A salon has a very recognisable smell problem: the ammonia in colour and bleach. It is a sharp smell, it rises fast and it clings to the room. And the client coming in for a haircut notices it before they even sit down.
Neutralise first, then add fragrance
The usual mistake is to fill the salon with a sweet fragrance to cover the colour. It does not work: ammonia is more volatile and it wins. What does work is splitting the job across two zones.
- Technical and backwash area. This is where the neutraliser goes, acting on the bad smell instead of adding another one on top.
- Waiting, cutting and till area. This is where the fragrance goes, because this is the one clients associate with your brand.
If your salon is small and you cannot separate the zones, prioritise neutralising and keep the fragrance very soft. A salon that smells of nothing is better than one that smells of a mixture.
Ventilation does half the work
No equipment makes up for poor extraction. If the salon has an extractor fan, check that it works and that it sits in the technical area, not by the door. If there is none, airing the room for ten minutes between colour services changes the result considerably.
Choosing the scent
In barber shops, woody and aromatic profiles work very well, connecting with the world of the classic wet shave. In women's salons, white florals and elegant citrus notes are more common. In both cases go for a recognisable profile: this is the smell clients will associate with you and miss everywhere else.
You can try several profiles with 5 ml samples before buying a large refill. Take a look at the fragrance catalogue.
Which equipment
Most salons are covered by a unit rated for up to 100 or 120 sqm. If you have a basement or two floors, two small units beat one large one pushed to its limit. And if the premises are rented, cordless or plug-in wall models mean you do not have to touch anything.
The detail that makes the difference
Programme the unit to start half an hour before opening. By the time the first client walks in, the room is already there. It is a one-minute adjustment that shows more than turning up the intensity. The video tutorials show you how.
Tell us the floor area and whether you have a separate technical area, at info@bendis.es, and we will suggest the setup.
