Every year, new hair and beauty salons open and existing salons close. The reasons for closures are many, but mainly revolve around lack of preparation and planning. New salons open because people are optimists who want to provide great service to their clients.
Assuming the area can support your new business with a large enough population, and you decide to open a hair salon, barber shop or any other beauty shop, you will need to buy salon equipment and furniture.
Before buying equipment you will need to know what to look for, to get best fit for the beauty salon. First, consider quality brands that offer long warranty. Stay away from generic equipment that is sold over the internet. Select quality materials, unique design, power warranty, and equipment that will last and make your shop beautiful and original.
Shop smart, don’t go for the lowest price, instead find the best ratio between quality and price. Look for functional equipment that will last at least 5-10 years. After buying quality equipment, you can concentrate on the quality service you want to deliver to your customer. Successful design suggests darker and more elegant colors that are easy to maintain work best.
Salon Furniture Buying Guide
If you are buying a styling station, salon styling chairs, shampoo units, dryers or barber chairs, there are many specific details to cover. In case of styling stations and salon mirrors look for size, design and functionality. Examine quality of the wood, stain finish, size of the mirrors, quality and durability of hinges.
Consider stations that have storage space with a lock and key so you can securely leave equipment there. Check for size and stability, usually better furniture is larger in size, strength and stability. Furniture should not overwhelm the salon, but must create the memorable ambience that clients will love.
Look for styling chairs with well defined corners, quality padding, comfortable cushions and sturdy, solid bases and hydraulics. Shampoo units should have a ceramic or stainless steel bowl, high quality faucets and metal hoses for external connections. Plastic sink and low quality hoses can create major trouble such as dripping or flooding in your shop.
Salon Equipment Wholesale and Salon Packages
One great option is to look at wholesale producers of salon equipment. Many companies that create their own designs and equipment have an option to offer wholesale prices.
Some claim they are factory or direct producers – look for production facility videos and photos. Review the technology and techniques they use to produce their salon equipment. Check their design and engineering teams. All of this information will give you assurance that you dealing with a reputable and responsible company.
Often, salon equipment packages are offered. Buying quality equipment in a well-designed package that fits your needs can provide excellent savings. Find the company that is flexible and it will do anything to accommodate their customers.
If the company is willing to offer a 3 year warranty, you will know the equipment could last for many years. Be sure to save all the necessary information on how to take care of the equipment and apply regular maintenance. Ask about the costs of servicing and maintenance.
Barber Equipment and Chairs Buying Guide
Barber chairs and barber equipment have similar buying rules like beauty salon equipment and furniture. The Barber shop has a historical place in American society. From movies to real life, every barber shop has its own specific story.
Craft the “story” of your barber shop and choose the right equipment. High quality, durable barber chairs will look the part in your story and will last. As with beauty equipment, look for companies that offer good warranty on their products. Look for quality barber chairs with a strong hydraulic base and heavy duty reclining options. This kind of chair helps define your barber shop.
Barber stations are slightly less important but can’t be disregarded. The barber station must fit the story, match the chairs, have large mirrors and be large size. They say size never lies especially in a barber shop, because flimsy equipment will not last, and will repel male clients.
Top 5 US Salon Equipment and Furniture Producers
Research on brand name top quality producers of salon, barber and equipment in USA shows these top 5.
- QXPRO (qxpro.com) with locations in USA, China, Mexico, Canada and Europe. This is an American brand with best combination of price and quality. Modern and unique designs with 3 years warranty. Variety of salon packages that offer savings to customers, usually 10-30%. Equipment is designed and produced in USA, Europe and China. They are the only ones that offer free accessories with a purchase of salon or barber package. That is very cool. What needs improvement is a bigger selection of their product line.
- Belvedere USA (belvedere.com) located in Boone County IL, another American producer of salon equipment. A quality brand with durable equipment and excellent designs. They don’t offer many packages and usually concentrate on selling single products. Equipment is built to last but they have to work on the price. It might be too expensive for new salon owners with low and medium budgets.
- Jeffco (Jeffcosalonequipment.com) located in Cookeville TN, another producer of quality equipment. Equipment is very good quality but designs are limited. Their equipment selection is smaller than Belvedere, with relatively high prices.
- Takara Belmont Corp (TakaraBelmont.com), another American and global producer of salon equipment. Takara Belmont has locations in USA, Korea, Canada, Japan, Germany, France, United Kingdom and Brazil. Equipment is good quality but most is produced in Asia. Design is very fine but combination of price and quality needs work.
- Minerva Beauty (MinervaBeauty.com) is located in Monroe GA. They produce some equipment, but mostly resell equipment from other producers and suppliers. They offer high quality equipment and they have the best showroom of these 5 companies. Minerva Beauty offers a good variety of packages and prices from medium to high. However much of their equipment looks more like house furniture than salon equipment and furniture. It has been suggested they work more on designing functional salon equipment vs. home furniture.
In conclusion, these 5 companies all produce and sell high quality equipment. They are ranked above on the combination of price, quality and warranty. I hope this article will help you to source quality salon equipment and salon furniture for your new dream salon.
Martha Kelly salon equipment specials form NY, New York.
