Salon Basics
Salon basics: the service floor as a system
This domain tests how well you understand the salon as an organised workplace: roles, zones, appointment flow and professional presentation. Questions often ask what an assistant should do first, what belongs on a trolley, and where a task sits in the service cycle.
Core rules
- A working salon separates reception, consultation, service, wash, sterilisation and waste areas. Clean and dirty flows should not cross.
- The assistant prepares the trolley, drapes the client, mixes products to the therapist's instruction and keeps the work area stocked, but does not diagnose or perform advanced treatments unsupervised.
- Every client has a record card: contact details, allergies, previous reactions, contraindications, consent and products used.
- Professional presentation means a clean uniform, closed shoes, tied-back hair, short unpolished nails or gloves where required, and no strong perfume.
Worked example
A client arrives ten minutes early for a waxing appointment. The assistant should greet her, check the record card for allergies and medications, confirm the area to be waxed, prepare the trolley with wax, spatulas, strips, gloves, aftercare and tissues, drape the client, and keep the walkway clear. Reasoning: the record card identifies risk before products touch skin; trolley preparation reduces leaving the client unattended; a clear walkway prevents slips and burns.
Traps
- Calling yourself a therapist when you are assisting.
- Using the reception desk or trolley top as long-term storage.
- Skipping the record card because the client is a regular.
- Leaving wax pots or hot tools at the edge of the trolley.