Hair weaves and extensions have been used since the Egyptian period but more recently they’ve become extremely on-trend in the fashion world. People who love their hair don’t need to feel restricted by the lack of volume, texture or colour of their natural locks. Hair extensions are used by top celebrities like Vanessa Hudgens, Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Lopez, and most of the cast of TOWIE. They add body and provide that just-stepped-out-of-the-salon look.
People will pay several hundred pounds for a quality set of hair extensions, which makes a career in hair extensions as financially rewarding as it is interesting.
How much can you earn as a hair extensions stylist?
A starting salary for a hair extension technician is around £20,000. However, once you become established and develop your client base you could earn much more than that. If you supply extensions to the celebrity bracket, there’s really no upper limit to your earnings.
What type of training will you need?
Even established hair stylists will need specialist hair extensions training as it is quite a different field and you’ll be using new skills. Here are some of the different areas of training you’ll go through when you book a hair extensions course through The Secret Salon Academy.
Hair extensions come in a variety of types, but your clients will ultimately be happiest with, and pay you for those that look the most natural.
For example, you can learn how to use microbead and nano bead extensions which are both discreet and take on colour well. These are both applied using a copper bead which is snapped into place and then opened to release.
There are also tape methods and weave methods available too, which are both excellent at adding weight and length to a hairstyle, making sure that the strands are distributed evenly across the scalp.
Maintenance
Quality hair extensions can last up to 12 months so long as the customer is willing to maintain them. Stylists who are new to their career in hair extensions must learn how to maintain them every 6-8 weeks or so, and crucially, how to do so without causing damage to the fibres.
Offering expert advice to customers
To keep your customers returning for more, they’ll need to care for their extensions well at home in-between regular visits to your salon. It’s vital that you’re able to pass on their aftercare information so that they take their home maintenance responsibilities seriously without making them feel burdened by all the extra information.
As well as a verbal discussion with your customers, you might also provide an email or printed guide covering:
What are the setup costs?
Before launching a career in hair extensions, you’ll want to know how much to set aside for start-up costs. If you’re already a hairstylist and wish to offer extensions as an extra service then you likely already have a great foundation for this area of your business.
But people starting from scratch will need to cover the cost of:
So how will you pay for all the above? There are several routes to fund a small business, even one with small setup costs like a hair extension stylist start-up. You might choose to use savings to get yourself off the ground. However, if that’s not possible and you want to launch your career quickly, then consider taking out a small business loan.
An unsecured government-backed Startup loan is available if you’re over the age of 18 and wish to take out between £500 to £25,000. There’s no application fee for this type of funding, and no exit fee. You can simply opt to take the money out over a period of 1 to 5 years, and you’ll pay 6% per year in interest. This is fixed, regardless of changes to the Bank of England rate.
How to market yourself as a hair extensions specialist
Once you’ve completed your training and are ready to take on clients, you’ll need to consider how to advertise your services. Before you begin, you should choose a business name and logo to help develop your personal brand as a hair extensions technician expert.
Some marketing ideas include:
Get started with The Secret Salon Academy
If you’re interested in starting or progressing your career in hair extensions, then The Secret Salon Academy should be the first call you make. We offer a range of training courses, with face-to-face learning available in Manchester, Birmingham and London. We also deliver online and bespoke in-salon training for existing salon teams.
Find out more about our comprehensive hair extensions courses by browsing online, calling us at 0161 707 9390 or emailing thesecretsalonacademy@outlook.com.
The Secret Salon | 37 Regent Street | Eccles, M30 0BP | Call Us :- 0161 707 9390