Self-Care Success

With increasing consumer awareness around sustainability and self-care, we caught up with two salon owners to learn how they’ve elevated their guest experience by taking a more holistic approach to hair—and their business.

From being more ingredient-conscious to becoming more mindful about mental health, more and more clients have a heightened awareness of green and clean beauty trends, products and services and are seeking feel-good options to help them look and feel better from the inside out.

“I think consumers appreciate those things a lot more now,” says Roberto Sinopoli, owner of Verde Salon in Winnipeg. “They’re willing to spend money on them, but they want to get good value for their money. It should be a relaxing experience for the guest because they want to take that time for themselves, but the products should actually work.”

Scalp Therapy

As more professional beauty brands have launch skincare-inspired products for hair, there’s been a rising demand for scalp care. And while scalp massages have been a mainstay for many salon backbars—included with the client’s shampoo—some salon owners are expanding their service menu to offer more treatment options and build business around scalp care.

For Sinopoli, his salon offers onehour scalp treatments with benefits for anti-aging, thinning hair and overall scalp renewal. “Healthy hair starts at the scalp, and I believe it’s something that gets overlooked by our guests,” he says. “The treatment business is very good for salons, and it’s a great way to increase your revenue by anywhere from six to 15 per cent.”

“Our treatments are very relaxing for guests in the salon, and I think it’s something they truly appreciate,” he adds. “We also have take-home scalp-care products, but offering the treatment in the salon has many benefits for guests coming in and the salon as a business.”

For Dat Tran, a hairstylist and owner of Album Hair in Toronto, he’s been in search of ways to take scalp care to the next level. Last November, he launched Scalp Massage Therapy, a clinical approach to scalp-care treatments in which he works with a registered massage therapist (RMT), to provide his clients with a thorough consultation and analysis to help identify any hair and scalp concerns, such as dryness, oiliness, thinning hair, scalp irritation and eczema. Available in 15-, 30- and 60-minute intervals, the treatments include a pre-shampoo hair treatment, deep scalp purifying mask and exfoliation that use certifiedorganic and high-performance active ingredients and essential oils.

“Many of us use serums for our skin to add elasticity and collagen and prevent oily or dry skin,” he says. “The scalp has the same things, but no one really educates on that and how we prolong and aid in that aspect—going above and beyond shaping the hair and haircut. That’s just the external part. How do we focus on the internal part? I wanted to add an RMT to the service because they have points they can focus on to stimulate the scalp that extends to the shoulder, neck and back.”

Tran strongly believes in the benefits and aspires to educate other salons about the service so that they can integrate it into their businesses, too. He’s hopeful that the service can help beauty professionals as well.

“The service helps with anxiety, stress and migraines,” he says. “During COVID, we’re getting to a point of exhaustion. People are trying to do as much as they can, but they don’t know how many treatments are available.”

Beauty in Sustainability

In addition to self-care, having a sustainable approach has been beneficial for salons. As more clients seek businesses that align with their own values, it can help salons grow their clientele.

“I believe consumers are very conscious of the impact they have on the environment, and they are consciously sourcing out businesses that they feel they can trust and are doing their part,” says Sinopoli. “At this point, I don’t think it should be optional anymore; it should be mandatory that we consider what consequences our actions have on our planet and in our communities.”

For Sinopoli, being eco-conscious has been a mission for his team since day one. His salons have partnered with Green Circle Salons to recycle their waste. While sustainability speaks to him on a business level and personal level, the additional costs are not easily absorbed. Therefore, he and his team have thought of innovative ways to offset the extra costs associated with being more sustainable. In addition to implementing an eco-fee, the salon offers a Recycle & Save program, which enables his clients and guests to bring in their used or empty beauty products (from any brand) and recycle them through Green Circle Salons to receive a 10 per cent discount on any product. “It’s been a win-win for everyone,” he says.