of their work, and customers to take photos on that wall with your salon hashtag and logo. Why not let customers do the advertising for you!

✔️ Host a guy’s night or gal’s night out. You could even host special daddy-daughter date night or mom-son date night events

In one salon where I worked we hosted a ‘Beers and Braids’ event for dads to bring their daughters and learn how to braid their hair. This type of event is nice, but you could also offer an promotional event of a sort where the parent brings their kiddo and they both get services and feel pretty and cleaned up while spending time together.

How to Make Your Salon Unique?

Brainstorm with your employees. Consider the 35 ideas in this article, what makes your salon stand out?

Is it the reviews?

The specialty services offered in your salon?

An add on service that is complimentary to your guests.

What do you already do, and what can you add to your services and service menu that makes your salon stand out?

6 Unique Salon Add-on Service Ideas

When coming up with unique salon service ideas, sometimes it might be worth considering having a unique salon service specialist or someone with a completely different license.

👉 Waxing- brows, cheek, lip, nose, ears, neck

In most states, cosmetologists are legally allowed to perform wax services without an esthetic license. Barbers are permitted in some states to handle wax and other’s do not.

Wax is an excellent add on service that is quick and can be appealing to some clients that you already have in your salon!

If you already offer eyebrow and lip waxing in your salon, perhaps consider adding another wax service, such as the back of the neck, or an ear hair waxing service.

Satin Silk Professional Hair Removal Wax Pot Kit for $77.56

👉 Paraffin wax and massage

Paraffin wax is warm, it feels good, and it helps the hands feel soft and hydrated. Some salons use the term ‘anti aging hand services’ for this type of service but it’s different than a manicure because it only takes 15 minutes.

Paraffin dip is easy to use, you allow the client to sit with their hands wrapped with the paraffin on their hands during the shampoo service, and then a lotion massage is a great finish to a relaxing service.

You don’t need any specific license to use paraffin wax and you can charge extra for it!

Conair Thermal Paraffin Spa 1lb Wax Included for $27.99

ForPro Nurture Parrafin Wax 6 Refill 1lb Blocks for $27.99

WaxKiss Paraffin Wax Kit 110 Piece Kit for $47.59

👉 Scientific brushing – Or dry scalp exfoliating service

Using a plastic bristle brush (the bristles are consistent with a toothbrush), section the hair in half inch partings, lightly brush the scalp with the bristle brush to exfoliate the scalp.

This service doesn’t require an extra license and shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes for those with long hair.

I do recommend offering a salt scrub scalp exfoliating service also for those that have too much dry skin for the bristle brush, or those with hair that is too short for the bristle brush service.

Follow with a hydrating conditioner.

Nylon Bristle Brush Pack of 6 for $12.45

👉 Eyelash extensions

This service requires a specific certification, but it is definitely a service that you can make a lot of money with! If your salon has a separate room for waxing or other spa treatments, this is excellent for eyelash extensions!

👉 Keratin Treatment or Brazilian Blowout

Specifically for women’s salons or those that cater or long hair.

Both Keratin treatments and Brazilian blowouts are designed to smooth unruly hair. Keratin treatments restore protein to hair and eliminate frizz in one’s hair. A Brazilian blowout allows more of a natural texture to remain in the hair than a keratin treatment.

👉 Rename one of your services to make it sound new and fresh

This is a truly unique salon service idea and can be surprising. But using words like “Luxury” and “Quick” are great to tag onto service titles when advertising add-on services.

For example, instead of naming a service “Women’s Haircut”, call it a “Women’s Luxury Haircut”. Or another unique salon service idea, “Quick Deep Conditioning Service”.

10 Ideas to Keep Clients Happy in the Lobby

The first 5 seconds in the door are important. Is the client greeted immediately?

What is the first thing that the client sees when they walk in the door? Is the environment welcoming and make the customer want to stay?

Consider, what is it that makes your salon both professional and like a special getaway for your clients during the time they spend in your establishment?

Unique Ideas for the Lobby

Depending on what kind of salon it is, if it caters to primarily women, perhaps offering a mocktail (a cocktail without alcohol), or even a simple cocktail, or a glass of wine, might make them feel just a tad bit more special and relaxed when coming to your salon.

Or on the flip side. If you own a barbershop and cater to primarily men, is there something for the guys to do while they wait? Perhaps darts, or a classic chess board is waiting for them in the lobby. Offer beer, whiskey, or a soda to help them feel like this is a mini getaway that they have to treat themselves before getting back to the daily grind.

What can you offer to your clients that other salons don’t?

In the lobby, some unique ideas to have –

• Show makeup or hair tutorials on the TV
• Turn on the most current sports event (for men’s salons or barbershops)
• Dart board
• Pool Table
• Foosball Table
• Checker board or Chess board
• A family game of table questions
• Corn-hole outside the shop on warm days
• Offer a beverage… soda or an adult beverage
• Have a QR code in the lobby that takes the guest to your social media page with your stylists or barber’s best work displayed
• A bookshelf with classic books for regular customers to borrow, or even just to browse and leave on display
• Have a QR code that lead the client to a game they can play on their phone

15″ Wooden Chess and Checkers Set for $28.99 With Spare Pieces

Tailgating Pros Pyramid Cornhole Board Set with 8 Beanbags and Carrying Case for $169.85

Table Topics Family Card Game for Great Conversations $25

BestChoice Products Foosball Table 48″ for $109.99

EastPoint Sports Dunhill Billiard Pool Table With Accessories for $849.99

Unique Ideas to Ask for Feedback from your Clients

Print small paper surveys that clients can fill out while they are waiting in the lobby. You can even offer an incentive discount to encourage them to share their feedback

Questions can include-

• What service do you most look forward to?
• What service do you wish we offered?
• What do you look forward to the most when you visit the salon? The stylist, the beverage, the haircut, the wash, or leaving?
• What would the quality of our products be on a scale of 1-10?
• What could we do to make you more comfortable while you are waiting for your service?
• What beverage would you rather have served to you during your wait?
• How can we improve your experience?

You want to keep it especially simple. Add as many yes/no questions as possible or even multiple choice. Or, you could allow the clients to fill in the answers in their own words.

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