Tips for Reducing Your Wax Salon Product Costs
As a business owner, odds are you spend a lot of time and money on sourcing products and supplies to keep customers happy and your salon running smoothly.
When it comes to providing all of these high-quality products that allow your salon to function at its highest level and keep customers coming back, it can often be a challenge to minimize your costs while increasing your profits. That being said, it can be done!
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The best way to keep your business making money while cutting costs (especially with the current levels of inflation!) is actually through the high-quality products you use every day. From the wax you have stocked for client services to retail add-ons to market to clients after their appointments, your salon supplies can allow you to not only provide the best services but make a good return on investment.
In this guide, we’ll let you know how to choose salon products, how to make your back bar and retail add-on sales work for your business, as well as how to reduce costs by lowering waste, improving training, and working with brands to get discounts.
READ: Best Esthetician Services to Offer Clients
How to Choose the Right Wax Products for Your Salon
Carrying the right waxes to use for services and retail alike is the first step to keeping clients happy while also cutting costs and reducing waste. Having back bar products that work well, are of high quality, and that keep skin looking its best will also inspire them to add-ons after services.
When stocking your products for salon services and retail add-ons, consider the following factors when going through potential supplies:
- Do market research on which products would best suit the demographic and target audience you’re serving.
- Calculate everything from the initial product investment to set prices that garner a profit while being savvy for your clients.
- Compare the differences and benefits between brands like Starpil Wax and others.
- Choose which wax products and pre and post-wax care to carry based on ingredients, reviews, and performance.
- Include products in your back bar that can be retailed.
READ: How to Start a Waxing Business in 2022
How to Market Retail Add-Ons to Clients
As many salon professionals know, providing a service to a client can be a learning experience of sorts for them, and can end up reducing product costs for you.
Having your back bar stocked with the best products gives you a great outlet to give clients a complete product education during their service so that they know what to expect from their service and how the products you’re using give them great results.
Basically, your back bar is where your clients get to experience some of the most impressive products on the market while receiving education and instruction from a professional they trust.
From a professional standpoint, having your back bar allows you to properly educate your clients while also allowing you and your fellow estheticians to capitalize on these efforts.
How to Reduce Back Bar Waste:
- Share how you choose the products you carry with your team and help them understand the costs of wasting product. Monitoring back bar use doesn’t have to be pedantic, but it is wise to highlight the importance of reducing waste so that your team has a healthy respect for your costs and efforts.
- Staff training should also include how to create a game plan with each client ahead of time. If you are working with a long-time client, it’ll be easier to tailor your station set-up just for them. Knowing whether to use hard wax vs. soft wax, which formula to use (including whether to choose between staple formulas like Starpil Blue Hard Wax or Pink Hard Wax, or specialty formulas like Starsoft Hard Wax), and the correct pre and post-wax care for their skin type will all help reduce waste.
- For every client, the time you use to prepare their skin should also be used to analyze their skin and hair types, as well as their hair growth patterns. If you see anything notable while prepping, you can create the proper game plan for how you will use the products in the most effective way to achieve the best results.
These three training tips can limit trial and error and keep technicians alert and conscious of how they are using the products.
READ: How to Increase Salon Clientele
How to Train Salon Employees
When it comes to training your employees to reduce waste and improve their accuracy when it comes to measuring and sectioning out products, having the right training regimens in place will let your business keep your back bar stocked.
Though it may not initially seem as important, waste reduction training goes hand-in-hand with inventory and product knowledge training.
Remember, all training isn’t universal, and you should train your management with a different method than the rest of your team. Your manager is the first line of support for you and the staff regarding products, while the rest of the team is on the front lines of using the products.
How to Train a Salon Manager
Your manager or person in charge of inventory should have intrinsic knowledge of the inner workings of cash flow, shrinkage, and overstock.
They should completely understand the client experience and how to support the team with their knowledge and training. Your manager also should be on top of scheduling product knowledge training with vendors and should be the most prominent advocate of a positive sales environment.
