How to book around color processing time

A color isn't one block of work. The stylist applies it, then waits while it processes, then rinses and finishes. During the wait their hands are free, and most salons book another client into it: a cut, a blow-dry, a consultation. That's how a busy stylist sees two clients in the time of one. Here is how that gap works, what fits in it, and what to look for in booking software so it books the way you already work.

The three parts of a color

• Apply: sectioning and applying the color or lightener. The stylist is busy the whole time. It takes longer on long or thick hair.
• Processing: the color develops on its own. The stylist only needs to check on it. The time comes from the manufacturer's instructions for the line and the developer you use, plus heat or not.
• Finish: rinse, toner or gloss, then the cut, blow-dry or style. The stylist is busy again.

Only the middle part is free. A booking that runs past it makes the color wait at the bowl, which changes the result.

Examples

Times differ from salon to salon and client to client. These show the shape, not a rule.

What fits in the gap

• Short services that end before the processing does: a men's or kids' cut, a fringe trim, a blow-dry, a consultation for a new client.
• Leave a few minutes at the end to check the color and get the client to the bowl on time.
• Not a second color, unless its application fits in the gap. Two colors processing at once is fine; two needing the stylist at the same moment isn't.
• Lunch during a long processing is normal too.

Common mistakes

• Booking the whole color as one block. The gap is lost, and the stylist's day looks full when it isn't.
• Booking something into the gap that runs over the rinse. The color overprocesses, or the second client waits in the chair.
• Using the same times for every client. A client with a lot of hair takes longer to apply, so their processing starts later and the gap moves.
• Keeping it all in someone's head. When the desk books, it needs to see the gap, not ask the stylist.

What to look for in booking software

Most booking apps are built for any appointment business, so an appointment is one solid block: book anything over a color and it shows as a double booking, or the app refuses it. For a hair salon, check that the software can:

• split a service into apply, processing and finish, and show the processing as free time on the calendar;
• book another client into that time with no double-booking warning, and list it among the free times;
• let each stylist set their own times, or keep their processing to themselves;
• adjust one appointment when a client's processing falls later;
• remember how long each client really takes, so the next booking is right.

See also how to write down a hair color formula: the processing time belongs in the formula too.

Processing time in HairSync

HairSync is salon booking software built for hair stylists, and it books colors this way. A color on the salon's menu has an apply, a processing and a finish time (30, 30 and 30 minutes to start), and each stylist sets their own. On the calendar the processing shows as free time: tap it and book the next client, with no warning. The booking form lists it among the stylist's free times, and "Adjust" moves the processing for a client whose color takes longer to apply. When a client runs over, stretch her appointment: her next booking takes her usual length, processing included. A stylist who'd rather keep the time to themselves removes the processing from their services.

It runs in the browser on a phone, tablet or laptop, with no app to install, and keeps every color formula on the visit it was mixed for. It's free to start.