The psychology of color is considered to be fairly new even though the impact of color has been used for thousands of years to influence physical and mental health. The ancient Egyptians and Chinese practiced healing with what is called “chromotherapy.” Basic colors were thought to aid everything from digestion to pain or sorrow. Red was used to stimulate. Yellow was thought to purify. Orange was used for healing and cleansing. Blue soothed and even seemed to reduce pain. So it has gone for thousands of years. Science is just beginning to explain some of the benefits of color.

The miracle of color is in how the human eye interprets it. Without light there is no color. In 1666, Sir Isaac Newton discovered that white light consists of all the colors in the spectrum. That’s red, yellow, orange, blue, green, purple, and all the variations in between. The human eye sees color by utilizing available light and interpreting the reflected qualities. We all see color just a bit differently. While there are thousands of colors, most people can only differentiate between a little over a hundred different colors. And, yes — colors have varying properties in different light situations. The same pigments used in various rooms during different times of the day may appear totally different.

No Wrong Colors

There is no wrong answer when choosing color for your salon. How much and where you use it may just depend on your comfort level. If you are really unsure, enlist the help of a decorator in your color endeavors. Decorators will try to grasp how you live in a space and offer suggestions for you to consider. They have an understanding of how colors work together and can warn you of pitfalls and common mis-matching mistakes. If you are a pretty good do-it-yourselfer, grab a color wheel at your local art supply store and a book on decorating or color and start experimenting. Ask staff members, clients, and guests what they think your current color scheme says about the salon. Is it consistent with your message?

The subdued tones in the retail area at Eclips Salon & Spa in Ashburn, Va., are gender friendly.

The subdued tones in the retail area at Eclips Salon & Spa in Ashburn, Va., are gender friendly.

Create a Mood

Color can help set the tone or create a mood in the salon. It’s no coincidence that UPS chose brown for their trucks and driver uniforms. The tag line “What can Brown do for you?” is marketing genius. Brown is reputed as being the color of dependability, stability, and security. Color and mood can be very complex and psychologists warn that the marketing public often oversimplifies it. There are so many variables to consider. It is impossible to know what each color may trigger in each person. Our own biases make choosing colors for the salon even more difficult.[PAGEBREAK]

Here are some generally held color associations:
Brown — dependability, stability, security
Green — healthy, lucky, restful, or quiet
Blue — peaceful
Orange — cleansing
Red — passion, stimulating, loving
Purple — royal, powerful
Yellow — happy
White — purity, clean, cold
Black — elegant
Gray — conservative

“A soft, warm, buttery yellow is calming and soothing as a client comes out of a sleepy massage,” says Jane Lohmann, spa director at The Spa at Laguna Cliffs in Dana Point, Calif. The same soft color graces the walls in the pedicure room. The pedicure stations are white ceramic to signify cleanliness and sanitation. You can blend several colors in a room to customize the message you send clients.

White recliners and curtains lend a serene and clean feel to San Francisco's ZaZa Nail Spa.

White recliners and curtains lend a serene and clean feel to San Francisco's ZaZa Nail Spa.

Target Your Market

To start your color journey, map out the salon and list the goals and objectives in each area. In the reception area, your goal may be purely to welcome, or you may want to encourage browsing in the retail area. Halls and walkways are basically for transportation, so neutral hues may work well to tie together the color scheme. If you are offering mostly quick services, your colors could be more lively and energetic than if you want clients to sink in, relax, and stay a while. Don’t forget lighting as your needs will change depending on colors used. Black hues absorb light and light hues reflect it.

According to Desiree Tatum, a nail tech and educator based in Chicago’s Y’lonn Salon, “The best color for your salon may not be your favorite color. The first consideration must be the message you are trying to convey. If you are marketing your salon as a place of relaxed pampering, you should choose colors that say ‘relax and stay a while’ to your clients.” She recommends warm colors and natural color fibers to make clients feel comfortable. Warm creamy beiges and rich Moroccan hues go a long way to setting a cozy feel in treatment areas. If you’re targeting a younger clientele and plan on playing more upbeat tunes and creating a fun atmosphere, you might consider using bolder and brighter colors.