How to Train Your Salon Employees
Your staff needs to have some awareness of how your back bar and retail should work from the perspective of you, the business owner.
Your team should receive regular product and sales training to use the right products on the right people in the right way. Having the right training in place is paramount in reducing wax salon product costs.
How to Pick Salon Products
You should be selecting the products you retail and use for services like you’re choosing a business partner (because in many ways, you are!). When choosing which brand(s) to work with, remember that where good brands have great products, great brands go above and beyond to offer remarkable accessibility and have great client relations.
Consider the following when selecting the products/brands if you want to get the most value for your business’ money and keep your return on investment high.
- Your wax products should come with a positive relationship and brand support.
- It’s wise to choose brands that cater to salon professionals.
- Choose brands that offer loyalty or rewards programs like Starpil Esthie Bucks.
- Does the brand offer wholesale?
- Do they distribute the products themselves, and do they pass off those savings to their customers?
Your brands and vendors should have an excellent reputation for working with salon professionals to maximize their products’ value and give you the best ROI. After all, if you’re not making money, they’re not making money!
It’s in their best interest to give their clients the best deals and best value so that they have returning businesses that consistently use their products. They can also do this by providing rewards (like Starpil’s Esthie Bucks program) and wholesale programs (like Starpil’s Pro Portal) that help you save on the products you already buy.
If your brands distribute their products, they can pass the savings they get from cutting out the middleman and can then pass that on to their customers.
When choosing a wax supplier, you can always really see the difference between a brand that is trying to build a community around its products and a company that is only interested in sales alone. Working with a company that prioritizes you and your business and not just sales will give you better deals and better experiences.
Another way to save with your wax brands is to attach yourself to anything they offer via promotions, sales, and product news.
This would mean subscribing to their newsletters, SMS alerts, signing up for their rewards programs for extra perks, and following them on social media so that you’re always on top of where the back bar and product retail savings are.
READ: How to Become an Esthetician
How Buying Wholesale Wax Reduces Costs
One of the best ways to reduce your business costs and maximize your business’ ROI is by buying wholesale quantities of the waxes you already use and love. Buying in bulk is the most convenient option for supplying your business with products and will save you the most money in the process.
For example, signing up for Starpil’s Pro Portal will allow you to always have enough supplies on hand for your services and will let you receive your products at lower costs.
Additionally, since Starpil prioritizes the importance of working one-on-one with our salon professionals, we’ll always work with you to provide the most savings possible. Wondering what sort of wholesale savings you can enjoy when you work with our representatives and order in the Pro Portal? Have a sneak peek at our wholesale pricing:
Hard Wax Wholesale Rates
Starsoft Specialty Hard Wax
Starsoft Clear Hard Wax Tablets:
- Retail Rate: $59.90 per 2.2lb box
- Tier 1 Wholesale Rate: $48.90 per 2.2lb box (4 box minimum)
- Retail Rate: $62.90 per 2.2lb bag
- Tier 1 Wholesale Rate: $54.90 per 2.2lb bag (4 bag minimum)
Starsoft Microbead Bulk Boxes:
- Retail Rate- $630.90 per 30lb box
- Tier 1 Wholesale Rate: $589.90 each (for 1-3 boxes)
Blue or Pink Hard Wax Beads (Polymer Blend)
Blue or Pink Hard Wax Beads (Polymer Blend):
Blue or Pink Hard Wax Beads (Polymer Blend) Bulk Boxes:
Black Hard Wax Beads
Black Hard Wax Beads (10lb bag):
Black Hard Wax Microbeads Bulk Boxes:
