20+ Hair Salon Tools you Need In Your Hair Stylist Kit

If you’re just starting your career as a hairstylist, one of the most important decisions you’ll make is what hair salon tools to buy. It’s crucial that you invest in high-quality products to deliver outstanding results to your clients. 

It doesn’t matter if you’re going to work in a hair salon, at home, or you’ll be a mobile hairdresser, having a magic suitcase with all the essential tools in your industry is a must.

In this blog post, you will discover the essential products and tools that should be included in your hairstylist starter kit. We’ll also talk about the advantages of having professional-grade tools and how they can help you become a successful hairstylist!

Below you can find a short video with Laurie Vukich’s professional hairstylist kit and why does she include all these items on the list.

1. Hairstylist professional tools:

There are many types of blow dryers to choose from. As a hairstylist, you need to find one that will work quickly. Look for a professional-grade blow dryer with a high wattage that will help reduce the drying time.

While purchasing your professional hairdryer, look at reviews, its power, and all the additional features you need, such as a cooling button. 

Also, a hair straightener and a hair curler can’t be missed from your hairstylist starter kit. In this case, you have to pay attention to a tool that doesn’t cling to your client’s hair and be specially created to reduce the damage of the hair (the material of which it is created, temperature, etc.).

Hairdryer 

Dyson Supersonic Hair Dryer

Revlon Perfect Heat Ceramic Iron Hair Dryer

Babyliss Professional Hair Dryer

Rowenta Instant Dry Hair Dryer

Hair straightener

Babyliss Hair Straightener 

Remington Flat Iron

Dyson Cord-Free Hair Straightener

Hair curler

Remington Ceramic Curling Wand

Drybar Hair Styling Iron

2. Hairbrushes & combs

As a hairstylist, every action requires a different hairbrush or comb. For example, if you want to untangle the hair, you will need a paddle brush, if you’re going to divide the hair into more parts, you will need a thin hair comb. Make sure you have different shapes and sizes of hairbrushes and combs, and you’ll handle any tangled situation. 

Sam Villa Paddle Brush

Drybar Brush

John Frieda Hot Air Brush

Sam Villa Signature Large Brush

Sam Villa Signature Small Brush

Sam Villa Signature Medium Brush

Sam Villa Signature 8 Piece Comb Set

Hair Colour Brush

3. An appointment scheduling app

As a hairstylist, you must stay organized and find a solution to save time. A hair appointment scheduling app would be a great way to do so. Many professionals already use a mobile app to schedule appointments, so it’s the best decision they can make.

Why? 

A modern scheduling system will allow you to create an online booking page and attach a “Book Now” button on social media so that clients can book themselves without having to call you. Plus, with a hair salon booking app, you can automatically send message reminders to clients and process deposits or full payments.

Apps like Goldie can do all of these and many more. You can give it a try and see how it works for you. You can download it from the App Store or Google Play, totally free.

If you are a tech lover, you must know that Goldie can sync with Google Home or Amazon Alexa, so you can turn your hair salon into an intelligent salon with just two magic ingredients: a virtual AI assistant and Goldie. 

4. Hair accessories

Below, you can find some hair accessories that can’t be missed from your professional hairstylist kit. From Organizers to hairpins and elastics, you’ll discover all the things you should include in your hair tools list. You also have some suggestions in the links with products at affordable prices, so now, while you’re reading this, you can take action and start shopping.

• Dye bowl

Soft Applicator Bowl for Hair Products

• Elastics

Transparent Hair Elastic Set

• Hair Ties

Black Hair Ties

• Bobby pins

Here you can find a lot of bobby pins, coming in different sizes and colors. 

• Extensions

You never know when a client asks for a hairstyle that requires longer hair, so having some extensions in your professional hairstylist kit is a must. Here’s an article about what are the best natural hair extensions.

• Glue

It’s recommended to have superglue in your hairstylist starter kit, as you never know when you have to fix a tool or an accessory to fit your client’s requirements. 

