White: Is the look worth the headache?

You want the look of your salon or spa to be inviting, relaxing, and a place where clients want to make it their "home base" for their beauty needs.  One of the most important aspects to consider is the color schemes you want in your equipment.  Lighter colors and darker colors have their pros and cons.  Lighter colors will make your space look bigger, cleaner, and more fresh - that is, if you're willing to manage and keep up on it.  Darker colors will tend to hide and not show dirt, dust, color spills, etc., but it's a standard color many use.  The constant struggle between going bold with white, or safe with a dark color like black, brown or gray, can be tough for some.  Here are a couple tips to consider when going white.  First, the chairs.  These are your highest-usage, so naturally, they'll pick up and show any inconsistencies at a quicker rate.  Further, you're not always able to control what clients wear or what environments they come from when they enter the chair.  For example, clients who wear blue jeans may not realize it sometimes may leave a little blue or black from the denim in the white chair after they're done.  One thing we offer on our chairs are clear plastic back covers.  This helps in maintaining the look of the chair for longer.  We also sell replacement cushions, which are far more cost-effective than buying a whole new chair.  White shampoo bowls are somewhat easier to get away with.  If you're doing a lot of color, the white bowl is a nice backdrop in determining when you've got all the color out of your client's hair.  But remember, enough color residue and build up that is not regularly cleaned and maintained will make your white bowl no longer look white.  White stations are, I feel, the most reasonable and easy to maintain.  My main reason for this is that at your station, you're in control of what you do in your space there.  You know if you need to clean your hands before touching the station or it's components, or not to set dirty towels on the ledge.  Yes, inconsistencies will still show if not accounted for so you'll want to continue to be quick in cleaning and diligent in maintaining the "shine" of your white station.

A salon or spa owner can pull the "white look" off as long as they coach the stylists and technicians on care for the equipment and are actively engaged and willing to keep it up.  We're all a team, and it's no different than a team effort in anything else!