Many of our customers are women taking the step towards a business of their own. Laser hair removal is a logical place to start: demand is high, clients come back for several sessions and it is a treatment you can learn to do well. But between the idea and the first paying client there are a number of questions that are better answered in advance. This article goes through them.
What you need to get started
More than just a device. A suitable room with a treatment couch, good lighting and ventilation. Safety goggles for you and the client; that is not an option but an obligation. An intake and consent form, because a client needs to know what the treatment involves and what the risks are. A pre-care and aftercare protocol. And training, so that you know how to match the energy settings to skin type and hair colour. With us, that package comes with the purchase: training, forms, visual material for your social media and an indication of treatment rates so that you can set your own prices.
Which device
For a new salon that wants to serve all skin types, a diode laser is the best choice in most cases; you can read why in our article on diode, IPL and alexandrite. Do not be guided by the highest wattage. A more powerful device often works at settings you never use in practice and sometimes needs a separate power connection. What counts is whether the device works comfortably, safely and quickly on the clients you get.
What it costs
A professional diode laser calls for an investment of roughly between a few thousand and a few tens of thousands of euros, depending on brand, wavelengths and capacity. On top of that come fitting out the room, consumables such as filters and gel, insurance and your own time for training and marketing. Financing need not be a barrier: besides buying, leasing is possible, and so is paying in instalments without interest. For those who do not want to pay interest on grounds of principle, that last option is often decisive.
When it is earned back
Here is a worked example using the default values from our payback calculator. All amounts are excluding VAT.
- Purchase price of the device: €10,000
- Price per session for your client: €150
- Number of sessions per treatment: 6, so €900 per client
- New clients per month: 2, so €1,800 per month
After six months you will then have built up more than €10,000 and the device is earned back. With proper maintenance a diode laser lasts for years, often as long as eight years. With the same numbers, you then keep around €1,800 per month, before your own costs.
Two levers make the biggest difference:
- More new clients. With one extra client per month, for example thanks to flyers and a banner in your own house style, you reach €2,700 per month and the device is earned back in five months, including the cost of the marketing package.
- Your own costs per session. If you allow €20 per session for consumables, energy and your own time, you keep €780 per client and it takes seven months.
Leasing is also possible. With an instalment of €250 per month, one client per month already covers the instalment more than three times over.
Please note: this is an example, not a guarantee. Your own rates, area and occupancy determine the real picture. Enter your own figures in the payback calculator and see straight away after how many months your device has paid for itself. After that, we are happy to work through the figures with you for your situation; bring your annual figures or marketing plan and the calculation becomes even more reliable.
You are not on your own
What holds starters back most is not the money but the uncertainty: what if I do something wrong, or the device does not work? The honest answer is that in practice most questions are about operating the device, and that these are usually resolved within a few minutes in a video call. So ask every supplier what the support looks like after the purchase. In our case, we would rather you heard that from customers who have gone before you.