What do you need to open a beauty salon in the UK?
Beauty is a broad field: a lash and brow studio, a nail bar, a skin clinic and a day spa do not face the same rules. The safest order is: decide your treatment menu, check what your council requires for each treatment, then choose premises and equipment.
For the launch campaign, see our guide on promoting a new business opening.
Do you need a licence to open a beauty salon?
It depends on where you are and what you offer. In London, many boroughs license “massage and special treatments” premises under the London Local Authorities Act 1991. Richmond’s licensing page is a typical example: premises offering treatments such as massage, manicure, electrolysis or laser need a licence, renewed regularly.
Outside London, rules vary by council and treatment. Before you buy equipment or print your menu:
- List every treatment you plan to offer
- Check your council’s licensing pages for each one
- Ask about inspections, fees and how long a licence takes
- Ask your insurer which training they require for each treatment
Free tool, no sign-up
Free Google visibility check
See how the beauty salons around your future unit appear on Google: rating, reviews, photos.
Business structure, HMRC and insurance
Most new salon owners start as a sole trader or a limited company. An accountant will help you choose based on your expected profit, your equipment investment and your plans to hire.
- Self Assessment: as a sole trader you must register if you earn more than £1,000 in a tax year (GOV.UK)
- VAT: registration is required when taxable turnover goes over £90,000 in the last 12 months, or is expected to in the next 30 days (GOV.UK)
- Employers’ liability insurance: required as soon as you become an employer, with at least £5 million of cover (GOV.UK)
- Public and treatment liability insurance: not a general legal requirement, but essential: a wax burn or a reaction to a product can be costly
- Music: TheMusicLicence from PPL PRS if you play recorded music or the radio (GOV.UK)
Choosing and fitting out the premises
A beauty salon is chosen as much for calm as for footfall. Clients mostly book ahead, but the window and your local visibility bring new ones.
- How many closed treatment rooms you can fit
- Hand-wash basin in or near each room, good ventilation
- Sound insulation: thin partitions ruin a relaxing treatment
- Reception with a retail area for products
- Step-free access where possible
- Parking or public transport nearby
- Lease use compatible with treatments, landlord consent for works
- Business rates for the unit (ask the council)
How much does it cost to open a beauty salon? A worked example
An invented example to show the method: “Rose Beauty”, 2 treatment rooms and a nail station in a unit already used as a shop. Replace every line with your quotes.
| Item | Example (replace) |
|---|---|
| Rent deposit and legal fees | £4,500 |
| Fit-out (partitions, plumbing, electrics, decoration) | £12,000 |
| 2 treatment couches, stools, trolleys, magnifier lamp | £4,000 |
| Equipment (wax heater, steamer, small facial device) | £2,500 |
| Nail station and extraction | £1,000 |
| Linen, consumables, treatment and retail stock | £3,500 |
| Reception, sign, window graphics, price list | £2,500 |
| Till, card reader, computer | £1,100 |
| Council licence fees (if applicable) | check with your council |
| Cash buffer for 6 months of fixed costs | 6 × £2,600 = £15,600 |
| Example total (excluding licence fees) | £46,700 |
A laser or IPL machine changes the scale completely: get several quotes, compare buying and leasing, and check the training and licensing conditions first.
Your break-even point
If fixed costs are £2,600 a month and an average treatment leaves £30 after products, you need £2,600 ÷ £30 ≈ 87 treatments a month, about 4 a day over 22 days. To set your prices, see how to price beauty treatments.
Getting clients from opening day
A new salon has no rating and no reviews on Google, yet that is where most clients choose a new therapist. Prepare your visibility during the fit-out:
- Google Business Profile with photos of the rooms, hours and treatments (guide)
- Online booking open before the opening, with treatment lengths
- An “Opening on…” poster in the window with a booking QR code
- An Instagram account showing the fit-out then first treatments (post ideas)
- A Google review request to every happy client of the first weeks (method)
[Salon name] opens on [date] at [address]! Facials, massage, waxing, nails: book now online [link]. To celebrate, [simple offer: 10% off your first facial] until [date].
With Voxtya, online booking for your treatments and review requests by QR code and email are ready before you open.
Hygiene and client safety: write your routines down
Clients judge a beauty salon on cleanliness within seconds, and councils that license treatments often inspect premises. Writing your routines down from day one makes them consistent, especially once you hire.
- Between clients: fresh couch roll and towels, surfaces wiped, tools cleaned or disposed of
- Single-use items: spatulas for wax never double-dipped, files and buffers given to the client or thrown away
- Consultation form before a first treatment: allergies, medication, skin conditions, signed and dated
- Patch tests for tints and lash adhesives, with the date recorded
- Aftercare sheet handed over after waxing, lashes or facials
- Incident log: what happened, what you did, who was told
Keep these documents organised: they protect your clients, your insurance cover and your reputation. A client who sees a consultation form and spotless room is also more likely to leave a five-star review.
Checklist before opening
- Treatment menu decided, council rules checked for each treatment
- Licence applied for in good time, if your council requires one
- Insurance in place: public and treatment liability, employers’ liability if you hire
- Business structure chosen, HMRC registration planned
- Lease signed, rooms finished, ventilation and hand-wash basins checked
- Equipment tested, stock received, hygiene procedures written
- Menu and prices at reception and online, patch test policy stated
- Google profile, online booking and Instagram ready
- Review QR code at reception on opening day
The steps at a glance
The main steps from treatment menu to opening day.
- Decide your treatment menu. List every treatment you plan to offer.
- Check council rules and insurance. Licences for each treatment, training required by your insurer.
- Choose your structure and register. Sole trader or company; Self Assessment, VAT when required.
- Find and fit out the premises. Rooms, basins, ventilation, insulation, access.
- Budget for 12 months. Fit-out, equipment, stock and six months of fixed costs.
- Publish clear prices. Menu at reception and online, no medical promises.
- Get visible before opening. Google profile, online booking, first reviews.
This guide for your trade
Go further
Sources
The rules quoted in this guide come from these official pages, checked on October 28, 2026.