Tips for Protecting Your Salon from Supply Chain Shortage +Reduce Your Waste

By Hannah Craik | Salonvironment

As the pandemic hit in early 2020, all companies and individuals are feeling the effects of manufacturers and oversea imports coming to a screeching halt for those few months. While I was working behind the chair, I experienced the beginning effects of a disrupted supply chain. Popular hair colors weren’t on the shelf to mix up, there weren’t enough foils to go around, back-bar products were low, and retail was looking slim. That was just the beginning. Stylists are still playing catchup from when the salons (and the world) were shut down. Since events were rescheduled and hairdressers found other career paths, the salon books are filled to the brim. But as we approach year two of navigating this pandemic, beauty supply distributors are still never fully stocked with what people are asking for. Not to mention, everything has risen in price too due to lack of supply and postage. Most likely we will be feeling the effects of a disrupted supply chain (short supply and rising product prices) for a few more years. So what can we do to protect ourselves and our career? Investing in supplies that have longevity and can be used multiple times.

Why?

Because then you don’t have to fully rely on the supply chain, you can relax knowing you have the tools you need. You’ll have more security, save money, and keep you from dealing with an excess of waste. These are just some suggestions to have in mind if you’re ever feeling frustrated. As you deserve to have everything you need to continue creating beautiful hair and spreading joy to your clients, maybe these will help you think out of the box for other solutions! Replacing your foil and saran wrap with meche sheets. Meche sheets are washable and reusable. They are an investment, but you can slowly move out of foil and saran wrap as you acquire enough to not have to use anything but
meche sheets. You also save money on not spending it on foil or saran in the long term. Replacing your cotton separators with hair curlers. This might be my favorite trick of all time. Daniel Mason Jones shared on his Instagram that he uses hair curlers instead of cotton to separate the pieces. Cleaner removal, more control over your sections, and you can use them over and over again (after disinfecting
and sanitizing them, of course).

See if the brands you carry offer products in “bulk”. This means you will be shipped bigger containers that you can keep in your salon and
refill your bottles as they run low. This ensures that you don’t have to worry about not having your back-bar products during your services. This is usually only shampoo and conditioner, but more brands are hopping on the “refill” option train. Plus, buying in bulk usually ends up being less expensive because you’re not paying for each individual bottle. Whether or not the supply chain is backed up from lack of packaging or lack of product, you’ll be set. You can always grab a scale and offer filling your client’s bottles as a service as well! This not only is great to combat any future supply chain issues, but it’s a great way to combat beauty industry waste as well.

One less thing to worry about as well as save the world – one item at a time.

Original Link: https://www.salonvironment.com/blog-articles/tips-for-combating-the-supply-
shortage-for-the-salon