Choosing your salon’s retail and backbar lines is one of the biggest decisions you’ll make as a salon owner. The products you select need to be high-performing, meet your company’s standards and mission, and give your guests the best possible care.
“We chose Davines because it was a comprehensive line that had everything we needed and it aligned with our values and goals,” says Laura Graven of Tailored Salon in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. “And it delivers high-quality results.”
Allison Grisham, owner of Salon Sage and Barber Studio in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, says, “Davines is a small, intimate brand. They don’t have thousands of skus that all do the same thing. Every product truly has its own benefit and does what it says it will do.”
Grisham adds, “So when a new product or system comes out, I’m paying attention because I want to know what it’s going to do that’s different.”
Customizing the Treatment Experience
Davines has also gained recognition for its treatments, which deliver consistent results to clients. And for salons, treatments provide an add-on service to boost the bottom line.
This fall, Davines expanded upon its Naturaltech products with a new, salon-exclusive system, Naturaltech Tailoring, an herbal hair infusion for customized treatments.
How it works: Stylists guide their guests through a quick, online quiz to determine a custom formula tailored to the client’s specific needs.
The Formulas: Naturaltech Tailoring system features regenerative, organically cultivated ingredients in CO2-neutral packaging. It consists of four serum bases, six boosters and uses low-energy extraction methods.
Serum bases:
These four bases target the following areas:
- Volume (fine hair)
- Moisture (dry and brittle hair)
- Radiance (color-treated hair)
- Strength (fragile, damaged hair)
Regenerative organic boosters:
The six boosters are mixed with the bases for 24 possible formulas that deliver maximum effect.
- Volumizing booster for fine hair with mallow extract
- Hydrating booster for dry hair with prickly pear extract
- Illuminating booster for colored hair that needs shine with red grape extract
- Fortifying booster for damaged hair with amaranth extract
- Controlling booster for unruly and frizzy hair with elderflower extract
- Blonde brightening booster for blonde hair with myrtle extract and jagua blue extract
Based on the results of the quiz, stylists mix up a treatment for their guest at the bowl and apply during a shampoo service or after color.
“In the past, we had the option to customize treatments, but it was confusing for the stylist and the guest,” says Graven. “Now, we just identify the client’s issues with the online quiz, and use the formula bottle provided in the kit. The bottle has base and booster lines on it for easy measuring. There is never any difference in how the treatment is applied to different guests—and it works on all hair types.”
Creating New Revenue
“The value of treatments is the opportunity to do more with less,” says Graven. “It’s working smarter, not harder. Instead of constantly recruiting new guests, we can provide a better service for the clients we have by resolving the main issues they experience with their hair—and increase our sales.”
Since it’s brand new, Graven went with a baseline treatment price of $30.
Grisham says her team currently sells it as a $25 add-on treatment.
“There are 24 different customizations you can do, and lots of ways to approach the client,” she says.
For color guests, Grisham’s stylists have them take the quiz while they are processing a toner or glaze.
“Sometimes the stylist does it with them, and sometimes the guest wants to do it on their own—it’s just another way the service is customizable.”
And Salon Sage clients love that they aren’t inconvenienced by additional time in the salon.
“It takes no additional time as we do the service at the shampoo bowl,” Grisham says. “And it’s really affordable.”
But every salon market is different, and some are selling The Herbal Hair Infusion treatment for twice that price.
Christina Lynch, owner of two Bonjour Belle locations in Texas, says “Our customers are already comfortable with a $50 or $55 add-on service. So when we rolled out Naturaltech Tailoring, I ran an intro price for a month to get them interested. We did the two recommended options for treatments: Herbal Hair Infusion Fast Treatment for $35 or the Herbal Hair Infusion and Scalp Ritualistic Treatment for $55 (includes Tailoring and neck and hand massage, an booster, Naturaltech back bar products).”
“Clients love it because it’s customized and interactive,” she says. “Our stylists love it because there is no guesswork and they know exactly how much to use and what to charge.”
In one month, between two locations with a total of 14 stylists, Bonjour Belle did 154 treatments and brought in $5,485 in additional revenue.
Typically, the two salons only sell about 30 Davines treatments in one month for around $750 in revenue.
Marketing Strategies
Graven says often her biggest battle in marketing new treatments or promotions isn’t getting clients to say yes, it’s getting her stylists to consistently offer it.
“But the marketing campaign Davines created around Naturaltech Tailoring made our set up and execution simple,” she says. “And stylists are really excited because they’ve seen the difference in their own hair after trying it.”
Graven also found an opportunity to incentivize her front desk person with the new treatment.
“She is new to our company, and I wanted to create a bonus incentive for her when we rolled out Naturaltech Tailoring,” she says. “So she uses our texting software to give upcoming visitors details about the new treatment. Now, when a client comes into the salon asking for it, we’ve removed another barrier and built momentum.”
At Boujour Belle, Naturaltech Tailoring is set up within a package online. If a guest books online, they select a base service, then whether they want a haircut or blowdry, then they are directed to treatment options.
“If they don’t add on when they book, they will see our treatment boards when they arrive, and our front desk person walks them through the options,” Lynch says. “If they still don’t commit, the stylist also has a treatment board at the chair and can show them options—or they can take the quiz together on the stylist’s phone or iPad.”
Lynch has also promoted it in the salon’s newsletter, blog, and social media, and posted a special on the salon’s website.
“Once our special promo pricing is over, we’ll price the Naturaltech Tailoring Herbal Hair Infusion Fast Treatment at $50 and the Herbal Hair Infusion and Scalp Ritualistic Treatment at $75,” Lynch says. “Our guests love their healthier, shinier hair and enjoy the interaction of the quiz. We even have male clients using it for the energizing scalp benefits.”
Grow with Davines
As inflation continues to rise and affect the cost of doing business, Graven, Grisham and Lynch all look for ways to deliver value to guests and give their teams a living wage.
“Over the past two years, we have been working to normalize price increases,” says Graven. “We’re professionals who work hard at our craft and we educate our guests about our skill set and advanced education.
“We also educate the team on upselling and the control it gives them over their paychecks and careers.”
To help them get into the right mindset, Graven runs regular incentives and contests each season to keep momentum going around new services.
“For example, whoever does the most treatments in a week wins a $50 gift card,” she says. “Each week you have the opportunity to win and create and build new habits.”
Grisham says retailing and add-on services are a strength for her team.
“Every day we discuss our goals and how to upsell,” she says. “With Naturaltech Tailoring, we talk about it at the consultation and the shampoo bowl. If a client tells us a concern with her hair, it’s a great way to bring up the system and an easy upsell.”
Lynch increased prices last year and made the decision not to do it again this year.
“But we still have inflation, so we told the team they can get where they need to be with add-ons—work smarter, not harder,” she says.
“So we’re still raising prices in a way, but clients have a say in whether or not they are going to pay it and they see value in the service they get in return—it’s a smarter way to bring in revenue.”
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Originally posted on Salon Today
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