Until fairly recently, business owners have treated the handicapped with anything but equality. With the numbers on the rise, and the elderly swelling the ranks, many businesses have begun to change their attitude. Legislation has also done its part in providing this struggling segment of the population with certain rights – including accessibility. Products and services, including handicap hair washing, are now being considered more routine than a chore. In fact, many salons and related businesses are embracing the concept and are purchasing items that will appeal to and help them improve their draw for the physically challenged.
Mobile Salons: At the Forefront of Handicap Hair Washing
While regular hair salons have been slow to embrace such things as wheelchair accessible stations and equipment, mobile hair salons have not. Their business has generally been with a segment of society that does not have the time or the ability to leave their homes for such things as haircuts, styling and related matters. They and their equipment must be ready to go mobile as they visit the homes and spaces of their clients. The client base for their services does include the elderly and the handicapped as well as people whose schedule prohibits a visit to a regular salon. Wedding parties and special events may also request the services of a mobile hair salon.
Types of Mobile Hair Salons
You can divide the types of mobile hair salons into two:
1. In-Home Mobile Salon: This one consists of something as simple as a vehicle with portable equipment that is taken inside the person’s residence. Here such things as handicap hair washing or geriatric styling occurs. This type is common and fairly simple.
2. Mobile Vehicle Salon: A true mobile hair salon, this involves outfitting a vehicle to act as a portable salon. It has running water and an electrical hook-up. This type of business often has more restrictions governing it then a simple one-person portable hair at home salon.
If you plan to start up your own mobile salon services, make sure you check the laws governing them in your state.
Mobile Salon Equipment
Essentially, the equipment you require to make your salon a viable business is the same as that for a stationary salon: chairs, shampoo bowls, styling and cutting tools. They need to fulfil the functions of those found in a regular salon. However, to improve their capability, they need to be portable. This very nature makes them more accessible and versatile. Performing such tasks as handicap hair washing is much easier and more comfortable with the right portable equipment. You can purchase them to suit the needs of your clients whether they are in their home or in your vehicle.
These are innovations. They place mobile salon operators ahead of stationary salon managers. By adopting their craft and art to the exigencies of the road, mobile salon operators are providing a necessary service to an often neglected element of society. By providing handicap hair washing and elegant styling for the homebound elderly, they are acknowledging these individuals’ integral worth to society as a whole.
