At Holzberger’s Indianapolis location, which opened last year, they put custom-designed tables that allow guests to lie down into a specially designed round room they call the “Rejuvenation Room.” The tile on the floor and the shimmering glass tiles on the walls are all blue, as is the domed ceiling—a color chosen for its calming properties. Holzberger also commissioned a company to create a constellation of stars on the ceiling using 2,000 fiber optic lights. A football-shaped center section is lit to enable stylists to properly mix products.
At Carenza, when Seybold and his wife, Jan, went about designing their new salon, they set aside a special 650-square-foot section that is somewhat removed from the main floor. The calming “Blue Lounge” features Italian shiatsu massage chairs from Takara Belmont, which raise the body and legs and have twin shiatsu massagers that roll up and down the client’s back. According to Takara Belmont, the chairs were designed for just this type of purpose, in response to the increased interest in hair spas.
Designer and equipment manufacturer Belvedere has also noticed the trend. Several of their bowls feature neck rests made from gel or polymer that make it easier for clients to rest longer and more comfortably. Project Manager Jenny Grant says they have also seen changes in the designs of the shampoo areas. “We are seeing more privacy, lowered ceilings and better control over the lighting in these areas,” she says. “But every client we have is different—some want an open area, some want a more intimate space, and we take a lot of influence from them.”
Creating Results
Just about anyone can benefit from a hair or scalp treatment. There are formulas and products available for thinning hair, sensitive skin and dandruff, color-treated hair and dry or coarse hair.
“People are turning to pros more often to solve problems—to have more intensive treatments and more intensive results,” says Stults. It is a trend seen in the spa industry with the burgeoning medispa movement, and having specific formulas for different problems feeds into the current feeling that clients are expecting stylists to do more than just cut their hair—they are expected to be the experts in all things in hair, willing to prescribe what they think it best for hair health. It is a trend that has nothing but upsides for owners. The Biolage brand from Matrix recently rolled out its first in-salon treatment, Cera Repair Pro-4, in response to the demand for services. One box of 10 vials—one for each head—costs $15.95 or about $1.60 per treatment, while the
average service costs the customer about $20 to $25, says Stults.
“From the salon owner’s perspective, it’s generating incremental profit; from the stylists’ perspective, it’s generating client loyalty because the color stays longer and hair isn’t breaking as much, so the perception is the cut is much better,” she says. “These hair treatments take the salon beyond just cutting and coloring hair—it makes it more of a destination for the client.”
Stults, Seybold and Holzberger all agree that the concept of hair spa is only going to gather steam. “I think that most salons in five years will have this service,” says Seybold. “I can’t imagine why they would miss this trend.”
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