Give your salon an exclusive air with a vip room

Whether you have a high-end clientele that you'd like to be able to offer a bit more privacy or want to have a separate area that sets you apart from your competition, a VIP room could be the answer.

Helen Thornton senior designer at REM shares her advice for introducing a VIP Room to your salon. 

• You need plenty of space to be able to offer a VIP room. It needs to be a closed-off room, giving complete privacy. Position away from the general hubbub of the salon and away from the main entrance, probably towards the back of the salon. The aim is peace and quiet - an area of the salon where the client can receive personal attention in luxurious surroundings.



• The VIP room needs to be large enough to hold at least two styling positions, a wash unit, comfortable seating and a table for coffee or Champagne.



• One wash unit should be sufficient, but it must be high specification: armchair style, electric leg rest, and vibro-massage unit. All the furniture for the VIP room should be chosen for its luxury look, and comfort. Pampering is the order of the day.



• We would suggest a bespoke bar-type desk to store fluffy towels, but also to serve drinks and nibbles.



• Use subdued lighting to create a relaxed atmosphere. Illuminated mirrors on the styling units can provide the light needed for dressing the hair.



• Take advice from an expert. A VIP room needs to be professionally planned. It needs to be part of the salon, but separate from the salon. Nothing looks worse than a room that has been stuck on as an afterthought.

Karen Dodds, Cutting Room Creative, Leeds, and Errol Douglas, Errol Douglas Salon, London, are making the most of VIP areas. Find out why they introduced the exclusive rooms and how they have used them.    

Karen Dodds, Cutting Room Creative, Leeds

Our VIP room  is our Style Lounge, and is used primarily for top-to-toe style consultations. This information is then fed back to the salon team, who can interpret the prescription for an individual look for the client. We also book the room for My New Hair clients - those suffering medical hair loss - who are more comfortable in a discreet situation.

If one of our celebrity clients wants a low-profile visit, we can book the room for them, too. Although with the set-up of our styling booths, our celebs usually prefer to be in the main salon areas. Finally, we use the room for wedding parties, which usually include the bride, mum, and bridesmaids.

The room has a totally different image and vibe to the rest of the salon, and it creates a calm and soothing environment. Bridal parties usually love the idea of having their own private room, as it adds to the sense of occasion for them.

The Style Lounge is visible to the ground floor and creates a lot of client interest. Clients have to appreciate why they are offered the VIP room, and it has to be kept exclusive or it loses its value.

You need to offer something unique in the room, market it well and get the team and your clients behind it. Otherwise, it will become a white elephant in the corner - or, worse, a junk room. I have seen VIP rooms start off well and then become unused as most clients prefer the buzz of visiting a well-run, lively and fun salon.

Errol Douglas, Knightsbridge, London

I feel that a VIP room is important to give privacy to clients who do not feel comfortable in the salon for whatever reason.

Our VIP room has a state-of-the-art flat bed for hair treatments and false eyelash application, two extra chairs to allow groups, a fridge for cold drinks, and an iPod dock so our clients can make themselves at home. The VIP room is great for celebrities, clients who wear wigs, women who can't show their hair for religious reasons, or anyone who requests more privacy.

Our clients like the fact that it's cosy, as well as being upmarket and a space they can really relax in and make their own while they're with us.

Our VIP room gives us the opportunity to offer so many more specialised treatments, such as allowing a bridal party to be together without worrying about disturbing the rest of the salon.

Some people prefer hairdressers to come to them. The VIP room means that it is more affordable for clients to have their hair cut by me or one of my team without the extra cost of us going to their home. It also means that we do not have to travel out of the salon.