Salon SOPs: Opening, Closing, Hygiene and Service Checklists You Can Copy

A salon runs on hundreds of small habits, and SOPs are those habits written down. Without them, the service a client gets depends on who is working that day and how busy it is. With them, a new junior can open the salon, and a regular gets the same experience whichever stylist she books.

Most owners write SOPs for a quiet Tuesday morning and then audit them on one. The steps that matter fail at 6 pm on a Saturday, when there is a wait and a towel short. The checklists below are written for that hour. Copy them, adapt them, and pin them where the work happens.

#What is a salon SOP, and why do you need one?

A salon SOP (standard operating procedure) is a written, step-by-step way of doing a recurring task, so that everyone does it the same way and to the same standard. You need SOPs because they make service consistent, cut training time for new staff, keep hygiene from slipping on busy days, and let the salon run properly when you are not there.

Keep every SOP to one page, in the same format. Long manuals get written once and never read.

#What goes on a salon opening checklist?

An opening checklist gets the salon client-ready before the first appointment: power and lights, hygiene, stations, the front desk and the day's plan, done in the same order every day. Give it to one named person per shift, so it never becomes "someone will do it".

The billing system goes on before the first client sits down, not when the front desk person arrives. That ordering matters more than it looks.

#What goes on a salon closing checklist?

A closing checklist settles the money, resets hygiene for tomorrow and secures the premises, in that order. Most "missing" cash and most messy mornings trace back to a closing done in a hurry.

The money part of closing deserves its own routine, covered in salon daily cash closing. Low stock noted at closing should feed straight into your reorders, which the salon inventory guide covers.

#What is the hygiene and sterilisation SOP?

Every tool that touches a client is cleaned and disinfected between clients, every single-use item is thrown away after one client, and every staff member cleans their hands before and after each service. Those three rules cover most of the infection risk in a salon, and clients notice when they are followed.

Hand hygiene

Use an alcohol-based hand rub between clients when hands are not visibly dirty; the WHO's hand-rub technique takes 20 to 30 seconds. Wash with soap and water when hands are visibly soiled, after using the restroom and after handling waste; the WHO's handwashing technique takes 40 to 60 seconds. Put the two WHO posters, linked in the sources, above your basins.

Tools, linen and surfaces

Mix disinfectant from a measuring bottle marked at the label's dilution, never by eye: too weak doesn't disinfect, and too strong can damage tools and skin. Replace the solution on the schedule the label gives, or sooner if it looks cloudy, and stick to the contact time; a quick dip and a wipe is not disinfection.

How many towels does a salon need?

Work it out from your busiest day and how long a wash takes to come back dry.

Formula: Towels needed = clients on your busiest day × towels per client × days a towel takes to come back, plus a day's buffer

If there is a cut or blood

1. Stop the service and put on gloves.
2. Give the client clean cotton to press on the cut, then apply antiseptic and cover it with a plaster.
3. Put all blood-stained cotton and single-use items into a sealed bag before they go in the bin.
4. Clean and disinfect, or sterilise, the tool before it is used again.
5. Drop used blades into a puncture-proof sharps container, never the open bin.
6. Note it in the incident log: date, client, staff member, what happened and what was done.

Your local trade or health licence may set its own hygiene conditions, so check them alongside these steps, using salon licences and registrations.

#What is the client consultation SOP?

Every service starts with a short consultation at the chair, before the cape goes on, to agree the result, check for allergies and skin or scalp problems, and confirm the price. Most redos and billing arguments come from a consultation that was skipped or rushed.

1. Greet the client by name, and look at her record for past services, formulas and notes.
2. Ask what she wants and why, and ask for a photo if she has one.
3. Check the condition of her hair or skin, and ask about allergies, recent treatments and anything the service's checklist requires.
4. For hair colour, confirm that the skin test the product's instructions require has been done.
5. Explain honestly what is achievable today, agree the result in her words and repeat it back.
6. State the price and time before starting, including any add-ons.
7. Note the agreed service, formula and anything important in her record.

The full consultation flow for colour, keratin, facials, waxing and lash tints, with the patch-test rules on Indian hair-dye labels and a consent form, is in the consultation and patch-test playbook.

#What are the SOPs for a haircut, hair colour and a facial?

A service SOP lists the steps in order, with the standard for each, so a client gets the same experience whichever stylist she books. The three below cover common services; write the rest in the same format.

