Selling haircare in your salon: keep clients coming back
A client loves the finish, asks what you used, then buys the same product online. If that keeps happening, the problem is not just the price on your shelf. It is whether your advice, the product and the next appointment are connected.
In 2025, Italy’s salon channel grew by just 0.2%, while haircare e-commerce grew by 14.2%, according to Cosmetica Italia. Those figures cover different channels and do not prove that salon clients moved their purchases online. They do show why salons need to make professional home care easy to understand and easy to buy. A large international group reported growth in professional products in 2026, but that result does not tell you what your own clients are buying.
Start with the service, not the shelf
Choose a small number of products that support the services your clients already book: colour care, heat protection, curl definition or a smoother finish. When you recommend a product, explain how it connects to the result you created in the chair. “This helps protect the colour between visits” is clearer than listing ingredients or saying it is a bestseller.
Show the client how much to use and where to apply it. A short demonstration at the mirror or backwash makes the advice practical. Keep the product in sight while you explain it, and tell the client the exact name before she leaves.
Make buying from the salon the easy option
Clients can compare prices online in seconds. Your advantage is that you know their hair, have seen the result and can explain what will work at home. Make that advantage visible: keep the range simple, display the products near checkout and add the recommended item to the service notes or follow-up message.
If the same product is regularly cheaper online, ask the distributor what support is available: a salon-only size, a bundle linked to a service, education for your team or a clear policy on online promotions. Do not fill the shelf with stock just to meet a target. Start with a few products, check the margin and restock what clients actually use.
Ask your distributor better questions
When a supplier talks about market growth, ask what it means for your salon. Which products are clients asking for? What training will your team receive? How quickly can you reorder? What is the margin after discounts, delivery and any minimum order? A global sales figure cannot answer those questions for your local business.
Professional haircare is growing in some large groups and in online retail, while the Italian salon channel has been almost flat. These numbers refer to different periods and measures, so they cannot be compared as if they were a single score. Use them as a prompt to look at your own retail performance.
Track three numbers every month
Record how many clients buy a product after a service, the average value of those purchases, and how many come back for the same item. If clients listen but do not buy, make the recommendation more specific or review the price point. If they buy once and do not return, ask whether the product delivered the result they expected and whether a timely reminder would help.
Change one thing at a time and review the numbers the following month. That will tell you more about your salon than a headline about a global company. For more context, read our guides to Italy’s salon channel, colour service pricing and working with product suppliers.
Sources: Cosmetica Italia, Evoluzione della professione acconciatore 2026; L’Oréal, nine-month sales results to 30 September 2026. The reports have different scopes and periods.
This article uses AI as part of MDP’s editorial process. Read our editorial method and source-checking policy.
