Ten o'clock, root tint booked, and nobody is sure
A regular client is booked in for a root tint and gloss at ten. She has been coming for years. Her last colour was four months ago, with a different stylist, and the notes say 'PT ok' with no date. Did she have a test then, or was that from the time before? Has the salon changed colour brand since? The stylist asks the client, who cannot remember either.
The front desk faces the same question a dozen times a week. New clients, lapsed clients, clients switching from a lightening service to permanent colour, clients who have been abroad and had their hair coloured somewhere else. Your salon has a patch test policy, set by the owner in line with the manufacturer's instructions and your insurer's requirements. Following it depends on finding the right note at the right moment.
Why patch test records slip
Most salon software has a notes field, and some have a patch test field, but it is filled in inconsistently. One stylist writes the date, another writes 'done', a third writes nothing because the client was booked by someone else. Paper record cards in a box behind the desk are worse: easy to lose, impossible to search.
The test and the appointment are usually booked separately. A client books colour online for Saturday and the test is left for the desk to notice, which it often does not until the day. By then it is too late to test in advance.
And the record rarely says which product was tested. If your salon uses two colour brands, or switched brands last year, a test on one may not satisfy your policy for the other.
What loose records cost the salon
| What happens | Result |
|---|---|
| No clear test date on file | Stylist and client guess on the day |
| Test not booked before colour | Colour appointment moved or cut to a cut only |
| Brand not recorded | Uncertainty after a range change |
| Cards lost or unreadable | No evidence if the salon is ever asked |
| Desk checks by memory | Policy followed on good days only |
What your policy says, how long a test covers a client and what counts as a valid test are decisions for you, your colour manufacturer's guidance and your insurer. We give no advice on any of that. What we build makes sure your own rule is checked every time.
How we make the patch test record work
- Each client record gets a proper patch test history: date, colour brand and range, who carried it out and the result recorded by your team. Existing notes and cards are brought across where they can be read.
- Your policy is set as a rule: the interval your salon uses, which services need a test, and whether a change of brand or a gap since the last colour triggers a new one.
- Every colour booking, made online, by phone or at the desk, is checked against the rule. If the client is not covered, the booking is flagged straight away.
- The client gets a message asking them to pop in for a test before the appointment, with a link to book a short test slot at a time that suits the gap your policy needs.
- Each morning the desk sees a list of the day's colour clients with their test status, and the week ahead with any tests still to book.
- Stylists see the test status on the appointment itself, so nobody has to ask the client to remember.
Salon software such as Phorest, Shortcuts or Fresha may already hold some of this. We work with the system you have, adding the rule check and reminders where it has gaps, rather than asking you to switch.
What the desk sees on a normal Tuesday
Opening up, the receptionist looks at the colour list for the day: all covered. For Friday and Saturday, two clients are flagged, one new and one who has not had colour in over a year. Both already had a text on Monday, one has booked a test for Wednesday, and the other is marked for a call. The stylist doing the ten o'clock root tint sees the test date and brand on the booking and gets on with the consultation.
- Every colour client checked against your rule
- Tests booked before the day, not discovered on it
- A dated record with the brand used
- No reliance on anyone's memory
Is this your front desk?
- Patch test notes say 'done' or 'ok' with no date.
- Tests are checked on the morning of the appointment.
- Colour appointments get moved because a test was missed.
- You changed colour brand and are unsure who has been tested on it.
- Old record cards are the only proof of some tests.