Adding tattoo and piercing services to your service menu might seem like a funky idea. But you need to look hard at your business model first.
As many salons today toy with the idea of including tattoos and piercings as part of their service menu, we weigh in the pros and cons.
The idea of setting-up a salon is forever evolving in a unique way. From a roadside barber shop and a local parlour to a boutique and unisex salon, it has come a long way. Salon trends today spell luxury, with salon owners striving to provide a world-class experience. What you provide as services make a lot of difference to the quality of customers that walk in.
Initially, a regular salon would only provide a haircut and styling services. Slowly, beauty and skincare sections were smoothly incorporated within the same set-up. Next a separate nail section sprung to life in a corner of the salon. The salon then started catering clients for their hair, skin, make-up and even nail care and makeover needs. However, it took some time for people to accept the change, no matter how good it was. With all these recent fashion and beauty trends coming from the West, we can’t deny that tattooing has a huge following among Indians. And that brings us to the moot point. Is it a good idea to have a small ‘get inked’ section at favourite salon?
Sharing space
A tattoo artist sitting with his tools and equipment in the same salon doesn’t sound like a bad idea, but salon professionals are not yet sure about pairing the two. Though this idea has been adopted by few as an experiment in the West, it was observed that people were apprehensive about it. Hygiene is one of the major issues. “With many walk-ins all through the day, I am not sure if it’s a good idea to have a tattoo parlour in the salon. Inking the skin needs concentration and utmost hygienic conditions, which I am not sure a salon can provide,” says Deepak Jalhan, Creative Director and Educator, LOOKS Salon.
Apart from that, there are many who feel that having their tattoo corner inside an established salon brand will take away from the artists’ brand value. Tattooing requires the use extensive equipment and tools. And space crunch is an omnipresent issue even with premium luxury spaces, specially in metros. Many hairdressers share their worry on people’s perception about tattoos. Though, it’s changing, many are still wary of the concept and having a tattoo parlour inside a salon might bring down the salon’s footfall on the whole.
However, the fact remains that the India has a young population that demands everything trendy, provided with unmatched comfort. It might not be a surprise if this concept gains popularity in times to come.
What the expert thinks..
- “I don’t see a great deal of synergy between the two businesses. You can achieve a great deal of business goals by having them as two separate but adjoining businesses. It also totally depends on the size of the salon and the space you can provide for the tattoo studio, which is huge. In my opinion both, the salon and the tattoo studio, demand intense concentration and time and therefore should be independent of each other. Tattooing requires a different kind of ambience and space and salon probably won’t be a good idea for its placement,” says Deepak.
