Our experts answer an array of questions about every aspect of running a successful salon or spa business

What’s the best way to deal with difficult customers?

The customer is always right, right? In a perfect world, this would be the case but unfortunately difficult clients are just part of being in business. With the growing world of online blogs and reviews, the threat of clients leaving negative feedback on social media and damaging your salon’s reputation is always a cause for concern.

No one would blame you for feeling like you’re almost being held to ransom if a customer wants to complain. Nobody likes confrontation and I’m sure the majority of clients want to enjoy their salon experience, so it’s in everyone’s best interest to resolve issues that come along as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Do you have a client who’s never on time? The next time they are more than 15 minutes late, tell them you’re sorry but they will have to rebook, explaining that fitting them in would cause your other appointments to run late and that you have a responsibility to all your clients. This way, you deal with the issue constructively and there’s a good chance the client will arrive on the dot next time.

What about unhappy clients? The best thing to do is to address the situation head on. Ask the client why they’re upset and then try to resolve the issue before they leave the salon, booking them in for another appointment free of charge or fixing the problem, for example, a chipped nail, there and then. This way, the client will be less likely to comment negatively about your business on social media.

The most important thing in any of these situations is to remain calm and move the customer away from other clients so it causes less of a scene in the salon. If the complaint involves a member of staff, speak to them separately because there are always two points of view. However, if you think the client is taking advantage and feel the complaint isn’t valid, then you are within your rights to refuse to treat them.

Anna Germaine is director of beauty product manufacturer The Edge Nail and Beauty. She has 25 years’ industry experience.

DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS TO PUT TO OUR EXPERTS?

Send your question about absolutely anything to do with running a beauty business to editorial@professionalbeauty.co.uk

I want to put together a workplace wellness scheme. Where do I start?

Creating an employee wellness programme that focuses on your therapists’ physical and mental wellbeing could benefit your business in more ways than one. Staff are the face and personality of your business and to deliver the best service to your client base they need to feel good.

When setting up your programme, think about what you want to do while staying pragmatic about what the business can afford. Contributing to employees’ preventative health is a good place to start. Dietary programmes, where staff encourage one another to eat healthier and bring in delicious snacks for everyone, work well and don’t cost a thing.

If you carry a supplements range, offer these to your therapists daily and partner with other local businesses to give them discounts on gym memberships and yoga sessions to keep them active.

If you’re a larger business with a greater budget then you could invest in private GP services for staff, intravenous recovery therapies with a provider such as Reviv, or team pamper days out at a spa. Health for wealth is for the people and the business. It’s a movement that’s happening and will continue to grow. My advice for any business owner is to make small steps now because you can be sure your competition will be doing this in the future.

Michelle Quimby is owner of Body Contour Beauty Salon in Cheshire and a Professional Beauty Influencer, providing feedback via focus groups.

How can I set myself up as a permanent make-up specialist in my area?

You may be the most skilled technician in your borough but how are potential clients finding you? You need to make yourself stand out from others in the area.

Most of my clients come from Google searches and in one year the site sent more than 120,000 people to my website, all of who were looking for eyebrow tattooing, corrections and removal in Brighton (where I was based previously). The best thing was, I didn’t even pay for this advertising, it came organically because I had my website and social media accounts set up correctly.

Your website should state where you’re based in the title page. For example, on mine it says “Beautiful Ink – Permanent Makeup Manchester”. If you use Facebook as your main business page, search “permanent make-up” and your town name on the platform to check your page is being shown in searches.

Next, plan how to get more exposure. Do you want your site to grow organically through friend and client shares or do you want to pay to boost posts? It’s worth knowing that a sponsored Facebook post directing people to your website does wonders for how much Google likes you. Being a specialist isn’t just about being good at what you do, it’s about being found and remembered.

Lisa Henning is director of Beautiful Ink training and supplies, and an educator specialising in microbladingto- machine conversion courses.

How can I explain to clients why it’s important that salons are compliant with 0.3 tanning regulations?

When it comes to indoor tanning on a sunbed, there are a number of factors to be considered as an operator working to best practice. Ensuring your sunbeds comply with the European Standard regulating the maximum UV output of a sunbed, colloquially known as 0.3 compliance, is just one.

