New research has revealed that London is the most profitable city in the UK to have a career in hair or beauty, based on demand, consumer disposable income and the number of competitor businesses.
The team at Money business insurance, compared the potential opportunities in the market for aspiring beauty business owners.
The research looked at hair salons, makeup artists, nail salons, lash technicians, skincare clinics and waxing salons, and found that the capital city is the top beauty hub for all beauty niches.
Best towns to open a beauty business
Where's the best place to launch as a makeup artist?
For makeup artists, London is the top city. This is mainly due to the city’s high disposable income and large population, which means that its makeup artists per 100,000 people are the lowest.
Wolverhampton ranks second, with a lower disposable income of £16,008 per person. However, its low review score (4.3) and artists per 100,000 people mean it is a market with high potential.
Where's the best town to open a nail salon?
Regarding nail salons, London came out on top again, scoring 9.74 out of 10. As is the case across each section of our rankings, London has the highest GDHI, at £31,094 per person, meaning people have more money to spend on beauty treatments. It also scored well for every other factor, with a low density of salons (given its vast population), low average review scores, but high search demand.
Bristol comes in second, having the highest number of searches, with over 7,000 per 100,000 people. The city in the South West also has a high disposable income of £21,084, leaving Bristolians with more income to spend on things such as nail treatments.
Where can I make the most money as a lash technician?
London takes the top spot again regarding the best cities for lash technicians, scoring 8.95 out of 10. As well as its high disposable income, London has just 6 lash techs per 100,000 people, meaning competition is low. It also has 479 searches per 100,000 for lash techs.
As nail salons, Bristol is the second-best city for those looking to become a lash technician. Bristol has 703 searches for lash techs per 100,000 people, more than any city besides Birmingham. It also has a high disposable income and few competing salons (10 per 100,000 people).
What's the best location for a skincare clinic?
As with all other beauty businesses, London leads the ranking, this time with a score of 8.82. The capital has the highest number of searches for skin care experts, with over 1,000 per 100,000 people and the highest disposable income.
Coventry comes in second place, scoring 7.37 out of 10. It has lots of searches for skin care experts, with 810 per 100,000 people. The low number of skin clinics per 100,000 people also means it could be ripe for new business.
How to choose the best place for a waxing salon
Lastly, London leads the ranking again for waxing, with a very high score of 9.08 out of 10. As well as its high disposable income, it scores well for each factor. In particular, there are just 4 waxing salons per 100,000 people in the capital, suggesting low competition.
Coventry ranks second for waxing salons, scoring 7.50, with customers in Coventry dissatisfied with their current options, scoring them just 4.66. Coventry also has lots of searches for waxing salons and low competition.
