posted on: 03/18/2025
Roll down the window and feel the wind in your hair before you welcome your first client into your salon . . . on wheels. If you’re a solopreneur who wants a break from rent and landlords, a mobile salon or barbershop may be your next great adventure. Many states have introduced bills this year that would allow hair professionals to obtain a mobile license/permit/registration, including Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Rhode Island, and South Carolina. This was a trend last legislative session too, with seven states filing mobile salon and barbering licensing bills.
A mobile salon is a business that operates from within a mobile vehicle. For many cosmetologists and barbers, it is also freedom and flexibility. A mobile salon allows professionals to take their shears and skills on the road to any location, such as events, weddings, and clients’ homes. Broadening your geographic reach—quite literally—gives you a competitive edge in a saturated market. A mobile salon connects you with clients who may not otherwise travel to see you at a stationary salon like stay-at-home parents, homebound individuals, or your busy 9-to-5-ers. Or it could be as simple as wanting to swap snow for sunshine in the winter!
Is a mobile salon worth it though, after all the time spent planning, advertising, and creating a functioning salon on wheels? Many cosmetologists say yes. A mobile salon attracts diverse, loyal clients who appreciate the one-on-one time and convenient services you provide. How you snag yourself a piece of that billion-dollar pie starts with understanding mobile salon laws and rules.
Creating a business plan, deciding what services to offer, and securing the required license are the necessary steps you should take before retrofitting a VW van. It’s important to check specific safety standards required by your state board. In many states, furniture must be anchored to the unit, chemicals must be stored in latched cabinets, and fresh water must be supplied in a holding tank. Not dissimilar to RV enthusiasts who travel the country with cutlery secured in drawers and clever hacks to hide chairs within tables, you want to ensure any hazardous materials or moving parts aren’t a liability.
To set up hair pros for success, an inspection is required. At a high level, an inspector will look for labeled containers, separated linens (clean ones from soiled), appropriate disinfectants, covered disposal bins, surfaces free from dirt and debris, and tools and equipment in good working condition. It’s also a common requirement for mobile salon owners to submit an itinerary to their licensing board that shows the dates, times, and location they will be providing services.
The perks to a mobile salon are many, including:
- An adjustable schedule
- A chance to maximize business
- Peak marketing potential
- Casting a wide net to potential clients
- (A cool vehicle is also such a flex)
We’re not saying peel out of the salon parking lot forever and hit the highway. Consider balancing time behind the chair in a traditional salon setting with time behind the wheel, maybe for a change of scenery, special events, as a side hustle, or something you do only for select clients.
First and foremost, make sure your state offers a mobile license. If it doesn’t, raise the issue at a board meeting and explain how a mobile salon license could benefit you, your business, and the hair pro community. AHP regularly supports mobile salon and barbering licensure bills and wants to see hair professionals have flexibility beyond the chair. Talk to your state representative or senator about introducing a bill that would open your state for mobile cosmetology or barbering. The squeaky wheel gets the grease, and with enough advocacy, you could go from looking at hair color swatches to looking at paint swatches for a bus in no time.