A 0.3-compliant session is approved by the EU and complies with all British and European consumer safety regulations, and it delivers the same tanning effect as the midday Mediterranean summer sun. With more recent advances in UV lamp technology, a compliant sunbed session does take slightly longer than a non-compliant session in order to obtain the same skin pigmentation.

It’s definitely worth explaining the benefits of compliant tanning to clients. With 0.3 tanning, the client’s tan will be longer-lasting; the process is kinder to the skin and, very importantly, the risk of over-exposure or burning is substantially reduced.

Compliant sessions will not generate as much heat but contrary to popular beliefs held by clients, heat isn’t a factor for tanning – indeed, it’s quite the opposite. Remember there’s no such thing as a compliant tube, even if the tube is etched with “0.3” – it’s a combination of the right tubes in a particular sunbed that will deliver a compliant session.

Gary Lipman is managing director of The JK Group, chairman of The Sunbed Association and board member of The Beauty Companies Association. He has more than 33 years’ experience in the industry.

What are the hygiene and safety risks around lash treatments?

The eye area is extremely sensitive, so it’s important that you’re up to date with the latest requirements to work in a safe fashion. Hygiene before, during and after lash-extension treatments is essential to ensure a professional and beautiful finish.

Carry out a full consultation with the client to see if there are any problems around the eye area and, before starting the treatment, sterilise your hands. Disposable blue nitrile medical gloves and a face mask should also be worn.

A fresh set of tweezers should be used for every client, and make sure you have spares to hand just in case you drop one. The tweezers should be made of good-quality stainless steel so they can be repeatedly sterilised without degradation; solutions such as Barbicide are good for this.

Glue rings are a great way to ensure you’re working on a clean, disposable surface for each client. When you dispense the glue, make sure the top of the nozzle doesn’t come into direct contact with the ring, keeping it free of any infected area, and once finished dispose of all waste.

At the end of treatment, clean your tweezers with glue remover before sterilising again, replace any towels used with new ones and tell your client not to touch her new lashes before sanitising her hands.

Ruth Atkins is a lash and brow specialist and educator at Salon System, which manufactures Marvelash and Naturalash.

I want to make it big as a nail tech. How can I set myself apart?

The nail industry is a hard one to crack. Clients are more demanding and inquisitive than ever – the minute a new trend lands, social media blows it up and boom, everyone is asking for it. In a world where so many people now want to be nail technicians, what can you do to set yourself apart from the rest? Your work really needs to be on form.

It’s about creating little masterpieces every day and marketing them well on social media. By doing this you can earn a really good living. To grab clients’ and the big brands’ attention, your designs need to range from glitter and embellishments to intricate looks that appear catwalk-ready.

Education is the most fundamental part of the job. Things change constantly, from trends, tools and techniques to technology. You can never know enough about the skin or the chemicals in products and how they react, so book yourself on to new training every year.

Knowing the structure of the nail inside out is paramount as it means you can adapt your methods based on the client’s nail health, still creating amazing results.

Making sure that you’re constantly learning will help you do nails quicker, and more neatly and intricately, and this professionalism is what will get you noticed.

Lisa Wells is head educator in the South for professional nail brand INK London, which manufactures a wide range of products, from gel-polish to powders and brushes.

With so many make-up tutorials on YouTube, is it worth training at an academy anymore?

Make-up artistry is a craft best learned from MUAs who have the knowledge and experience of working in the beauty industry. They can put you on the path to success which is something a YouTube tutorial cannot do.

Professional and accredited make-up schools are the way to go if you’re serious about becoming a successful make-up artist. YouTube doesn’t teach you about good hygiene and these days clients are more aware of unqualified artists double dipping mascara wands and not cleaning brushes.

Plus, if you’ve got your make-up knowledge from social media there’s a good chance you’re missing out on some key information, such as what works for different face shapes. For example, YouTubers don’t tend to cover what to do when you come across skin problems or allergies, but a professional MUA can teach you how to address these issues.

A professional education will also see you trained up on the business side of things too, like how to start your own company, work in a fastpaced environment and build your clientele, as well as the important insurance, marketing and branding information you’ll need, how to set up contracts and what to charge.

Clare Pearson is owner of Clare Pearson Hair & Make-up in Oban, Argyll, and a PB Influencer, providing feedback via focus groups.