Hair braiding supplies checklist: everything you need to start

Tools

The things in your hand all appointment. Buy two of each comb, so one set is disinfecting while you use the other. What each one does and which to get is in Braiding tools.

• Rat-tail comb, the parting comb: a fine-tooth end for clean parts and a long metal or plastic tail for sectioning. Every braiding style starts with it.
• Wide-tooth comb for detangling before you part.
• Duckbill or alligator clips, a dozen or more, to hold back sections you haven’t braided yet.
• Crochet hook or latch hook for crochet styles, for pulling loose hair back into a braid, and for finishing locs and faux locs.
• Edge brush, a small double-sided brush, to lay edges with edge control.
• Sharp scissors kept for hair only, to trim ends and cut extensions to length.
• A kettle or pot for hot water and a heat-safe cup to dip and seal the ends of synthetic braids.
• Spray bottle for water or a leave-in mix.
• Blow dryer with a comb attachment to stretch hair a client arrives with unstretched.
• Rubber bands, beads and a bead threader for the styles on your menu that use them.

Products

Stock the ones your styles need, in the sizes you go through in a month.

• Braiding gel for neat parts and grip at the root.
• Edge control to lay edges at the end.
• Mousse to set knotless and box braids and tame frizz once they’re done.
• A light oil for the scalp, and a leave-in conditioner for the client’s own hair.
• Small spatulas to take gel and edge control out of the jar, so your fingers never go back into it.

Hair

Start with the shades clients ask for most and grow from your bookings. How many packs each style takes, by size and length, is in How many packs of braiding hair? A chart for every style. Say on your menu who brings the hair, and keep one spare pack of your main color. Which hair for which style, and where to buy it in bulk.

Sanitation

This is the part the law cares about. South Carolina says every implement used for braiding must be disposable, or disinfected in a disinfectant approved for hospital use or by the EPA. Illinois’s rules, which cover its licensed braiders, ask the same for everything that touches a client, after every client. They are a good standard wherever you braid.

• A disinfectant with an EPA registration number on the label: EPA says that number is the only way to identify the product. Follow the label’s contact time: the comb has to stay visibly wet for all of it.
• A jar or tub to disinfect in, and soap and a brush to clean hair and gel off the tools first.
• Two closed containers: one for clean tools, one for used. Illinois asks that clean tools be stored apart from everything else.
• Capes and neck strips. A neck strip or towel goes between the client’s neck and a shared cape, fresh for every client.
• Hand soap or sanitizer: wash before and after every client.
• Disposable gloves for products and for any scalp that is broken or irritated.
• A covered bin for cut hair and used strips, and a broom.

What your state asks is in its guide: South Carolina, Illinois, Ohio (a way to disinfect your tools in the salon) and Mississippi (an infection control brochure kept where you braid).

Comfort and photos

Appointments run for hours. What keeps you and the client comfortable keeps them coming back.

• A chair at the right height: a salon chair that pumps up and down, or a seat that puts the client’s head at your chest height.
• A seat or stool for you, and an anti-fatigue mat if you braid standing.
• A cushion or neck pillow for the client, and somewhere to rest a phone.
• A hand mirror to show the back at the end.
• A ring light and a phone stand for photos of every finished style: they become your menu and your Instagram.
• A rolling cart or caddy that keeps tools, hair and products in reach.

If you braid at clients’ places

Pack the same list into a bag you can carry, with the clean and used containers apart, a cape and neck strips, a ring light that folds, and the hair for that booking. Check your state’s rules first: some only let you braid in a licensed salon.

Questions braiders ask