
KEY TAKEAWAYS: Add-on treatments are one of the top nail tech business tips to help your beauty biz reach the next level of success. These additional services benefit you and your clients, making them a win-win to embrace as part of your business model.
You’re a pro at getting people in your chair and using your magnificent beauty pro skills to help them achieve their dream look.
The question is, do you know how to keep them there a little longer?
One of the best nail tech business tips is to offer add-on treatments.
These services help keep clients in your chair longer, increase your income, and give your clients a more comprehensive experience that yields better results.
If you want to grow your beauty biz and benefit your clients, add-on treatments should be a top priority for your nail tech business.
Read on to learn more about the advantages of these services and how you can implement them.
Add-On Treatments: One of the Top Nail Tech Business Tips
Why You Should Offer Add-On Treatments at Your Nail Salon
In the world of beauty, add-on services can take an ordinary appointment and transform it into a full makeover for your client and a more efficient business model for you.
Yes, the longer you keep someone in your chair and the more services you can offer them, the more money you’re bound to make. That’s good for business, and it’s okay to want to make more money.
However, add-on services aren’t just nonsense things you offer clients to pick their pockets—they’re tangible, helpful, additional services that are designed to help your clients look and feel their best.
In other words, everyone wins, and that’s what being a beauty pro is all about.
That’s why add-on treatments are one of the top nail tech business tips we can offer, as simple as it may sound.
Think about it like this: adding on a small service (like a $15 brow shape and wax that takes you 10 minutes) while your client is in your chair for another service can add up.
By itself, $15 isn’t very tempting, but if you tack on 150 of those services each month, you’re making $2,250 more than you were last month. That sounds like a pretty penny to us!
Top Add-On Services for Nail Techs
The cool thing about add-on treatments? The possibilities are endless.
Whether you’ve got your own list of treatments up your sleeve or you’re on the hunt for some inspo, we think this list will help you refresh and revamp your very own list of add-on treatments.
Paraffin Treatments
The unique thing about add-on treatments is they might be services you already offer–you are just making your client aware of the option and creating an opportunity for them to tack bonus services onto their appointment.
Paraffin treatments may be a service you already offer at your nail tech business, but offering it as an add-on treatment can help increase your sales and expose your clients to a service they may not be familiar with.
This treatment, which is essentially a spa day for your client’s hands, leaves skin feeling soft and luxurious. It contributes a lot to the client experience and creates a spa environment that they will appreciate.
Express Nail Services
A clever way to offer add-on services to your clients is to take your normal treatments and create a scaled-down version of them. This allows your clients to experience more of your services in a condensed timeline–a win-win for many clients who have busy schedules but want a more comprehensive experience.
Often, people will pay a premium for efficient services, especially if it allows them to have a full-service appointment that fits their schedule. By providing the same exceptional service and results more quickly, you are creating a value proposition that many clients will appreciate.
Offering express nail services as add-on treatments is definitely one of the best nail tech business tips to consider.
Beverages and Snacks
Improving your client’s experience when they visit your nail tech biz is key to their satisfaction and helps you build a base of loyal customers. For this reason, many in the beauty biz offer beverages and snacks to their clients.
How does this idea translate into an add-on service? You can elevate your beverage and snack options to include higher-end items, full meals, and more. Your clients can then add these upgrades to their appointments and enjoy their tasty treats as you provide your services.
From brunch to lunch, this add-on service is not only a luxurious option but also a functional one. Busy clients can fit more into the same amount of time, benefitting them as they go about their day.
One of our favorite bonus nail tech business tips is to use this add-on service as an opportunity to partner with another local business. They can provide the food and beverage options, and you can deepen your connection with the community along the way.
"People will pay a premium for efficient services, especially if it allows them to have a full-service appointment that fits their schedule..."
Nail Art Services
The demand for nail art is on the rise, signaling a resurgence of this once-popular service. Not only can this add-on treatment give your clients access to something they might like, but it also presents you with an opportunity to flex your creativity and perfect a new skill.
Nail art can range from basic designs to incredibly intricate and detailed work, further increasing your potential for profit. In fact, nail art can often exceed the value of your other services–including the manicure most of your clients choose.
Nail Jewelry
Your nails can be an external expression of your personality and style, making add-on treatments like nail jewelry worth considering. This is another nail service that is making a comeback, and offering it as an add-on gives you a chance to jump on the trend in a low-risk, high-reward way.
Nail jewelry services are similar to nail art in that they can range dramatically in complexity, skill, and time required. Thanks to the highly variable nature of this add-on, it can be a profitable service for you to make available to clients who are already visiting your nail salon.
Hand and Arm Massages
As a nail technician, you provide more to your clients than the services you offer. In many cases, your salon is a place where people can escape, relax, and connect with a community. Your focus may be on their nails, but you are contributing to a larger sense of wellness.
You can lean into this aspect of your business by offering add-on treatments that focus on wellness. Hand and arm massages are excellent examples of how you can expand your services to further benefit your clients while also diversifying your business and increasing your earning potential.
This particular add-on treatment requires a bit of learning on your part and some additional chair time from your clients, but it is a premium service that can be worth it for both of you. It can also act as a bridge from your foundation as a nail technician into the world of wellness, creating tremendous opportunities for you to grow your business.
Luxurious Scrubs
Similar to hand and arm massages, hand and foot scrubs add a special touch to your nail tech business. Considered a luxury service, this add-on provides great benefits to your customers, including removing dead skin, moisturizing, and promoting softness.
Adding scrubs to an appointment allows your customers to enjoy the advantages of this treatment without scheduling a separate time for it. For you, it is not only an opportunity to make a bit more money but also to promote a service that many of your clients may not be familiar with.
Hand and foot scrubs take your services and client experience to the next level. Add-ons should provide value to everyone involved, and the value added by wellness-focused services is noticeable in the short term and as you build your nail tech business in the long term.
Elite Beauty Society–Your Source for Nail Tech Business Tips
See some good ideas here on this list? We’re willing to bet you’ve got plenty more where that came from!
Whether you implement the add-on treatments from this list into your nail business’ service offering or use them as inspiration and develop your own set of add-ons, we’re confident you’ll be well on your way to beauty biz success.
Remember, this helpful info isn’t the first resource (or the last) we’ve posted on EBS—make sure you subscribe here and now to make sure you never miss a new post, a deep discount, or career-changing advice.Meet Hanna Marcus, the Founder and Head Copy Gal behind Boundless Copy, a one-of-a-kind copywriting agency that specializes in big, bold brand voice and industry-disrupting copy that’s all about resonating with the right audience.
Hanna has proudly teamed up with Elite Beauty Society for several years as their go-to copywriter on all things beauty, small biz marketing, and brand voice development. She’s big on feeling-first writing–her personal soapbox is that the best copy starts with telling a story.
When she’s not writing cheeky, converting copy for clients, she’s mentoring other aspiring copywriters and creating digital copywriting resources designed for service pros and focused on taking the stress out of DIY copywriting.