The UK cities with the most top - rated hair & beauty professionals
When it comes to the world of hair and beauty, the importance of a good review should never be underestimated. Afterall, building up a bank of positive feedback from clients can really help to strengthen your reputation within your local area, as well as setting you apart from your competition.
But what can you do to help encourage your clients to leave a positive review after their service or treatment? And, which of the UK’s major towns and cities boast the most top-rated hair and beauty professionals per person, according to review data?
Our Research
We surveyed 2,000 UK consumers to learn more about what drives them to leave reviews for their local hair, nail, beauty, and complimentary therapy salons and establishments. We also asked them what is most likely to lead to a positive or a negative review.
Delving even deeper, we then looked at...
• The population in 32 major UK towns and cities (not including London)
• How many hair, beauty and nail salons in these places had four-star+ reviews
• How many mobile or freelance hair and beauty professionals in these places have four star + reviews
We used this to calculate where in the UK residents have the best access to a ‘top rated’ hair and beauty professional. So where exactly are the hotspots? Read on to find out more…
Norwich Claims the Top Spot Overall
According to our findings, the beautiful city of Norwich took first places, as the UK ‘hot spot’ for top-rated hair and beauty professionals per person.
In total - across hair, nails, and beauty - the city has 550 salons that have earned reviews with four stars or more.
Norwich was found to have the most 4-star+ rated hairdressers when calculated against the local population, with just 663 people sharing each top-rated hair salon.
Joining Norwich within the top five was the Scottish city of Dundee (825 people per top rated salon), Peterborough (1,111 per top rated salon), Stoke-on-Trent (1,129), and Hull (1,192).
Top-rated Beauty Salon Locations
Of course, we had to consider those all-important beauty specialists in our rankings too, and so next we totted up the four-star (or above) rated beauty salons.
Again, Norwich claimed the top spot with 660 residents per top-rated salon.
Overall, it has 213 beauty salons with four stars (or more) on Google Reviews.
Other major cities within the top five included Dundee (820 people per top rated beauty salon), Oxford (1,081), York (1097), and Hull (1,149).
Top-rated Nail Salon Locations
And finally, we moved on to nail salons and parlours.
Norwich once again took the top spot with 1,116 residents sharing each four-star+ rated nail salon. Overall, it is home to 126 nail salons with top reviews.
Also in the top five was Southampton (1,619:1), Hull (1,743:1), Stoke-on-Trent (1,780:1), and Aberdeen (1,786:1).
Top Rated Freelancers and Mobile Hair & Beauty Professionals
Of course, not all professionals working within the industry operate from a salon as a contracted employee, with many choosing to go freelance or mobile instead.
Overall, when combining hair, beauty, and nail freelancers with four-star+ reviews listed across all cities compared for the purpose of this study, Birmingham came out on top. The city boasted a total of 207 freelance or mobile professionals with four-star+ reviews or more across all categories combined.
It’s worth noting, however, that there tend to be fewer ‘mobile’ professional listed on Google, naturally there are also fewer with top reviews.
For example, we found that there were just 48 mobile hairdressers with four-star+ reviews listed in in Glasgow - which top the top spot in this category.
When comparing the ratings for mobile beauty professionals across the 30+ cities, Birmingham was found to be the UK’s hotspot, with 93 professionals listed with four-star+ reviews on Google.
When we examined the numbers of top-rated mobile nail technicians, it was the Welsh capital of Cardiff that claimed top spot, with a total of 87 professionals with four-star+ reviews based here.
What Influences Clients to Leave Reviews?
According to a 2022 study, 57% of consumers will visit a local business website after reading a positive review, with a further 72% adding that positive reviews make them trust a local business more.
So, to learn more about what impresses people enough to leave a glowing review online for their hair and beauty professional, we surveyed 2,000 UK adults.
Above all else, 'good value’ is key, with six in ten (62%) UK consumers telling us that this would be the thing that is most likely to persuade them to leave a positive review online for their local hair and beauty business.
Participants in our survey also highlighted the other ways in which their hair, beauty, wellness, complimentary therapy, and nail professionals can impress them, and encourage them to leave a positive review of their experience.
