Top tips for creating a blissful backwash

As general manager of luxury brands Kérastase and Shu Uemura Art of Hair, Helena Sampson knows all about creating a perfect backwash area for your clients. According to Helena a well executed backwash can also be the ideal place to maximise your clients retail habits."All too often hairdressers miss out on the opportunities that creating a blissful backwash can offer," says Helena. "It's the ideal place to spoil and pamper your clients, and win their retail business too."

• Invest wiselySpend money on your backwash area. With careful thought and wise investment this space can prove to be a lucrative part of the salon, helping to boost the treatment and retail sides of your business and creating an ‘experience’ environment for the client.
• VIP TreatmentThe backwash is one of the first points of a client’s salon journey and it should therefore be a welcoming and relaxing environment – a retreat where clients can switch off and distance themselves from the pressures of the day, enjoying a VIP experience. The best backwashes combine functionality with indulgence.
• Stimulate the SensesRegardless of the size of your backwash, small improvements can make a big difference. Think about creating an area that stimulates your clients’ senses – consider the lighting and the comfort of your chairs and headrests. Make the space atmospheric, perhaps by using scented candles to create an ambience. And, don’t forget to take privacy and peace into consideration. Relaxing massages are wonderful but not with booming music and noise from the salon impinging on the process.
• Spoil your ClientsAt Kérastase, we’ve been working with salons to develop the concept of the Hair Spa. We believe that bringing a touch of the spa into the salon, whether it is through a luxurious and peaceful oasis at the backwash, or relaxing head massages combined with expert treatments, you can create a superior experience that will have clients coming back for more.
• On the MenuIt stands to reason that if your backwash looks and feels appealing, clients are more likely to want to indulge in hair therapy in that environment. Your treatment business is also a way to tempt clients to come into the salon for something more than a cut and colour. Remind staff to promote your services and think about creating treatment menus or packages so that stylists can easily recommend the services, with a clear pricing structure.
• Expert AdviceAs a hair professional, your point of difference is the ability to offer tailor-made, personalised advice and technologically-advanced treatments to meet your clients’ hair needs. Talk about the treatments you are going to use at the backwash and educate them on the results they can expect. This, in turn, can help to generate a knock-on effect with retail sales.