Every bride dreams of having perfect hair on their special day. Find out how offering hair extensions in your salon can pump up your hair services and business this bridal season.

With bridal season quickly approaching, it’s a perfect time for hairstylists to maximize their use of hair extensions. From updos to ponytails to soft glam waves, extensions can be a lot more versatile than you may think—and they can be a great option for adding volume, colour and shape.

“I get a lot of clients who completely forget about extensions, and they can make such a difference to their hair,” says Jesse Marriott, a senior stylist and extensions specialist at Utopia Hair & Lash Studio in Red Deer, Alberta.

Expand Your Horizons

Marriott says he always recommends extensions to brides and bridal parties in order to meet their high hair expectations.

“It’s about being honest with them and letting them know that to create the effect they want on their special day, this is what they’re going to need to invest in,” he says.

Pro tip: Beaupré recommends keeping tabs on recently engaged clients and reaching out at least one year before their special day

Many brides arrive at the salon with photos or an idea of the look they have in mind for the day, but many don’t realize

they don’t have enough volume or length to achieve it naturally. They also aren’t aware that extensions can add structure to hair, which can even help maintain heat styling for a longer period of time.

Marriott, who is a master educator for Hotheads Hair Extensions, adds that the best way to sell the idea of extensions, especially to first-time clients, is to actually demonstrate how they look on them. “Your clients need to see how big of a difference [extensions] make.”

Building Loyalty

Clients who choose to wear extensions long-term are advised to return to the salon every few months for touch-ups and maintenance, which can help your salon with prebooking and building client loyalty. Véronique Beaupré, owner of LocalB in Montreal, has been working with Great Lengths hair extensions for more than 20 years and has developed a loyal client base because of it.

“Clients book in advance, show up on time and will come back at least once every five months for their extensions service. She will come back every three weeks for a hair touch-up and sometimes once a week for a blow-dry. This is the kind of business you’re going to get from hair extensions. It’s a core value that you want so you’re not always looking for new clients or extra dollars,” she says. “When clients come to you for their extensions, they come to you for everything else. There’s a lot of trust there, bringing you extremely faithful clients who will be sitting in your chair for years.”

Dry-Cleaning? 

Maintenance is key when it comes to extensions, and this involves using the proper products to keep them clean, tangle-free and moisturized. That’s where your salon’s retail products come in! Make sure you stock up on extension-friendly products without drying ingredients like alcohol. Remember: If clients are investing hundreds of dollars on high-quality extensions, they’ll want to make sure they last.

“Women with extensions are such loyal clients. They have to pre-book to be in my chair to have their maintenance done and that gives me an opportunity for retail sales to maintain the extensions and to talk about hair colour services,” says Kassy Moen-Froehlich, lead educator at Philocaly. “I find extensions create a really loyal clientele and they’re going to be the best advertising for you, and the best way to fill your chair.”

Get in the Game

Tips for how your salon can begin offering extension services:

Product Shoutouts!