With a new year comes new opportunities, optimism and openness to new ideas and 2026 guarantees to be see evolution and transitions for the hairdressing industry. Business owners give their thoughts on what’s to come.
Benjamin Shipman, The Hair Movement, Sidcup
“At The Hair Movement, we’ve had seven years of consistent growth, and 2025 cemented this with exceptional results. Now 2026 is about designing the next chapter and scalability of our model and I am ridiculously excited about this. Priorities are shifting how we lead, how we manage time and energy, how we protect standards, and how we build a culture that people want to be part of. At the same time, our guests are more informed, more selective, and more values-led than ever, which means we can’t rely on old formulas. We’ve got to keep evolving, keep refining, and keep pushing ourselves — not for the sake of trend, but to stay relevant, exceptional, and genuinely worth choosing. I believe the co worker model is a natural part of that evolution. Talented professionals want autonomy without isolation — independence with standards, freedom with structure, and a place to grow without compromising who they are. That’s why I think this kind of business structure will become far more mainstream over the next few years. Real salons are built on people, behaviour, and culture and the future looks more flexible, more personalised, and more human, and I think the industry is only just catching up with that.
Benjamin’s key advice for 2026: “If I had any advice going into the New Year, it would be: take an honest look at how your salon really runs. Look at what you do, how you do it, what you’re spending, and what you’re getting back for it. Not in a negative way, just properly. Go through your costs one by one and ask, “Is this helping the business grow?” and “Is this improving standards, guest experience, team culture, or profit?” If the answer’s no, it probably needs adjusting. Sometimes that means cutting it. Sometimes it just means tightening it up or spending in a smarter place.
Billy Ryan, Tribe Salons, London
The last few years rewarded visibility and attention, but the current climate has exposed those that lack substance. The salons that have come through it are the ones that focused on fundamentals rather than marketing gimmicks. 2026 feels like a year where these businesses are rewarded. People want leadership they can trust, clear progression and working environments that feel calm rather than chaotic. Businesses that invest in this will be able to move forward with more confidence. The change in the industry is already happening. The gap between well-run salons and everything else will continue to widen. Clients will be more selective about where they spend their money, teams will need more security and costs will continue to rise, which makes weak systems harder to hide. Salons built primarily around visibility or a single personality often struggle to scale or sustain momentum without burning out. Those that prioritise structure, team development and consistency are far more likely to last, long-term. Ryan’s key advice for 2026: Focus on what you can control and take it seriously.
Be clear about what you want the business to be. Set priorities and make decisions that support them. Good planning puts you on the front foot and reduces unnecessary pressure. Moving from firefighting to forecasting makes a real difference. Businesses that plan their year tend to spend less time fixing problems and catching up. Growth does not always come from doing more or having another bright idea. It often comes from doing the boring things properly and consistently.
Sean Hanna, salon entrepreneur and founder of Sean Hanna Consultancy
I’m really looking forward to 2026; it is always good to start the new year with some positive energy. Business leaders need to be just that, ‘leaders’ and the new year can give us a chance to shine, to get re-energised and give our teams the boost they deserve. I believe the tough trading conditions will encourage an increased number of salon owners to become more business focused alongside their creative aspirations and that will be good for them and also for the industry as a whole. Take stock of how you did in 2025 – that’s your starting point. If you’ve had the best year ever, then maybe just keep doing the same thing. But if like most business owners, you would like 2026 to be a step up from 2025 then you need to look for areas where you can focus on improvements. Your main areas of focus should be:
Your team - Motivation and education. Create a new development plan for each team member.
Your client experience - Ask how could you improve the journey of each and every client that comes through your door.
Your financial controls - Do a genuine audit of both your fixed and variable costs. There are always improvements that can be made.
Your marketing and communications - Have you created a proactive marketing calendar for 2026? So, you are not just ‘hoping’ for more clients to walk through your door.
Sean’s key advice for 2026: Make the time to have a proper strategy meeting, either on your own, or with your leadership team or even ChatGPT if you don’t have anyone to bounce with. Make a real plan of how you can improve each of these four elements. Improvements don’t have to be huge, lots of small improvements can make a significant difference when combined.
Always remember that if you do the same thing this year as you did last year, then it likely that your results will be same at best and probably worse. Trying hard and hoping hard are not business strategies, so go to your calendar and set a date now for that strategy meeting, it is the perfect way to kick start your business for the new year.
Harry Andreou, Studio U, Winchester
I’m really looking forward to Studio U breathing on its own after opening it a few months ago. I’ve spent so long building the foundations, shaping the space, imagining the energy and I’m genuinely excited to see it come to life with the right people in it. There’s something special about creating a space that isn’t just another salon but a place where stylists can actually shape their own day, their own pace, their own version of success. I think that’s the bit I’m most looking forward to.
Watching talented artists settle in, finding their rhythm, and knowing we built the environment that made that possible. I think business in 2026 is going to look very different the shift is already happening. More stylists want flexibility, autonomy, a bit more say in how they work instead of being squeezed into a structure that hasn’t changed in decades. People aren’t willing to burn out for the sake of tradition anymore, and I don’t think they should. The industry is leaning more towards self-employment, studios, chair rental models that put the stylist in the driver’s seat. And that’s kind of the whole point of Studio U. We’re leaning into that change rather than pretending it isn’t happening. Instead of fighting for control, we’re creating a space that hands it back to the artist. I think that’s where the future is heading.
Harry’s key advice for 2026: If I had to pin it down, I’d say the goal is to stay open - to ideas, to new ways of working, to letting people be themselves. The businesses that’ll thrive are the ones that evolve instead of clinging to old systems just because they’re familiar. Don’t confuse comfort with progress. It’s easy to stay in something familiar and safe, even when it’s holding you back. Choosing change, even in small steps, has a funny way of opening things up. It creates space for better days, better work, better balance - all the things we say we want but rarely make room for.