Haircut SOP

1. Consultation, as per the consultation SOP.
2. Gown, neck strip and towel; check the client is comfortable.
3. Shampoo and condition at the basin, testing the water temperature on your wrist first.
4. Detangle and section cleanly.
5. Cut to the agreed shape, cross-checking balance and length in the mirror.
6. Show her the length before the final detailing, and adjust if she asks.
7. Blow-dry and style, explaining how to recreate it at home.
8. Show her the back with a hand mirror.
9. Recommend a product or the next visit only if it fits her needs.
10. Brush off hair, remove the gown and walk her to the front desk.
11. Reset the station as per the hygiene SOP.

Hair colour SOP

1. Consultation, including the skin-test record and her past formulas.
2. Protect the skin at the hairline, ears and neck; gown and towel.
3. Weigh and mix the formula, and note the grams used.
4. Section and apply in the agreed order, with a timer running.
5. Check development against the manufacturer's time, not by guesswork.
6. Emulsify and rinse thoroughly, then shampoo and condition with colour-care products.
7. Check the result in daylight or under a daylight lamp.
8. Record the formula, processing time and result in her record.
9. Explain aftercare and when the next root touch-up is due.
10. Book the next appointment at the desk.

Facial and clean-up SOP

1. Consultation: skin type, concerns, allergies and the active ingredients she already uses.
2. Fresh bed roll, towels and headband; hands cleaned.
3. Cleanse twice and look at the skin under a magnifying lamp.
4. Exfoliate or steam, as the chosen facial requires.
5. Extract only where needed, with gloves and sterilised tools.
6. Apply the massage, mask and serums as the facial's protocol sets out, timing each step.
7. Finish with moisturiser, and sunscreen for daytime clients.
8. Explain home care and the gap before the next facial.
9. Record the products used and any reaction.
10. Reset the room: bed roll, towels, tools and surfaces.

#What is the front desk SOP?

The front desk SOP covers greeting, phone and WhatsApp bookings, check-in, billing, rebooking and the day-end tally, because most complaints start or end at the desk.

Confirmations and reminders cut no-shows; see reduce salon no-shows. How to ask for reviews without sounding pushy is covered in get more Google reviews for your salon.

#What should you do when the power goes?

Decide in advance which sockets run on the inverter or generator, what can safely continue, and what you tell clients, because a power cut in the middle of a colour service is not the moment to work it out.

#What is the SOP for a bridal call-out?

A bridal call-out SOP covers the kit, the timing and the venue, because on a wedding morning there is no going back for a forgotten item and no second chance at the time.

How to price and package bridal work is covered in bridal makeup packages and pricing.

#What is the complaint handling SOP?

Handle every complaint the same day and in private: listen fully, apologise for the experience, offer a fix (usually a free correction within a set number of days) and record it. A complaint handled well is a chance to keep a client who would otherwise leave without a word.

1. Move the conversation away from other clients.
2. Listen without interrupting or defending the stylist.
3. Apologise for how she feels about the result.
4. Ask what would make it right, and offer your standard fix: a free correction within a set number of days, ideally with a senior.
5. Agree the fix and the time, and confirm it on WhatsApp.
6. Record the complaint, the cause and the fix in the complaint log.
7. Talk to the stylist privately the same day. Coach; don't blame in public.
8. Follow up after the correction to check she is happy.

Set authority levels so nobody has to wait for the owner. The front desk can book a free correction, the manager can approve a refund up to an amount you set, and anything larger goes to the owner.

#How do you roll out SOPs and audit them?

Roll out one SOP a week: explain why it matters, demonstrate it, let each person practise it, sign it off, then audit it monthly with a short scored checklist. SOPs handed out as a printed bundle are read once and forgotten.

1. One a week. Start with hygiene, then opening, closing, consultation and the front desk.
2. Explain the why. One line per SOP on what goes wrong without it.
3. Demonstrate. The owner or a senior does it once, start to finish.
4. Practise and sign off. Each person does it while being watched, then signs the SOP.
5. Post it where the work happens. Laminated at the colour bar, the basin and the desk.
6. Audit monthly, at your busiest hour. Use the checklist below, unannounced, and share the score with the team.
7. Retrain on repeats. Two misses on the same item means retraining, not a fine.
8. Review every six months. Update the SOP, change the version number and sign it again.

Score it out of 10 and track it month by month. A falling score shows you where to retrain before clients notice.

When you catch a missed step, how you say it decides whether it happens again. Say it privately, name the step and the reason, and ask what got in the way: "I saw the comb go straight from the jar to the next client. It needs its ten minutes, or it isn't clean. What stopped it today?" If the answer is "there was only one set", the problem is yours, not hers. Don't correct anyone in front of a client, and don't make an SOP miss into a fine.

Train new hires on these SOPs from their first day, as the hiring guide describes. If you want SOPs and recurring tasks assigned and tracked in software rather than on a wall chart, Salos Ultra includes team SOP templates and task management.