Holli Gaspard and Heather Mahoney, owners of H20 Salon and Spa. Mahoney owns the location in Mandeville, Louisiana, and Gaspard owns the one in Metairie, Louisiana.
WhenKeratase launched its brand 10 years ago, H20 Salon and Spa, with two locations in Mandeville and Metairie, Lousiana, signed up right away. The owners, sisters Heather Mahoney and Holly Gaspard, saw potential for making Keratase treatments a cornerstone of business. They knew that treatments could give guests that spa experience at the bowl that creates an early emotional connection. Clients would feel good and look good. Mahoney hoped it would set her brand apart, add value and create affordable luxury.
A Care Salon
The H20 Salon and Spa in Mandeville.
"The treatments evolved as we began to see the client engagement grow while their hair started to look and feel amazing," Mahoney recalls. "Our team saw the financial benefit for them. Every detail was designed to make a client feel pampered, relaxed and renewed. Our hair salon became a care salon, with a private space where the lights are dim, the music is soft and relaxing, and the chair reclines, giving the client that one-on-one connection."
The initiative paid off. "Our competitive edge is our care space," Mahoney says. "This investment created a deeper client relationship that led to client loyalty. We have a care-card treatment program that keeps our success going."
Training for Caring
To make sure the treatment matches the guest's needs, Mahoney trains her team to diagnose the hair and determine what the hair needs.
"Having care conversations with asking the right questions leads to finding what’s most important for the hair and the client," Mahoney explains. "It is all about client connection. Everyone is looking for 'SHH'—strength, shine, hydration. Our primary purpose is to connect and bring value to the client; earnings will follow."
The isolation of 2020 punctuated the reasons clients seek professional beauty. "The pandemic showed us how much our clients needed to be touched and cared for," Mahoney reports. "Our care space became a place where they could relax, enjoy, and feel cared for. It revealed to us that people needed to feel important, special, and loved."
Dollars and Sense
As predicted, earnings have followed, for both the technician and the salon. Mahoney's stylists do 7-9 clients a day with a 45% commission. Let's say three of those clients get treatments:
12 treatments x $31/treatment = $372
$372 x 45% = $167.40 for the stylist
$167.40 x 52 weeks in a year = annual stylist earnings of $8,704.08
Extrapolating her figures to a typical salon of 5 stylists, Mahoney says the revenue can be imipressive. She calculates:
38 treatments/week at the salon = 7.3 treatments/stylist
$38/treatment x 7.3 treatments = $1,444/stylist.
$1,444/stylist/week x 5 stylists = $75,088/year
$75,088/year minus expenses like color, towels, product cost, shampoo assistant = $25,000 salon profit
Sharing the Bright Idea
With the addition of the Kerastase treatments, H20 Salon and Spa evolved from a hair salon to a care salon.
"Most shampoo areas are a cost center," Mahoney notes. "For us it is a revenue stream that lavishes our guest in luxury."
Mahoney is sharing what she's learned through a salon training program focused on chair optimization. "This concept can revolutionize your shampoo bowl," she says. "As we say, don’t let money go down the drain. It is time for you to get in the treatment game. Luxury is up, and people want it!"
An exterior shot of H20 Salon in Mandeville.
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