How to choose a salon safely

Beauty therapy in the UK is very lightly regulated. That places the responsibility for checking somewhere it should not have to sit — with you.

It is worth understanding the landscape before anything else. In the UK, beauty therapy is not a protected profession in the way that medicine, dentistry or nursing are. There is no single mandatory register, and in most of the country there is no requirement for a beauty therapist to hold a specific qualification before treating the public. Some local authorities operate their own licensing or registration schemes for particular treatments, and standards vary from one council to the next.

The practical consequence is straightforward: the checks that would be done for you elsewhere are checks you have to make yourself. The good news is that they are simple, and that any decent salon will welcome them.

Qualifications

• Ask what qualifications the therapist holds, and specifically for the treatment you are booking. General beauty training does not automatically mean training in lash extensions or in spray tanning.
• Recognised vocational qualifications — for example NVQ or VTCT awards at Level 2 or 3 — and manufacturer or brand-specific certification for particular systems are reasonable things to expect.
• Ask about experience with the specific treatment, and how long they have been doing it.
• Membership of a professional body is a positive sign, though it is voluntary rather than mandatory.
• Certificates on the wall are a good sign. A defensive reaction to being asked about them is a better one — of the opposite kind.

Insurance

A professional salon carries public liability insurance and treatment (professional indemnity) insurance. The first covers accidents on the premises; the second covers harm arising from the treatment itself.

Insurers will typically only cover a therapist for treatments they are qualified in, and will normally require that patch-testing protocols are followed. This means a salon that skips patch tests may well be uninsured for exactly the reaction that a patch test would have prevented — which leaves you with no recourse if something goes wrong. Asking "are you insured for this treatment?" is entirely normal, and the answer should come without hesitation.

Hygiene

• Clean premises, clean couches, fresh disposable coverings changed between clients.
• Single-use items genuinely used once: spatulas, applicators, files where appropriate.
• Reusable metal tools properly sterilised — ask how. "We wipe them" is not sterilisation.
• No double-dipping of wax spatulas. Ever.
• Hand-washing or sanitising between clients; gloves where appropriate.
• Foot spas visibly cleaned and disinfected between clients.
• No treatment carried out on broken or infected skin.

Patch tests

For lash extensions, lash lifts, lash and brow tints, henna brows and brow lamination, a patch test at least 24 to 48 hours in advance is the standard of care. Reactions to these products can be severe, and sensitisation can appear suddenly in someone who has had the treatment many times without incident.

A salon that offers to skip the patch test — for any reason, including that you are in a hurry, that you have had it before, or that they are busy — has told you where their priorities lie. This is the clearest single test of a salon's professionalism, and it costs you nothing to apply it. A salon that turns you away because you have not been patch-tested is doing its job properly, even though it is losing money by doing so.

The consultation

Before a first treatment you should be asked about:

• Medical history and any relevant conditions.
• Medication — retinoids, isotretinoin, blood thinners, photosensitising drugs and others all matter.
• Allergies and previous reactions to cosmetics or treatments.
• Skin conditions, recent treatments, recent sun exposure.
• Pregnancy or breastfeeding.
• What you actually want, and what is realistic.

You should be given honest expectations, told about aftercare, and asked to sign a consultation record. A therapist who declines to treat you because it would not be safe is demonstrating competence, not being awkward.

Red flags

• Willing to skip the patch test. The biggest one.
• Evasive about qualifications or insurance, or offended by the question.
• No consultation. Straight onto the couch.
• Visible hygiene failures: double-dipping, unwashed hands, reused disposables, dirty equipment.
• Prices that make no sense. Quality products and properly trained time have a cost. A price far below everyone else means something has been cut — the product, the time, or the training.
• Pressure selling: today-only offers, prepaid course packages pushed hard, discounts for deciding on the spot.
• Absolute promises: "no risk", "guaranteed results", "no reactions ever".
• Medical claims. A salon offering to cure acne, eczema, rosacea or fungal infections is out of its depth and out of its lane.
• Treatments run out of unsuitable premises with no proper hygiene facilities.
• No age checks for sunbeds. Under-18s are prohibited by law. A business ignoring that is ignoring more than that. See the tanning guide.
• Dismissiveness about your questions. The most reliable red flag of all.

Questions worth asking

What qualification do you hold for this specific treatment? Are you insured for it? Do you patch test, and how far in advance? What products do you use? What can realistically go wrong, and what would you do if it did? What is the aftercare? What if I am not happy with the result?

See also treatments explained, spray tanning and about this guide. Back to the homepage.

Please note: we are an independent guide. We do not recommend, endorse or list any particular salon or business, and we have no affiliation with any. This page is general information, not medical advice.