Salon management patch tests colour appointments insurance UK

Patch tests in a UK hair salon: rules, records and a booking routine that holds up

Written by Published on 10 min read
Illustration of a hair stylist applying a small dab of colour behind a client's ear at the salon reception, a signed record card and a wall calendar marking the colour appointment two days later

A new client books a full head of colour for Saturday. She has never set foot in your salon, you know nothing about her skin, and the tint you plan to use carries the manufacturer's warning in black and white: test 48 hours before use. If you skip the test and she reacts, you are not just dealing with a distressed client. You may be dealing with an injury claim your insurer refuses to pay, because the patch test was a condition of your cover.

This guide covers what UK hair salons must actually do about allergy alert tests (the industry name for patch tests): where the obligation really comes from, when a test is needed, what to record and for how long, and, the part most articles skip, how to build the test into your booking routine so that colour clients arrive tested instead of being turned away at the basin. It is published on the blog of ViteUneCoupe, booking software for hair salons that is free and takes no commission, and every important claim below links to a primary source: the NHS, the NHBF, HSE or legislation.gov.uk.

Why colour services carry a real allergy risk

Many permanent and some semi-permanent hair colours contain PPD (paraphenylenediamine), a known skin sensitiser. The NHS page on hair dye reactions lists the symptoms, from stinging, itching and blistering to, in rare cases, a serious reaction, and notes that symptoms can take up to 72 hours to appear. That delay is exactly why a test applied in the chair minutes before the service protects nobody.

Two NHS points are worth drilling into your team:

  • Sensitisation builds silently. A client who has had colour "a hundred times with no problem" can still react today. Previous tolerance is not immunity.
  • Black henna tattoos are a red flag. The paste often contains high levels of PPD, so a client who has had one, even years ago on holiday, is at higher risk. Ask about it at every consultation.

Your stylists face the same chemistry all day long, which is why the HSE's COSHH guidance for hairdressers tells staff to wear disposable non-latex gloves for colouring and to check their own skin regularly. Client testing and staff protection are two halves of the same risk.

Honest answer: no Act of Parliament or regulation names the patch test, in any of the four UK nations. The obligation is real, but it is assembled from three sources rather than written in one statute:

  • The general law. A salon owes clients a duty of care, and the Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 requires every service to be performed with reasonable care and skill. The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, section 3 adds a general duty towards people who are not your employees. Ignoring a manufacturer's explicit safety instruction is the kind of thing that turns a reaction into a negligence claim.
  • The manufacturer's instructions. Professional colour products state when and how to carry out an allergy alert test. The NHBF's guidance is blunt: always test following the manufacturer's instructions and protocols. Those instructions are the professional baseline a court or insurer will measure you against, and most state the product is not for use on anyone under 16.
  • Your insurance. Treatment-risk cover, the part of a policy that pays when a colour service causes injury, routinely makes testing in line with manufacturer instructions a condition of cover. Insurers in this market, such as Salon Gold, cover reactions to hair colour precisely because policies assume the salon followed the protocols. Read your own policy wording: the interval, the method and the record it expects are what decide a claim.

So "it is not the law" is technically true and practically useless. Skip the test and you can be uninsured and negligent at the same time, which is a far more expensive combination than the two minutes the test takes. The rules do not meaningfully differ between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland: the duty of care, the manufacturer instructions and your policy wording travel with you.

When does a colour client need a patch test?

Follow your colour line's instructions first: they are the standard you will be judged against. Across UK salons, the common policy (checked against NHBF guidance and published salon colour policies in October 2026) is to test:

  • every new colour client, before the first colour service;
  • after a gap, commonly six months or more since the last test with you, where the manufacturer requires re-testing at intervals;
  • when you change brand or product line, because the test only vouches for the product tested;
  • after a trigger event: a black henna or temporary tattoo, a reaction of any kind to colour at home or elsewhere, a new scalp condition, or certain illnesses where the manufacturer advises re-testing;
  • never on under-16s where the manufacturer states the product is not for them, which is the norm for oxidative colour.

The timing is the one number everyone agrees on: the test goes on at least 48 hours before the service, the figure used by both the NHS and the NHBF, because reactions need time to show. Many salons book it two to five days ahead so a slow reaction still surfaces in time.

Some salons use a digital alternative such as Colourstart, a licensed test the NHBF notes its preferred insurer accepts alongside the traditional kit. If you go that route, confirm in writing that your insurer accepts it before you rely on it.