• Hair clips

Metal Alligator Clips

Claw Hair Clips

Drybar Hair Clips

• Natural hair bangs

Here’s a short video about how to apply clip-in bangs:

Bellami Clip-In Bangs

• Hair tools organizers

Hair Salon Organizers

• Heat resistant gloves gloves

Heat resistant hairstylist gloves

• Neck brush

Neck duster brush

• Magnetic bracelet

Magnetic Wrist Strap Bracelet

• Shoulder cape

Professional Hairdressing Salon Cape

• Heat resistant pad

Silicone Heat Resistant Station

5. Hair dye

Talk to your products distributor about the best hair dye brand and make stocks. There are times when really good products are out of stock for a long time, and you don’t want to refuse clients just because you’re out of their hair tone dye. 

Also, besides your hair dye kit, don’t forget to include some powders or sprays that cover grey hair in your hairstylist beginner kit. You never know when you have a client that needs a little touch-up before finishing his/her hairstyle. Check out what are the best root touch-ups here, and don’t forget that each of them corresponds to a color type, so get ready to stock one for each hair color out there. 

John Frieda Defy Grey Hair Blow Dry Foam

6. Haircutting tools

Cutting tools are probably the most important items to add to a professional hairstylist kit.

Clipper and trimmer

As a hairstylist, one clipper should be enough in your hairstylist kit. According to professional barbers, the Wahl clipper is one of the best on the market, but you can check here for more clipper ideas for your professional hairstylist kit.

Wahl Balding Star Series Clipper

Hairdressing Scissors

High-quality scissor is a thing every hairstylist should have at hand. As hair grows and gets damaged so fast, you will have very often haircut requests in your daily hairstylist program. When purchasing a scissor, make sure you invest in a professional one, even if it may seem a little expensive. Remember, it is a long-term investment, you don’t buy new scissors every month, and if you want to provide good services, you need good tools. Here you can find all kinds of hair salon scissors to include in your beginner hairstylist kit. Don’t forget to read the product’s reviews before purchasing hair salon scissors.

Razor

There will probably be situations when a razor is all you need. However, it is an important item in your hairstylist kit, and you don’t have to spend much money on it. 

Hair & Beard Razor Set

7. Professional hair products

Many hair care products like masks, keratin-based products, or special shampoos are not available in shops or supermarkets, and your clients might want to benefit from them. Therefore, choose your favorite hair products brand and ensure you have a wide variety of hair care products in your kit. 

According to professional hairstylists, these are some of the most well-rated brands: Olaplex, Balmain Haircare, Kerastase, Briogeo, Shea Moisture, Matrix. If you want to read more about these haircare brands, here’s an article for you.

What are the basic products that you need in your hairstylist kit:

• Fixing spray
• Hair gel
• Heat protectant
• Conditioner
• Shampoo
• Hair mask
• Hair oil

8. Hairstylist equipment

As a hairstylist, you spend many hours standing up, and in time, that might damage your legs. To prevent it, you can read this article about the best shoes for hairstylists and wear some of the items listed at work.

Also, it’s recommended to have clothes especially destined for work, generally black, as you don’t want dirt to be visible on your clothes. Plus, you can even wear an apron while applying hair dye or different hair products that might spread on your clothes.

• Apron

Hairstylist Apron

• Disposable gloves

Pink Vinyl Disposable Gloves Set

9. Hair salon furniture

If you want to buy hair salon furniture just for yourself (if you’re working independently at home or in a salon), you can find some ideas below. On average, the price for individual salon furniture goes up to $1000. 

Hair Salon Chair

Hair Salon Sink

Hair Salon Mirror Station

Hair salon Trolley Cart

If you work in a salon and you already have furniture, you can consider seeing some salon reception area ideas. As the waiting room is essential for your client’s experience in the salon, you’ll want to create a comfortable corner for them. So get inspired by these salon reception area ideas and transform your waiting room. 

Other things to consider including in your hairstylist starter kit

• Spray bottles;

• Disposable towels;

• Wet towels (any kind);

• Acetone (it’s a good choice if you need to remove dye from your client’s skin);

• Barbicide & disinfecting jar;

• A suitcase.

Last but not least…

If you have suggestions of tools, accessories, or products that you consider useful for your industry mates, grab us a comment in the section below and we’ll include it in this blog post. 

Also, you can share with us that were your main struggles when you started working as a hairstylist. No profession is easy in the beginning, but we can ease it with some business tips for junior hairdressers. 🙂