This included:
• a positive overall experience (58%)
• being happy with the result(s) of the treatment or service (57%)
• if the person giving the treatment/service had a warming personality (41%)
• being offered nice complimentary extras such as a cup of tea, and a magazine (27%)
Perhaps understandably then, the thing that is most likely to earn hair and beauty professionals a negative review from a client, is if they end up leaving an appointment dissatisfied with the final treatment, look, or service (57%), and similarly, if the overall experience was not as they had expected (44%).
Other factors to keep in mind that may lead to negative feedback were:
• if the customer deems the service to be overpriced (45%)
• the client not liking the products used during your treatment (17%)
• if the person doing the treatment seemed to be multi-tasking at once and the client didn’t feel like they were their priority (17%)
How Many Clients Leave Reviews?
Finally, we also asked those Brits whether they were actually taking the time to leave those all-important reviews following their appointments with their hair, beauty or nail professionals.
We found that just a third of Brits (30%) ‘will always leave a positive review’ if they believe they had a good overall experience.
Women are more likely to take the time to review their positive experience too, with more than a third (36%) saying they will always leave a review if their treatment or service has impressed them, compared to just a quarter (24%) of men.
Sadly, although many UK consumers may have good intentions and say they are more than happy to leave a positive review, it seems forgetfulness often plays a key role in many not doing so. In fact, a fifth (21%) admitted that they only ‘sometimes leave a positive review of my treatment or service, if I remember to do so’.
Just 6% of Brits who were surveyed said they ‘will leave negative review every time if they are left unhappy or unsatisfied by their overall experience’.
Finally, you’d be forgiven for thinking the allure of a discount code (or similar) on a future treatment would be a great to gently encourage your clients to leave a review following their appointment, especially in light of the rising cost of living rising. However, we were interested to learn that just 12% of Brits would leave a positive review if incentivised to do so.
Conclusion
It is so encouraging to see the high number of positive reviews being left for hair, beauty, and nail technicians (and everyone else working hard within the industry) across the country.
It goes without saying that getting consistently great feedback from clients is invaluable to those working within in the industry, no matter how good your reputation already is.
As well as helping to draw in new clients, they also illustrate you’re offering a good service which is vital for client retention. We believe that each and every positive review should be celebrated and encouraged.
Whilst you’re never going to please everyone, it seems as though the little things such as making the effort to have a chat and ask about their day, or simply offering a cuppa or something to read whilst they wait can go a long way.
Sources & Methodology: • Survey of 2,000 UK adults conducted in May 2022
• Reviews for each city were collated from Google Reviews in May 2022
• We searched for ‘hair salon’, ‘nail salon’, ‘beauty salon’, ‘mobile hairdresser’, ‘mobile beauty therapist’ and ‘mobile nail technician’
• We only counted those who had an average review rating of four stars or more
• UK population data for each city was correct as of 11/5/2022 and was taken from a combination of the latest ONS figures and World Population Review
Freelance Focus, is a one stop resource for anyone working as a freelancer or thinking of going freelance in the hair & beauty industry, which includes a FREE downloadable guide filled with advice, useful insights, experiences and tips (from experienced freelancers) to help you understand the steps needed to make the right choices for you.
Introducing Chantelle, a talented beautician, hair extension specialist and proud owner of ‘Chantelle’s Beautique’. We sit down with Chantelle as she tells us how she started out in the industry, her top tips for becoming self-employed, struggles she faced and overcame along the way and her favourite products that she can’t live without!
My treatment room is based in my garden at home and I offer a full range of Hair and Beauty treatments specialising in skin care, brows & hair extensions. My clients love my set up and really appreciate the little touches like being able to park with ease and having more of a cosy experience away from the hustle and bustle of a busy salon. As well as running my own business at home, I also enjoy teaching others on their journey starting out in the trade with my own accredited courses at home as another branch of my business called ‘The Hair and Beauty Training Beautique’. You may also see me in your local Capital Hair & Beauty as I also tutor for one of their training providers ‘Face Forward’ offering brow lamination and lash lift and tint courses.
