Guides · for braiders
Braiding appointment checklist: booking, hair prep and aftercare
Work through every appointment in five phases: at booking, the day before, on arrival, while you braid and after. Most things that spoil a braiding day (the wrong hair, unwashed hair, a sore scalp, a no-show) are settled by a message sent before it.
- Checked
The checklist
Copy it into your notes or print this page. Tick it off for every client until it’s habit.
1. At booking
- The style, its size (small, medium, large) and its length, with a photo of what the client wants.
- Whether the hair is included or the client brings it: the brand, the color and how many packs (the pack chart).
- The price and the time it takes, from your price list.
- The deposit, paid before the time is held.
- Your cancellation policy, sent with the booking.
- Anything to know first: a sensitive scalp, a past reaction to synthetic hair, a child’s appointment.
2. The day before
- Confirm the time and the address, and ask for a reply.
- Remind the client how to come: hair washed, detangled and blow-dried, if that’s your rule.
- The hair is ready: bought, or the client knows exactly what to bring.
- Your station is clean and your tools disinfected: combs, clips, scissors.
3. On arrival
- A short consult: the photo again, the parting, where the length falls.
- Check the scalp before you start. No braiding over broken skin, swelling, a rash or lice.
- Agree the finish: the ends sealed or curled, the edges done or left.
4. While you braid
- Ask about tension at the first rows, and again at the hairline.
- Offer breaks on a long style: water, the bathroom, a stretch.
- Keep to the time you gave; say early if it will run over.
5. After
- Photos, with the client’s permission to post them.
- Aftercare, said and sent: how to sleep, wash and moisturize, and when to take them out.
- Payment of the balance, with the deposit taken off.
- Rebook the next appointment before the client leaves.
- Ask for a review, and send the link the same day.
The day-before message
Change the parts in brackets and send it the day before, every time. A client who replies is a client who comes.
Hi [name], see you tomorrow at [time] for [style, size and length], at [address].
Please come with your hair washed, detangled and blow-dried, with no heavy oil or gel.
[Your hair is ready.] or [Bring [number] packs of [brand and color].]
It takes about [hours]: eat before, and bring a charger and something to watch.
Reply YES to confirm. Need to move it? Here’s my policy: [link].
Why check the scalp
Braids pull on the scalp for weeks, and you can’t treat what you braid over. State boards write this into their sanitation rules. Ohio’s, for one, bars a braider from serving a client with visible swelling, eruption, redness, bruising, a rash or a parasitic infestation where the service would go, unless a physician gives written permission (Ohio braiders register with the board: see Ohio’s rules). Wherever you braid, say no kindly and offer a new date.
Tension and aftercare
Dermatologists warn that styles that pull, repeated over time, can cause traction alopecia, hair loss that shows first at the hairline and can become permanent. Their advice: braids looser at the hairline, thicker and shorter braids for a lighter pull, and braids worn for no longer than 6 to 8 weeks. Put that last line in your aftercare, so the client knows when to come back.
Questions braiders ask
Should clients wash and blow-dry their hair before braiding?
Ask for it, unless you wash and blow-dry yourself. If you do, make it a line on your price list with its own time, so a client knows what it adds.
What if the client arrives with the wrong hair?
Say in your policy what happens: you sell them the right packs, or the appointment moves. Decide it once and apply it every time.
Do I need insurance?
Liability insurance is worth asking an insurer about, especially if you braid at home or at clients’ places.
Sources
- Ohio Administrative Code 4713-15-13, Contagious/communicable diseases
- American Academy of Dermatology: Hairstyles that pull can lead to hair loss
Rules change, and they differ by state: check your own board’s sanitation rules too.
More guides for braiders
- How to build your braiding price listList every style by size and length, with its time, whether the hair is included and the deposit. Price each line from its hours and its hair.
- How to start a hair braiding business from homeFive things to sort out before your first paying client: your state’s rules, a name, your menu and prices, how clients book and pay, and the hair.
- Braiding deposit and cancellation policy: templates to copyTake a deposit to book, ask 48 hours’ notice to move or cancel, and keep the deposit for a late cancel or no-show. Three policies to copy.
- How to move your salon from Booksy to HAUSBRAIDSign in to Booksy once and your clients, appointments, menu, products and team come across. A few minutes, and you can keep Booksy while you settle in.
Braid. HAUSBRAID handles the rest.
On your HAUSBRAID menu page, clients pick the style and the time and pay the deposit in one go. What a client tells you is kept on their record for next time, and a regular gone quiet shows up in your To do, ready for a message.
7 days free, no card to start. Then $20 a month for your first braider.