The importance of towels in the hair & beauty industry

Yes, you read correctly - salon towels play such an important role in your day-to-day that they deserve to be written about. Chances are you have cleaned your phone screen with one just now in order to read this article clearly! But have you ever taken into consideration how impactful your choice of towel is on the world around you? Here’s what you should take into account!

Reusable towels - pros vs cons

Every day, you come in the salon extra early to get everything ready for the day. You check your stock levels, the register and you freshen the place up a bit. While doing so, you take out your new batch of cotton towels and leave a few at each workstation for staff to fold when they come in. If your business is leaning more towards the high-end spectrum, then chances are your towels even have your logo embroidered onto them. A salon that uses reusable, cotton towels looks more upscale - that’s a fact. Plus, selling them with your embroidered logo can make you a pretty penny. Sadly, that’s where the benefits come to an end. After a long workday, instead of going home and relaxing, you have to grab each dirty towel that has been used to clean hands, wash workstations and pick up any spills. Your trip isn’t over - you make your way to the cleaners or wash and dry them at home. Besides towels being a pain to clean and dry, doing so also takes away much of your free time. Oh and let’s not get started on your water and electricity bills going up! Have you ever wondered how much water and electricity is being used monthly in order to keep them clean and dry? Let’s not forget that if towels are not washed and dried properly, they can spread head lice, harmful bacteria, ringworm and other undesired fungi.

Disposable towels - pros vs cons

In recent years, the hair & beauty industry has jumped on the eco-friendly bandwagon that most other businesses have been riding in for years. Today, salons are making the switch to being more environmentally friendly by using less-harmful products, reducing paper usage by choosing a digital salon assistant like Booksy and using disposable towels! Now that’s something you probably weren’t expecting - disposable paper towels are far more eco-friendly than cotton ones. Sure, they are not something to gawk at when compared to a cotton towel with an embroidered salon logo, but if your goal is to have an eco-friendly salon, then getting these is a must. Even before cotton towels are manufactured, they already use up a substantial amount of resources. Cotton requires a lot of space and water in order to grow - and water usage only gets worse once they are finally towels. Disposable towels, on the other hand, cut water and electricity usage down by at least 65%. Best of all, you no longer have to rush to get your beauty salon towels washed, dried and folded - there are many great disposable towel brands on the market who cater specifically to businesses in the hair & beauty industry! Plus, chances are your clients favour eco-friendliness, so this gives them another reason to choose your salon! Mention that you’ve taken another step in being more green on your social media fan pages and website and start attracting clients who admire this approach!

Reusable or disposable towels - which is the best choice?

When it comes to choosing what works best for your salon, you need to assess your business model - do you run a luxury salon and your business is well-renowned? If so, then having branded, reusable towels is probably something you’d favour - as it shows the salon’s level of “poshness” and can even be sold for extra profit on the side. However, this doesn’t necessarily have to be true for all businesses, as many luxury salons have made the switch to more eco-friendly options. If you actively look for ways to cut down expenses and bills at the salon or want to create the greenest salon ever, then the choice here is obvious. Alongside your Booksy digital salon assistant and power-efficient hairdryers, lightbulbs and non-toxic products, your disposable hair salon towels will definitely be something to take pride in! For additional ideas on how your salon can be even more green, check out our other article here. And don’t forget to grab your free Booksy digital salon helper to truly make your business eco-friendly!