Sophie gained a wealth of experience working in the industry from her background working in prestigious 5 hotel & spa and salon settings which lead her up to starting a business of her own. We talk about all things beauty and the curved tweezers that she can’t live without!
Hi Sophie, tell us a little bit about your journey and how you go into the industry and what lead up to starting out on your own?
I gained a lot of knowledge from working in different settings from working with a big teams in a 5 star hotels and spas to smaller beauty salon environments. I gained so much knowledge from working in both settings and although it was hard work and long hours.
I started out by working in a few different 5 star hotels with spas and a salons where I gained all my knowledges and experiences from each one to put together for my own business! It was hard work and long hours all the practice paid off. It was actually one of my clients I saw regularly in the salon I worked at that said I should set up on my own and gave me the confidence to go self-employed and I’ve not looked back since!
As professionals in the hairdressing industry, we're well aware of the constant innovation occurring in our field. Our clients love to dramatically alter their look with the ever-changing trends and we do everything we can to prioritise the health of their hair. Bond-building treatments have long been a staple in salons to address this need. However, allow us to present the latest advancement: biomimetic hair science and K18!
Understanding the Future of Haircare: From Bond Builders to Biomimetic Hair Science
For centuries, the haircare industry relied on cosmetic chemistry to conceal damage. Historical solutions like oils and conditioners were designed to sit on the surface of the hair, providing a temporary fix by improving its appearance and manageability. However, these solutions fell short of addressing hair's health at its core.
Learn how to leverage K18 products in your salon services to reverse damage, fortify hair and enhance salon results all whilst boosting your salon profits. Discover our step-by-step instructions for every treatment, from lightening to styling in our handy salon go-to guide!
Following the natural structure of hair, the biologically active peptide is considered natural. Unlike traditional bonding agents, it is not rinsed away by water or shampoo, making K18 a genuine and enduring remedy for damaged hair. Healthy hair originates in the salon, and K18 believes its influence starts at the salon chair and radiates outward. While K18 is suitable for all hair types and services, the most significant improvements are seen in damaged hair.
Have you ever noticed how closely linked your mind and body are? It's like they're always communicating, even when we're not tuned in.
And when stress creeps in, it's not just your mind that feels the burden – your skin and hair can take a hit too. Stress, whether it's a short-term or a long-term problem, can be detrimental to your body's health.
In fact, a recent survey by the UK’s largest independent supplier to hair and beauty professionals, Capital Hair and Beauty, revealed nearly half (42%) of the nation believe that stress has had a negative impact on their skin and hair health!
Last year, Brits faced their fair share of hair and skin woes.Topping the list was the recurring issue of dry skin, affecting a significant 29% of the population. Not too far behind was hair thinning/loss, troubling over a fifth (22%) of us, while acne and breakouts are also a cause for concern, affecting 19% of survey respondents. And let's not forget about skin inflammation (12%) and eczema (11%).
Does the bob ever go out of style? Short answer: No. The reason for the evergreen appeal of the bob is because, depending on the length, it’s a look that can suit any face shape or hair texture. Right now, it can be anything from a short and swingy French girl bob, a luxurious long bob, or a razor-cut curly bob. For Tori Kiff, it’s about keeping things fresh with the addition of a fringe.
“I love updating a classic curly bob with a fringe, especially as so many of my curly clients seem to think it’s a style they shouldn’t have. I’ve managed to show so many clients that it’s all down to fear and that actually, a curly bob is so flattering and easy to style; I advise them to use their fingers to curl their fringes or to use a brush when styling,” shares Tori.
Of course, the most modern way to wear a bob is the Bixie, a hybrid of the bob and pixie; think classic bob updated with a fringe or micro bangs, or you could play with the Butterfly Bob. RUSH Creative Director Andy Heasman’s a fan.
If you ever spend time on social media, then you'll definitely have heard about skin cycling, or skin fasting. During the pandemic, this three-step regime rose to popularity as many of us had more time to spend on pursuing our 'perfect' skin. Read on to find out the what and why of skin cycling and how you can build it into your beauty therapy menu.
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