In a salon the sign is doing two jobs: branding the space and lighting the mirror selfie. Design for the second and the first follows.
Warm White flatters skin, which matters more here than in any other setting. Saturated colors look striking and make everyone photographed under them look worse.
Design for the photograph
Clients photograph their hair or nails at the end of every appointment, and those photographs go out with your name in the background if you have placed the sign correctly. That single fact should drive the decision.
- ✓ Put it behind the styling chair, so it appears in the mirror shot.
- ✓ Or on the wall a client faces while seated, so it lands in a selfie.
- ✓ Mount it at seated eye level or slightly above, roughly 130 to 150 cm to the center.
- ✗ Not directly opposite a window. Daylight will wash it out in every photograph taken before 4pm.
What it should say
| Option | Best for |
|---|---|
| Your salon name | Every photograph carries your brand. The strongest choice |
| Your logo in tube | Established brands with a recognisable mark |
| A short phrase | Shareable, but does nothing for you when it is shared |
| Name plus handle underneath | Best of both. Handle goes in a small upright font |
Size and backboard
Behind a chair, 80 to 120 cm. On a reception wall, 100 to 150 cm, since it is read from the door. A brushed or mirror backboard suits a salon interior better than clear, because it reads as a fixture rather than a poster, and it still looks deliberate when the salon is closed and the sign is off.
Practical for a working salon
Keep it away from the wash area and away from where color is mixed. Salon products are solvent based and a splash of anything alcoholic will permanently haze acrylic. Cleaning is dry microfiber only, never glass cleaner.
The sign runs on 12V, produces almost no heat, and is rated for 50,000 hours, so leaving it on through opening hours costs very little and wears nothing out.
Your salon name in Warm White, behind the chair, on a brushed board. Everything else is a variation on that. The temptation is to pick a color that matches the brand palette, and it is usually the wrong instinct, because the sign's real job is to make your clients look good in photographs that carry your name.
Frequently asked questions
Where should a neon sign go in a salon?
Behind the styling chair so it appears in mirror photographs, or on the wall a seated client faces so it lands in selfies. Center it around 130 to 150 cm from the floor, and keep it away from a wall directly opposite a window where daylight will wash it out.
What color neon sign is best for a salon?
Warm White. A saturated tube casts its color onto whoever is near it, so a fresh color job photographed under Hot Pink comes out pink. Warm White leaves hair, skin and nails looking like themselves, which is what clients want to share.
Should the sign show my salon name or a phrase?
Your name. Every client photograph then carries your branding for free, which a generic phrase does not. If you want your social handle as well, put the name in tube and the handle on a UV printed backboard, since tube cannot be bent below 5 cm tall.
What size sign do I need for a salon wall?
80 to 120 cm behind a styling chair, and 100 to 150 cm on a reception wall where it is read from the door. Size it to the mirror or the desk it sits above rather than to the whole wall.
Will salon products damage the sign?
They can. Alcohol and solvent based products permanently haze acrylic, and the damage cannot be polished out. Keep the sign away from the wash area and from where color is mixed, and clean it with a dry microfiber cloth only.
We have made neon since 1998, and we still make it ourselves. If something here does not answer your question, ask us.