What to record, and how long to keep patch test records

A test you cannot prove is, at claim stage, a test that never happened. For every allergy alert test, record:

  • the client's name and the date and time of the test;
  • the product and shade tested, ideally with the batch number;
  • the result, checked at the colour appointment, and whether the service went ahead;
  • signatures or initials from both the client and the stylist.

On retention, the NHBF recommends keeping a written, client-signed record of every test for at least six years. There is no statutory period; six years tracks how long claims can realistically surface, and some insurers suggest keeping records for minors longer. Ask your own insurer what it expects, write the answer into your data retention policy, and stick to it. Where the test result sits alongside the formulas, preferences and notes on the rest of the card is covered in our guide to hairdresser client record cards.

One more layer: an allergy note is health information, which UK GDPR treats as special category data. That does not forbid recording it, quite the opposite, but it does mean keeping the note factual and minimal, securing it, and covering it in your privacy notice. Our guide to client records under UK GDPR covers the ICO fee, retention and lawful bases in detail; patch-test records are the textbook example of data protection and insurance pulling in the same direction.

Building the patch test into your booking routine

The salons that struggle with patch tests are the ones that discover the problem on the day. The fix is to make the test part of the booking, not an obstacle to it:

  • Say it where clients book. Put one clear line in every colour service description on your online booking page: "New colour clients need a free patch test at least 48 hours before this appointment." On ViteUneCoupe, you write your own service descriptions in your catalogue, so this costs nothing and screens bookings around the clock.
  • Make the test bookable. Create a short, free "colour patch test" service so a new client can book the two-minute visit herself, a couple of days before the colour slot. A test that can be booked online actually happens; a test that requires phoning the salon often does not.
  • Flag new colour bookings daily. Each morning, scan tomorrow's and Saturday's diary for colour appointments from clients with no test on record, and call them while there is still time to fit one in. Your client database, included in ViteUneCoupe's free plan, tells you in seconds whether a client has history with you.
  • Restate it in the confirmation. If you use automatic emails (on ViteUneCoupe they come with the Standard plan, from 29 € excl. VAT per month, billed in euros), add the patch-test line to colour confirmations so every new client reads it twice. Our guide to appointment reminders has ready-made wording.
  • Record the test in the client file the moment it is done, with the signed card scanned or filed.

What if a client refuses the test?

Then the colour does not happen. A client who "always uses this brand at home", or who had a test at another salon you cannot verify, does not satisfy your manufacturer's instructions or your insurer's conditions, and a signed disclaimer does not transfer the risk: you cannot sign away your duty of care, and your insurer's condition of cover stands regardless of what the client agreed to.

Put the policy in writing so the conversation at reception is short and kind. An example, to adapt to your salon and your insurer's wording, not a legally approved template:

For your safety and in line with our insurance, we cannot carry out colour services without an in-date allergy alert test. The test is free, takes two minutes, and must be done at least 48 hours before your colour appointment. If the test is missed, we will happily rebook your colour for after it has been done.

That last sentence matters commercially. A colour slot cancelled on the day because of a missing test is a no-show in all but name, so your patch-test policy and your cancellation and deposit policy should say the same thing about what happens next. Handled with a rebooking rather than a telling-off, most clients come back; handled badly, the empty chair is the cheapest part of the damage. And if a service ever does go wrong despite the precautions, the signed test record becomes your best evidence: our guide to handling complaints and refunds in a hair salon covers what to do next.

Frequently asked questions

No single law requires it by name, in any UK nation. The obligation comes from the general duty of care, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 requirement of reasonable care and skill, the colour manufacturer's instructions, and your insurance policy, which typically makes testing a condition of cover for colour reactions.

How long before a colour appointment should the patch test be done?

At least 48 hours before, the interval cited by the NHS and the NHBF, because allergic reactions can take that long or longer to appear. Many salons book the test two to five days ahead. Always follow your own product's instructions if they are stricter.

How long should a salon keep patch test records?

The NHBF recommends at least six years, signed by the client, because that is the horizon over which injury claims realistically surface. There is no statutory period, so confirm what your own insurer expects and write it into your retention policy.

Can we colour the hair of a client under 16?

Most professional oxidative colour products state they are not for use on under-16s, and the NHBF guidance repeats that instruction. If the manufacturer says no, the answer at reception is no, whatever a parent signs.

Does a test the client did at home, or at another salon, count?

Treat it as no. You cannot verify how, when or with which product it was done, and your manufacturer's instructions and insurance conditions apply to the product you will use, in your salon. Do your own test and keep your own signed record.

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