The treatment area and retail areas have different purposes and a different color scheme may be appropriate. “Colors that sell are colors that deliver convincing information about the attributes of a product or service,” writes Jill Morton, in Colors That Sell. “In advertising, color can say ‘I am made of pure ingredients’ or ‘I am trustworthy’ or ‘I am powerful.’” She has put together hundreds of color combinations complete with demographic data on each. Color connections are constantly changing and new palettes become desirable.

Ava's Spa & Boutique sets the tone with a mix of warm gold and black with just a spash accent of red.

Ava's Spa & Boutique sets the tone with a mix of warm gold and black with just a spash accent of red.

Express Your Personality

“The most successful interior color design is responsive and appropriate to the overall design goals,” states Jonathan Poore, an architectural designer and author of Interior Color by Design.

Ava Oulten, owner of Ava’s Spa & Boutique, located in Richmond, Va., uses a mix of warm gold and black with just a splash accent of red to set the tone in her hip, New York-styled salon. Leopard-print carpets in gold and black were custom-designed for the lush space. Oulten chose the colors “because gold is soothing and black is elegant.” Her background in fashion helped her pull it all together with custom wrought iron pieces and greenery. In contrast, her pedicure room is done mostly in white to convey cleanliness — which is a major selling point in her area.

Because clients feel like they have been transported to an upscale New York destination, they tend to shop the same way. Much of Oulten’s revenue comes from retail. Manicure tables are sprinkled throughout with a decadent mix of fashion and retail cosmetic displays. What’s Oulten’s advice? “Go with developing your own image. Don’t just copy someone else. Salons must get across what they want clients to feel while they are experiencing services. It’s all in the personality of the salon.”[PAGEBREAK]

Regional Faves

It’s important to realize that some colors will be perennial favorites and people in certain regions will gravitate toward them, which is why one color palette may work in Key West but would seem out of place in Manhattan. The symbolism and emotion that are evoked by a color in the United States may be drastically different in another country.

Lotus Day Spa in Kitty Hawk, N.C., brought in natural tones and muted greens and oranges reminiscent of the nearby coast to create a comforting environment. The pedicure room even has a seashore mural in the colors of a blissful ocean. The natural tones of the floor help unite the areas and encourage patrons to move between them. Warm corals are brought in as accents. In small doses, they are soothing and not overpowering.

The Spa at Laguna Cliffs ties in the bright orange of Orange County in small but effective ways. “While the spa is adorned with pale, buttery yellows and warm beiges, we have brought in orange as our signature accent color,” Lohmann says. “We believe in the cleansing properties of orange. Used as accents it is quite effective to get the products noticed. The staff wear orange polo shirts, there are orange pillows, and treatment products in orange packaging are placed in each guest’s room at the adjoining hotel.”

Don’t be afraid to play up local favorite colors — especially if your manicurists and pedicurists enjoy seasonal traffic from tourism. The tourist traffic is looking to get a different feel from that of their hometown salons. Color can help out-of-town clients get into the local swing of things as they relax on vacation.

The pink, cream, and chocolate brown at Nitespa in Venice, Calif., make for a visual treat.

The pink, cream, and chocolate brown at Nitespa in Venice, Calif., make for a visual treat.

Test Drive Color

“Try out colors in the salon before using a great deal of a vivid color,” says Tatum. “Some colors are fine in some spaces but overwhelm in others. A little color can go a long way.” Design experts advise painting a two-foot square on the wall and observing it in the different light it receives around the clock. What looks good in the morning may change as the sun passes overhead.

Color is an inexpensive medium to play in, so you can experiment a little to find your best look. “Efficient color design does not need to add any cost to interior renovations or construction — it is a simple matter of planning ahead,” states Poore. Consider the impact color can have on your space. You aren’t just decorating; you are conveying a message to the client — a subtle, subconscious message alerting them how they should feel inside your space.

sidebar: Additional Reading

Interior Color by Design, by Jonathan Poore Rockport Publishers ISBN 978-1-59253-296-4
Paint Effects, by Hilary Mandleberg Thunder Bay Press ISBN 978-1-59223
Better Homes and Gardens, Color with Confidence, Your Room, Your Way. Meredith Books ISBN 0-696-22691-X

 

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