Terms and conditions for a beauty salon and nail bar

Beauty treatments carry more risk than a haircut, and the client controls most of the information that decides whether a treatment is safe. Terms that make disclosure the client's responsibility, put patch tests and consultations on a proper footing, and deal with courses, packages and no-shows are what I draft, for a fixed fee of £995 in five working days.

Who this is for

Beauty salons, nail bars, brow and lash studios, waxing and skin treatment businesses in England and Wales, employing therapists or renting rooms to self-employed ones. Your clients are consumers, so the terms are written for the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and the online booking rules.

What matters in beauty salon terms

Consultations, disclosure and contraindications

The terms should require the client to complete a consultation form, to disclose medical conditions, medication, pregnancy, allergies and recent treatments, and to update it when things change. They should say that you rely on that information and may refuse or adapt a treatment, and that a treatment carried out on incomplete information is at the client's risk. That does not remove your duty to take reasonable care, but it puts the facts where they belong.

Patch tests and aftercare

Treatments that need a patch test should not proceed without one, and the terms should say so and give you the right to refuse. Aftercare instructions should be given in writing, with the terms making clear that results and reactions after the client leaves depend on the client following them. Age restrictions apply to some treatments by law, and the terms should let you ask for proof of age and refuse.

Bookings, deposits and no-shows

An appointment booked online or by phone is a distance contract under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, with a 14-day cancellation right; a treatment inside that period needs the client's express request at booking for a no-show or late cancellation charge to be enforceable. The charge itself must reflect what you lose from the empty slot, because the Consumer Rights Act 2015 treats a disproportionate charge as unfair.

Courses, packages and vouchers

A course of treatments sold at a discount needs terms saying how long the client has to use it, whether it is transferable, and what is refunded if the client stops part way, which cannot be nothing where the salon is at fault. Gift vouchers need a reasonable expiry stated on the voucher. Packages that renew automatically should be avoided or made very clear, and further rules for subscription contracts are being introduced under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024.

Results, complaints, products and prices

The terms should say that results vary with the individual and that photographs are references, give a short window for concerns and offer a correction first, and reserve refunds for services not carried out with reasonable care and skill. Retail products carry the goods rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Prices must be displayed, card payments cannot carry a surcharge, and the salon's details must be available under the Provision of Services Regulations 2009.

What it costs

Customer or supplier terms and conditions, £995. One set of terms, customer-facing or supplier-facing, drafted around your business. Five working days.

Review of your existing terms, £495. You already have terms and want to know how much of a problem they are. Returned marked up with my amendments and an explanation of the changes. Three working days.

Buying online forms the engagement on payment. The scope is what the terms and conditions drafting page describes, you accept the Terms of Service at checkout, and I email you within four working hours to get started. If you would rather ask something first, email me.

What you get

• A full set of terms drafted around your business, not a template with your name inserted
• A covering note in plain English explaining every commercial choice I made and why, so you can defend the terms in a negotiation without ringing me
• Liability, payment, termination and IP provisions set at a level that will survive a procurement review
• Consumer-facing wording drafted to be enforceable where you sell to consumers
• Guidance on how to incorporate the terms properly, which is where most businesses actually fail
• One round of amendments after you have read them

What is not included

• Negotiating your terms with individual customers
• Sector-specific regulatory compliance beyond the contract terms themselves
• Website privacy notice and cookie compliance, which I quote separately
• Terms governed by the law of another country

Questions I am often asked

A client had a reaction to a lash adhesive after refusing a patch test. Where do I stand?

If the terms and your process required a test and the client refused, the treatment should not have gone ahead. Where it did, and the refusal and warning are recorded, your position is much stronger, but no term can exclude liability for personal injury caused by your own negligence.

Can I refuse to refund an unused course of treatments?

The terms can set an expiry and say that unused sessions are lost after it, provided the period is reasonable and the client was told. Where the client cannot continue because of something you did, or for a medical reason, a fair term provides for a refund of the unused part.

Do the terms cover therapists who rent a room from me?

They cover the client relationship, and should say whether the client's contract is with the salon or with the therapist. The arrangement with the therapist needs its own room rental agreement.

Related guidance and services

• Terms and conditions drafting, £995, the service this page describes
• Terms and conditions for a hairdressing salon
• Terms and conditions for a mobile hairdresser or beautician, if you also treat clients in their homes

This page is general guidance for businesses in England and Wales, not advice on your own circumstances. Last reviewed: September 2026. Email geoffrey@caesar.co.uk.