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What is the best lighting for hair salons?
Lighting is one of the most important design aspects of any salon.
Not only does the right lighting ensure accurate colour representation (and that clients won’t walk out of the salon to find their hair looks like a completely different colour than when they were inside the salon!), but it also creates ambience.
If you walk into the most high-end salons, you’ll notice right away that your skin looks great. (You’ll likely want to even take a selfie).
That’s what great lighting can do.
In this blog post, we’ll walk you through how to achieve the best possible lighting for your salon, which will differ depending upon the particular area.
FAQs: The Best Lighting for Salons
What types of lights should I have in my salon?
For the most part, you’ll want to aim for three types of lights in your salon: general lighting (in the form of overhead lights), task lighting (in the form of track heads), and vanity lights (think: wall sconces on mirrors).
Here’s the purpose of each:
Task lighting is a directional light source that is designed for practical purposes, allowing stylists to accurately see what they’re doing.
But if not balanced out with a wall sconce, you’ll end up casting shadows over your clients’ faces, which can make complexions look poor.
General lighting is exactly as it sounds: it provides a general light source.
While you could hypothetically light your entire salon with track lighting, you’ll also end up with dark spots in various areas since task lighting is so directional. That’s why having a mixture of both general lighting and task lighting provides a good balance.
Keep in mind that recessed lighting, while usable, casts light downward and increases the risk of shadows.
What should I look for in my bulbs?
When it comes to the best lighting for salons, it’s important to assess the following two criteria when choosing your bulbs:
- Colour Rendering Index (CRI): This measures how well a light source accurately reflects colours. It is an important criteria as it ensures that hair colour accurately represents its true colour.
As a general note, choose a CRI of 86 or higher, except for workstations and photography areas, which should ideally have a CRI of 100.
- Kelvins: Colour temperature is arguably one of the most important aspects of lighting your salon.
Whether a light is soft or more bright comes down to colour temperature, which is measured in kelvins (k). Clinics, for example, have cold lights in the 5000k+ range and this is what you want to generally avoid in a salon where clients are looking for a relaxing experience. The higher the number, the “bluer” the light.
For most areas of your salon (with some exceptions, as you’ll see below), you’ll want to choose a range between 3000k to 3500k, which will cast a soft, warm light in your salon. Lights in the 2700k range appear a bit too orange.
As you’ll see, there will be some areas of your salon where you’ll want cooler light (even as high as 5000k) as this colour tends to be truer to daylight and is important for accurate colour representation.
Whether you choose 3000k or 3500k will depend upon your decor (see below).
General Tips
Here are some general lighting tips for your salon:
- Consider your Decor. If you have an all white salon, lights will generally fall within the range of 3000k in most areas. Alternatively, if you have a darker salon (which will absorb light), you may want to choose temperature ranges between 3500k to 4000k.
Don’t be afraid to play around with different bulbs to achieve the effect you’re looking for.
- Placement is Important. Placement is very important when it comes to track lights and vanity lights in order to eliminate shadows. Track lights should hit the back of the client’s head (and should not cast light directly over top of their head). You’ll also need wall sconces on the mirrors, which will push lighting toward the client’s face and eliminate shadows further. When setting up these two types of lights, you’ll want to actually sit in the chair and test how the light falls.
- Choose LED Lights. LED lights will be much more cost effective (and environmentally friendly).
- Choose an Electrician with Experience in Commercial Lighting. If you end up seeking professional help, it’s important to note that lighting a residential home is very different from lighting commercial spaces. That’s why it’s a good idea to look for an electrician with experience in commercial spaces (and ideally experience with the best lighting for hair salons).
Best Lighting for Each Area of Your Salon
Reception and Retail
In addition to general lighting, task lighting can also be used at the front desk and retail area in order for clients to read labels and to be able to showcase products. Accurate colour temperature isn’t as important in this area so feel free to choose a warmer temperature.
Waiting Area
The lighting in the waiting area is for psychological purposes instead of a practical one. In this case, lighting should be warm and relaxing. Your general lighting source will likely be enough.
Salon Workstations
Workstation lighting involves two sources of light: task lighting (track lights) and vanity lights (wall sconces).
In order to accurately reflect colour, track lights should have a cooler temperature of 5000k. But in order to balance out this cooler light, wall sconces should have a warmer temperature.
CRI is also important. Choose a CRI of at least 86 and ideally 100.
Shampoo Area
An additional task light with a warmer colour temperature of around 3000k is a great idea for a shampoo area.
Photography Area
If you have a photography area, you’ll also want the light to remain true to daylight. In this way, you’ll want to look for a cooler temperature around 5000k.
Wrapping It Up
The best lighting for hair salons? In short, you’ll want to have three types of lights: general lights, task lights (track lighting) and vanity lights (wall sconces on mirrors).
For most areas of your salon, choose a warmer, softer light in the range of 3000k to 4000k depending upon your decor, which will create ambience and offer a more relaxing experience.
For areas of your salon where accurate colour representation is key (salon workstations or photography areas), choose lights with a cooler temperature of 5000k, which will more accurately reflect true daylight.
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