4 Important Tips for building your Hair Extension Business

The following tips are for the professional stylist who wants to add extension services to their list of service offerings.

These four important tips are for building a successful and lucrative hair extension clientele.

Tip #1 - Consulting with your client
The Client Consultation is the most important first step in building your extensions business. If a client’s hair and scalp are not suited for these services, you may find yourself inviting unnecessary problems for your business. You must be sure the client has a healthy scalp, the hair is not easily pulled from the scalp and there is sufficient length to cover the extensions. Ask questions about the clients health –we have found that most clients will quickly volunteer issues they are having with excessive shedding, breakage and health problems as they are eager for solutions and are coming to you as the professional for advice. A fairly confidential atmosphere may be required for this consultation if you have such a space available. You may also want to generate a Client Questionnaire with a waiver for these services. If a client is having any of the problems mentioned above, you will want to decline them and offer other solutions, such as wigs and hairpieces, educating them on how natural these additions can look when properly selected and fitted. As a rule, your best extension candidate will have healthy hair and scalp, at least 3 inches of length and be educated on the process, care & maintenance of the extensions. It is your job to ensure these pieces are in place.

Tip #2 - Setting your prices
There is a wide range of price points for extensions services. How you set your prices is going to depend on the local demand and availability of the services, what prices you feel your potential clients will pay, and your level of expertise with the techniques. Advanced training is going to set you apart from other stylists and allow you to put a higher value on what you offer. If you emphasize the expertise you have in areas such as custom color blending, and providing a higher end hair for the extensions, you can put a higher price tag on your services. How much control you take over the process is going to also determine what you can charge. If you just want to provide the service only, allowing the client to buy their own hair and supplies, your price should be a bit lower. If you provide the hair, materials for the process, and supply products for after care, you are truly providing top shelf service and thus should price at the high end of the scale, including your costs in the price of the service. Again, however it is important to gauge what the market will bear and position yourself to accommodate as many potential clients as possible.

Tip #3 - Custom Blending Hair colors
The beauty of your training as a professional is the ability to use your talent in creating beautiful color compositions for your clients. Your customer can buy hair in solid colors and mixed colors, but you can use the tools at your disposal to create custom masterpieces. With wefts, you can combine the colors, split the tracks to regulate the amount of color, and position the hair where you want it for highlight and low light effects. With fusion you can mix the strands for a truly custom creation and at Just Hair, only buy the color you need in the amount you need.

Tip #4 - Care and maintenance of extensions
Extension hair is usually hair that was healthy when it was cut from the donor. It no longer receives nutrients from the body or natural oils from the scalp. As a result, the hair does need special care. While it is best to avoid products that can strip the hair, have a lot of alcohol, silicone and petroleum based oils, the hair does need moisturizing shampoos, conditioners and styling products to stay healthy looking and beautiful. We recommend Ionix products for cut hair and for the client with some damage to their own hair. Also recommended are salon quality products that are pH balanced and sulfate free. Botanical and natural oils that simulate the body’s oils should be applied to condition the hair—but sparingly so as not to weigh the hair down. A maintenance spray can be used throughout the day to help maintain the moisture balance in the hair and prevent brittleness and dryness. Hair extensions require more care than your clients own hair—it is important to stress this and to experiment with different products yourself so you can make accurate recommendations.

No matter what hair extension technique you decide to use, these 4 tips will help you to quickly develop yourself into the local expert, building your clients confidence in you, and making your business very profitable!