Salon Lighting Guide – Make your Salon Standout

After a visit to the salon or hairdresser, customers want to leave the store satisfied and like to come back for the next cut. In this blog post we will show you how you can get the best out of your hairdressing salon with the right lighting concept and how you can improve your own performance by choosing the best lights for your salon.

There are a few key factors to consider when selecting lighting for a hair salon:

  • Brightness: Hair salons typically require bright lighting to ensure that stylists can see the hair clearly while cutting, coloring, and styling. This can be achieved through a combination of natural light (if the salon has windows) and artificial lighting.
  • Color temperature: The color temperature of the lighting can affect the way colors appear in the salon. Warm, yellow light can make colors appear softer and more natural, while cool, blue light can make colors appear brighter and more vibrant.
  • Glare: Glare can be a problem in hair salons, as it can make it difficult for stylists to see the hair clearly. To reduce glare, you may want to consider installing diffusers or using light fixtures that are specifically designed to reduce glare.
  • Energy efficiency: Energy-efficient lighting can help reduce your electricity bills and your salon’s carbon footprint. LED lights are a popular choice because they are energy efficient and have a long lifespan.

Why is good lighting so important in the hair salon?

The right lighting in the hairdressing salon plays an important role, as it improves the ambience of the salon, sets the scene for furnishings and goods and stimulates the desire to buy. In addition, the lighting design has an impact on the well-being of customers and employees. It also promotes the productivity of the staff, which is particularly important in a hairdressing salon. For example, if the light on the dressing table is blinding or even casts shadows, even the best hairdresser can make unsightly mistakes. Without the right lighting, the trendy new cut can quickly turn into a minor disaster. In addition, coloring can also very quickly bring about a result that was not intended at all if the color was misrepresented by the light. At the dressing table, customers not only watch the cutting, dyeing or make-up, they also examine and evaluate the finished work. Appropriate lighting is therefore essential.

Which lamps are suitable for hairdressing lighting?

We recommend LED light sources for optimal lighting of your hairdressing salon. Since the ban on halogen, at the latest, it makes sense to switch to LEDs, because as an alternative to conventional lightings such as fluorescent tubes or halogen bulbs, you can save a lot of electricity costs with LEDs. With the efficient lights, you can save up to 90% energy and not only do something good for your wallet, but also for the environment. Further advantages of the “Light Emitting Diodes” are a long service life and constant brightness.

Let your hairdressing salon shine in a new light with LEDs and win more customers thanks to professional lighting design.

Which salon areas do you need to differentiate between?

A hair salon can be divided into several areas. Since each area fulfills different tasks, the ideal lighting conditions are also individual. We have put together an overview for you below:

Entrance area:

The first impression is difficult to change – that’s why the entrance area of ​​your hairdressing salon should convince customers. This works particularly well with an inviting and atmospheric atmosphere. We recommend using lamps with dimmers for this purpose. With these lamps, it is possible to change the light intensity and the light color with the help of dimmers.

Waiting room:

In the waiting area, the feel-good factor should play an important role, because customers could stay here for a long time when there is a lot of activity. You should lean back and relax, have a coffee or another drink and browse through a magazine in peace. Discreetly used light creates a cozy ambiance and underlines the cozy hairdressing equipment. For the waiting area, we recommend the use of LED retro and vintage lamps in a modern design.

Washing area:

In the washing area, customers not only get their hair washed but often also a head massage or a beauty treatment. With indirect lighting, you create a resting point in your salon where your customers can relax thanks to the subdued light. The implementation of indirect ceiling lighting is easy to implement using LED strips or LED tubes that are hidden behind a cover on the ceiling. Alternatively, you can also consider LED ceiling lights, just make sure that the lights do not shine the light directly on the customers’ eyes – otherwise, you cannot relax in the wash area. The light color in this area should be warm and pleasant. Further Track and folding spotlights with warm light illuminate the washing area for pleasant general lighting. The hairdresser does not need a work light here, because it is only about maximizing the well-being of the customers. Dimmable LEDs are particularly recommended; you can use them to adjust the light intensity depending on the treatment.

Hairdressing station:

The hairdressing stations are the heart of every hairdressing salon. Since concentration and eyesight are particularly important here, the illuminance should be correspondingly high. The dressing table is used for cutting, coloring, and make-up, so the area should not be in the shade if possible but should be completely illuminated. Above the hairdresser itself, a swiveling LED track spotlight with cold work light illuminates the customer’s head. The right angle is crucial here so that there is no obstructive shadow play. What is required is bright basic lighting that is both inviting and pleasant, so daylight white should not be selected. As an alternative to the track spotlight, a UGR <19 LED panel can be used. At this point, the IEC 60050-845 standard applies. The requirements for the lighting of workplaces in interiors state that the illuminance in the salon (especially at the work station, i.e. hairdressing area) should be at least 500 lux. You can easily achieve this high light output by using a high-quality LED panel.

The hairdressing station does not only consist of the hairdresser’s work area, but also of the customer area – this includes everything that lies in front of the customer, such as the mirror. A warm, diffuse light ensures that the customer feels comfortable – and looks good at the same time. Two LED track lights per hairdressing chair (one on the right, one on the left) create uniform illumination. In addition, the spotlights should offer color rendering level 1, so the products must have 90 Ra. This value is very close to that of sunlight, which is 100 Ra. There is a reason for this because sunlight reproduces the properties of colors most naturally and also extremely correctly.

Presentation of goods:

In a hairdressing salon, not only services but also goods are offered. Wherever there are product displays and shelves, high illuminance is important. Prices and the descriptions of the ingredients on the shampoo bottles, hair treatments, and co. Must always be easy to read for both employees and customers. In sales areas, accent lighting – for example with tightly bundled LED track spotlights that direct the light onto the products on display – is indispensable. In addition, you can set accents through the targeted use of decorative light such as indirect LED strips and draw customers’ attention to certain products.

Checkout area:

At the counter, the customer has to be able to count his money without straining his eyes too much. Reading the invoice must also be possible without any problems. A high illuminance should therefore be used here. LED panels are very suitable for this type of general lighting . Not only can they be installed in grid or coffered ceilings, with a suitable frame they can also be installed on fixed ceilings.

Conclusion

With the right light, you can make your hair salon a success. The lighting concept must meet the requirements of the work and at the same time comply with legal regulations. With the use of modern LED lighting, you can work glare-free at the dressing table and your customers feel comfortable in your salon.