At Lenka Hair Salon in Venice, FL, stylist and shampoo chairs are designed to accommodate neck and spinal issues. The salon team knows how to work with clients who use mobile oxygen. They use careful language when addressing issues like greying, thinning, or patchy hair.
While the upscale salon offers the latest in trendy cuts and colors, it’s also designed to accommodate the real bread and butter of this coastal Florida town: seniors.
“It’s a giant market potential,” says salon owner Lenka Barta, who notes that half of Venice’s population is over 65. “Almost every senior colors their hair these days.”
The median income among seniors in Venice is more than $74K, higher than the national average. Many of her salon’s clients are retired from leadership positions, such as working on Wall Street. “They can be pretty intimidating,” Barta says.
She has her new stylists train by her side for their first year on the job, so they understand Barta’s approach to working with seniors.
“Part of the training is to show them that age is just a number,” she says. “The client is a person who wants to look her best. The training is to make them feel comfortable with seniors and to love them and see them.
“The challenge is to offer them something trendy, not to see her and say, ‘oh, she’s old. She doesn’t care.’”
Salons and Seniors: A Long-Term Relationship
The number of Americans aged 65 and over has been expanding since 1980, and is on track to rise from 58 million in 2022 to 82 million by 2050. That's a 47% increase, says the Population Resource Bureau, which calls this growth “unprecedented."
The organization attributes the surge to the Baby Boomer generation reaching retirement age, a trend that began around 2011.
In salons, seniors are a customer base that ticks a lot of boxes: They are consistent, returning clients; they’re willing to refer friends and family, and often have the income to devote to salon visits.
“They’re willing to spend money on their upkeep,” says Kipton Paden, a young stylist at Lenka Hair Salon, who notes that senior clients tend to make more frequent appointments than their younger counterparts. He finds working with elderly clients “very calming.”
A stylist must have patience and know how to listen, Paden says. “I'm listening quite a bit more than I am talking.”
Progressions Salon Spa Store in N. Bethesda, MD, can attest to the power of the “silver dollar.” The bustling salon has a thriving multi-generational clientele, the result of long-term loyalty.
“As a 40-year old business, we have several senior clients as they have been a part of our brand since conception,” says owner Cindy Feldman. “The senior community has a meaningful and multi-faceted impact on Progressions – both as clients, and as part of our brand story and values.”
Feldman notes that her senior clients comprise “loyal, long-term, multi-decade relationships that have been built on trust.” Many of her stylists serve older clients, plus their children and grandchildren.
Seniors are consistent and reliable, and value quality services and personal relationships, Feldman says. Her salon makes a point to celebrate their birthdays, milestones, and important life events.
Long-time team members have come to appreciate the reciprocal respect and care in working with seniors, while newer team members working with seniors build confidence and their “empathetic muscle,” Feldman notes.
“Respecting the aging — and knowing we are all heading down that path — creates a depth of compassion for seniors, but also for self.”
Meeting the Moment: Training for Seniors’ Needs
Another benefit that a robust senior clientele can generate is the opportunity to specialize. Paden, for one, is building his skills as a stylist in an in-demand field: trichology, the study of hair loss and scalp disorders.
“I’m starting to encounter a lot of hair loss in general, especially because of COVID,” he says. “In the last few years, there's more people coming into the salon asking about hair loss, its cause, how they can prevent it.”
Stylists trained in trichology conduct in-depth consultations with clients and recommend specialized products and treatments. Along with experts in wigs, extensions, and hairpieces, stylists who specialize in hair loss are hot commodities among older clients.
“Not having hair later on in your life brings lots of anxiety,” Paden says. “Being able to give them a solution gives me an accomplished feeling. I always like to keep on going in education. You have to make sure you're catering to your clientele so you're not falling behind.”
Lenka Hair Salon’s employee manual lays out how to handle clients of all ages: attentively, respectfully, and with an accommodating spirit. Clients are offered snacks, magazines, water, wine, and other beverages.
The salon’s furniture was chosen with care. Shampoo chairs are positioned so the guest is parallel with the bowl, taking pressure off the neck and reducing the potential for stroke-producing blood clots.
The team has learned special skills for their older clients. “I asked for hints from a nurse on how to properly lift a person, how to take their hand, what is the way to pick up a person when somebody falls,” says owner Lenka Barta.
Stylists sit down and speak with clients at eye level so they don't feel intimidated. They make it a point to remember and use their names. They’ve learned how to cut, color, treat, and style hair that’s greying, thinning, or patchy.
“You may be running behind like crazy, but you create the illusion that you have all the time in the world,” Barta says. “Many times, you are the only one who touches them; it’s like a massage. You take extra time with the client.”
Barta acknowledges that while such accommodations have a financial impact, it’s a necessary part of a salon culture that prioritizes keeping clients happy and coming back.
“We want to make that day for that woman who’s there for an hour or two as smooth as possible,” she says. “There are people who can’t move as fast or talk as fast. They may have vision problems. They need time.”
Care, Companionship, and Connection in Salons
About 28 percent of seniors live alone, according to the latest statistics by the National Council on Aging.
“For many older adults, regular visits to the salon are more than just personal grooming,” says Leslie Perry, Executive Director of the Professional Beauty Association, who refers to regular salon appointments as needed social rituals for many seniors.
“They are cherished routines that offer a sense of dignity, self-care, and connection,” she says.
Perry offers best practices and recommendations for salons in working with seniors. “Consider offering senior discounts or loyalty perks to show appreciation,” she says. “Partnering with healthcare professionals, such as dermatologists or physical therapists can provide added confidence for clients seeking specialized care.”
Perry says salons that welcome seniors can benefit from a consistent client base that values the care, conversation, and comfort offered by beauty professionals.
“By embracing and celebrating the senior community, salons not only support their clients’ well-being,” Perry says, “but also create a culture of care that everyone benefits from."
Jenaé Davis, owner of Salon Jenaé in Bloomington, IL, agrees. Among her business strategies to welcome seniors are: offering a special Seniors Day, carrying products for sensitive skin, building in extra time for appointments, and incentivizing seniors to visit the salon during daytime blocks when stylist books are otherwise hard to fill.
“Having guest speakers on topics like Medicaid insurance as they receive their services are also great options,” she adds.
Davis says she appreciates the rise in senior clients, because the social benefits go both ways.
“The stimulation from conversations and the psychological boost of feeling good, combined with quality services, reinforces positive self-esteem and self-care” for seniors, she says. In return, older clients offer “a wealth of experience and knowledge.
“The services we provide are not just about beauty,” Davis says. “We are licensed to touch, and sometimes that feeling alone can make someone’s day.”