Coral Hard Wax
Calendula Hard Wax & Vegan Hard Wax
Vegan Hard Wax Beads:
- Retail Rate: $56.90 per 2.2lb bag
- Tier 1 Wholesale Rate: $46.90 per 2.2lb bag (3 bag minimum)
Original Blend Hard Wax
Hard Wax Tablets (Blue, Pink, Chocolate, Purple, Green, Honey Blends)
- Retail Rate: $43.90 per 2.2lb bag
- Tier 1 Wholesale Rate: $34.90 per 2.2lb bag (4 bag minimum)
Soft Wax Wholesale Rates
Natural or Blue Azulene Soft Wax
Natural or Blue Azulene Soft Wax 500ML Cans (16.9 oz)
- Retail Rate: $24.90 per can
- Tier 1 Wholesale Rate: $18.90 per can (12 can minimum)
Natural or Blue Azulene Soft Wax 800ML Cans (27oz)
- Retail Rate: $32.90 per can
- Tier 1 Wholesale Rate: $21.90 per can (12 can minimum)
Starsoft Soft Wax
Starsoft Clear Soft Wax 400ML/13.5oz Cans
- Retail Rate: $29.90 per can
- Tier 1 Wholesale Rate: $25.90 per can (12 can minimum)
Creamy Pink Soft Strip Wax
Pink Soft Wax 500ML/16.9 Oz. Can
- Retail Rate: $26.90 per can
- Tier 1 Wholesale Rate: $21.90 per can (12 can minimum)
Roll-On Wax Wholesale Rates
Roll On Wax Cartridges (Excluding Starsoft and Vegan Roll On)
- Retail Rate: $8.90 per individual cartridge
- Tier 1 Wholesale Rate: $6.00 per individual cartridge (20 ct box minimum)
- Retail Rate: $9.90 per individual cartridge
- Tier 1 Wholesale Rate: $7.90 per individual cartridge (20 ct box minimum)
- Retail Rate: $9.90 per individual cartridge
- Tier 1 Wholesale Rate: $8.90 per individual cartridge (20 ct box minimum)
Starpil also offers wholesale pricing and bulk discounts on not just our waxes, but pre and post-wax care, warmers, and accessories as well. If you’re interested in unlocking the world of wholesale waxing, join our Starpil Pro Portal or talk to one of our personal account managers (PAM’s) at (305) 907-0756.
Remember, the more you buy, the more you save. The prices here reflect our lowest volume of wholesale products, but if you buy larger quantities, you’ll receive even more money off your order’s total cost.
It’s wise to buy salon supplies such as stripless hard wax formulas, roll-on or soft wax, and pre-wax and post-wax care products like Starpil Pre-Wax Care Gel in bulk for use in both your everyday professional services and to then market to your customers as retail add-ons.
Some of the best retail add-ons for your clients are post-wax care items. After all, using products like Starpil Post-Wax Care Lotion, Post-Wax Care Oil, and Ingrown Hair Serum are essential parts of your clients’ take-home skincare routines. These products should always take a more prominent role in your back bar, and should always be prioritized when purchasing wholesale.
If you want to take wholesale to the next level, let’s talk about getting yourself a wholesale brand rep.
Working with a brand representative will let you and your rep keep tabs on your inventory, and will let you sit back while they do your ordering for you, including both back bar and retail products.
Since your rep will also know about upcoming promotions and optimal times to re-order products, they’ll make sure to get you the best deals. They’ll also be responsible for setting up product training with your staff and providing all of the relevant education and branding materials.
Having a brand rep can also let you see issues in your business and correct them before sales are permanently lost.
If your rep notices an inconsistency in sales, they can pinpoint where the issue is and work to remedy it with product knowledge and brand support. Remember, time is money, too, and having your inventory automated for you with a rep can take a BIG weight off your shoulders.
Final Thoughts
Though all of these tips are crucial to reducing wax salon product costs, we know first-hand that the most important thing you can do to reduce your costs is to get a wholesale rep for the products you use and sell the most.
There is never a need to cut corners or skim anything from your clients or staff to save a buck. If you apply even just a little bit of the top tips for reducing your wax salon product costs, you will see the difference in your ROI while keeping everyone (including you!) happy.
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