If you are looking for some salon interior design inspiration, we have plenty of inspiration to spark your imagination here on our Salons Direct blog. Our Salon Design of the Month series brings you the most beautiful hair and beauty salons, nail bars and barbershops to show you the very best in salon interior design.
In this edition of ‘Salon Design Of The Month’, we catch up with Kayleigh Clark, owner of Kayleigh Jane Extensions salon and academy.
How did your salon begin?
I have been in the industry now for almost nine years. I started at the bottom, working from home with a toddler running around, washing hair over the bath etc. I’ve also rented chairs in salons & then ventured into renting small units & turned them into salon spaces. It was early 2021 during COVID times when I really missed doing my own thing. From here on, I decided I wanted to return to the industry with a bang & go bigger & better. It took a while to find the right place, but when I saw this unit, I knew it was the one due to the size, location & potential it had.
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How did you decide upon the design of your salon?
I kind of just knew what I wanted. I had this vision in my head that I aimed to bring to life. For every unit I looked at, I’d be up all night that night drawing plans to see where I would place the reception, basin & chairs & basically seeing what would work. Sleeping was impossible with all the ideas running through my head.
When I’m onto something, I get very excited and probably a little obsessed too, but it always pays off in the end. I eventually had some visual plans made up by Salon Bae, I gave them all my drawings & ideas & they were able to put it all together so I could visualise how it was going to look & it was exactly what I’d hoped for, if not better.
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What are some of your favourite products and tools to use in your salon?
I wouldn’t be without our Hair Made Easy preloaded nano rings! It is such a simple yet effective design that helps us to load our Nanos much quicker, seeing as we used to have to load them one by one, which was highly time-consuming. It’s a fab product!
Another of my faves is our own branded tape and remover that are used to remove and refit tape extensions. We source the tape from abroad and have started selling it to salons far and wide in the industry. It has become extremely popular because it leaves behind barely any residue & is not overly sticky and messy like most tapes on the market. With these, it’s much easier and quicker when refitting tapes, even without washing the hair in between! They are a real game changer, and it’s all about working smart, not hard.
How do you stand out from your competitors?
We stand out first due to the fact our bright pink salon cannot be missed, & because it is so stunning even if I do say do myself. But more importantly, we stand out over our competition because our work is second to none. Each and every set of extensions are fitted to perfection, safe & comfortable, using the very best quality hair and method for their hair type to ensure there is no damage caused.
We do all we can to make them feel the very best version of themselves, and we top this off with excellent customer service. We go above & beyond, always aiming to exceed their expectations, meaning they keep coming back & refer us to their friends & family.
What do you think makes a successful salon?
Besides delivering excellent customer service, I believe in building close relationships with clients. To a certain degree, it’s not just your services that clients can be sold on; sometimes it’s you as a person or your team & if they really like you, you’ll build trust & loyalty with them & they’ll keep coming. I also think that you need to be on top of your game at whatever hair or beauty treatments you offer & I constantly recommend re-investing in yourself/ your team. Even if you consider yourself the best, you can never learn too much & can continually improve on something, so keeping on top of the latest trends is crucial.
How do you think social media has influenced our industry?
Massively! We now all use social media daily as a normal part of life. And even better, it is completely free advertising. Personally, without social media, I do not think I would be where I am today. I moved to Leeds 6 years ago, where I had not one single client & I have gained a vast client base through social media alone. It is everything, and I cannot stress enough to my team how important it is to get good content for social media, as those pictures & videos are how we gain most of our following clients.
Related: Social Media Hacks to Boost Your Salon Business
How do you keep up to date with the latest industry trends?
We follow all of the well-known celebs and jump on whatever it is they’re doing with their hair. Some people can be obsessed with following celeb hairstyles, for e.g. so we keep an eye on what’s in fashion so we know what clients might be looking to achieve with their hair and, of course, make sure we know how to achieve it. We’re also on top of our game with training in new methods immediately if they come onto the market & ensure we’re always offering the most discreet methods, balayage & rooted colours & of course, the best quality of hair.
What advice can you give to others wanting to open a salon?
What I have always done is jump straight into things, so maybe don’t be as much of a daredevil as I am & go all in straight away, but at the same time, don’t spend years just thinking about it. If it’s what you want & you’re sure you will do it someday, then ask yourself, what are you waiting for? There is no better time than the here & now, so as long as you’re ready to put in the hard work & you’re good at what you do & can afford to do it, then JUST GO FOR IT!
It can be really challenging at times & there will be struggles along the way, but without making mistakes along the way, you don’t learn & become better next time. You will be immensely proud of yourself when it all works out. It is literally a dream come true when you stand back & take a good look at what you’ve achieved.
What can we expect from your salon business in 2022 and beyond?
I aim to introduce an online training portal so I can share my tips & tricks with others in the industry without the need for people to have to travel to me at the Academy. The training portal will include a range of video tutorials & ebooks that can be purchased by qualified hair extensions specialists; they’ll be very specific to their needs & simple & quick to purchase. I also hope to expand the training academy by taking on more educators so we can offer hair extension courses further afield (outside of Leeds, where our current courses take place.)
We are also currently learning a new method of hair loss systems as I wasn’t a fan of the mesh integration training I received previously, but I have faith that this one is the next best thing for those clients suffering from hair loss due to chemotherapy or medical conditions such alopecia.]
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