When it comes to starting a beauty business, choosing the right business idea is everything. With this in mind, we’ve put together 10 popular and potentially profitable beauty business ideas to help you make the shift from beautician to entrepreneur and start a business, all while doing what you love.
10 beauty business ideas to start today
If you're passionate about the beauty industry, there are many diverse business opportunities to explore. From providing specialized services like makeup artistry and nail care to selling beauty products or offering consultations, these ten business ideas cater to different aspects of the beauty world, offering a range of paths for budding entrepreneurs.
Tip: Learn how to start a service business with our guide.
01. Makeup artist
Makeup artists skillfully apply makeup to suit various occasions, such as weddings or special events. They select products and techniques based on a client's skin type and preferences. While understanding skin tones is essential, effective communication is equally important, as artists collaborate with clients to meet their expectations and ensure satisfaction with the final look.
Be inspired by these makeup beauty examples:
The advantages of starting this beauty business beat include:
Creativity: makeup artistry allows for creativity and self-expression. Talented makeup artists have the opportunity to work on diverse projects and create stunning looks. This creative aspect can be highly fulfilling for those passionate about makeup.
Flexibility: as a makeup artist, you can enjoy flexibility in your work. You can choose to work as a freelance artist, be employed by a salon or spa, or even offer mobile services. This flexibility can enable you to balance work with other commitments and tailor your business to your lifestyle. It could even be started as a side hustle or part-time business idea.
Growth potential: skilled makeup artists often build a loyal client base through word-of-mouth and referrals. Over time, you can expand your business, offer additional services such as makeup tutorials or product sales or even launch your own makeup product line. Learn more: How to start a makeup line
Lower startup costs: compared to many other businesses, the startup costs for a makeup artist are relatively low. You'll need quality makeup products, brushes and tools, but you can gradually build your kit as your business grows.
Diverse and interesting client base: makeup artists can cater to a broad range of clients, from brides to models to actors. This diversity in clientele keeps the job interesting and allows you to specialize in different areas if you wish.
To succeed as a makeup artist and turn it into a thriving beauty business, it's essential to build a strong portfolio and focus on improving your makeup skills. Additionally, staying updated with the latest beauty trends and products is crucial to maintaining a competitive edge in this dynamic industry.
02. Beauty blogging
Beauty blogging is a popular and engaging beauty business idea where individuals share their passion for cosmetics, skincare and various beauty products.
Learn more: How to start a beauty blog
Beauty bloggers review and recommend beauty products to help readers make informed choices. They earn through affiliate links when readers purchase recommended items. These bloggers offer tutorials on makeup and skincare techniques through detailed videos, images and written content. Engaging with the audience through comments and social media, they foster a community of beauty enthusiasts who share tips and experiences.
Here are some advantages of this type of beauty business idea:
Passion-driven business: starting a blog is an ideal business for individuals who are genuinely passionate about makeup and skincare. Your love for the subject matter is the foundation of your content, which can resonate with and attract followers.
Creative expression: beauty blogging allows for a great deal of creative expression and experimentation. You have the freedom to explore different makeup looks, styles and products with your community of readers.
Influence and monetization: with this business idea, you have the potential to become an influencer in the beauty industry. With a sizable and engaged audience, you can collaborate with beauty brands for sponsored posts, affiliate marketing or product endorsements. These collaborations can be monetized.
Low startup costs: starting a beauty blog typically requires minimal investment and can be started for free with the Wix Blog Maker. This also makes it a great business idea for students looking to earn extra income around their studies.
Scalability: as your blog grows and attracts more readers, you can expand your business into other avenues, such as creating and selling your beauty products, launching online courses or offering personalized consultations.
However, it's important to note that the beauty blogging industry can be highly competitive and building a substantial following and monetizing your blog will take time plus consistent effort.
03. Nail care
A nail technician, also known as a manicurist or a nail artist, is a beauty professional who specializes in the care and decoration of nails.
Learn more: How to start a nail business
Nail technicians offer manicures and pedicures, which involve the cleaning, shaping and maintenance of fingernails and toenails. This typically includes trimming, filing and cuticle care. Manicures and pedicures are often complemented by nail polish application and sometimes nail art.
Nail business examples we love:
Some main advantages of this specific beauty business idea include:
Steady demand: nail care is a popular and recurring beauty practice. Many people regularly visit nail salons to maintain the appearance and health of their nails. This creates a consistent and steady demand for nail services, making it a resilient business idea.
Creativity: nail technicians have the opportunity to express their creativity through nail art and design. Clients often seek unique and personalized nail styles, providing a platform for artistic expression.
Client loyalty: building a loyal clientele is common in the nail care industry. Clients often return for regular maintenance and to try new designs, allowing nail technicians to establish long-term relationships and secure repeat business.
Flexible work hours and locations: nail technicians can work in various settings, including nail salons, spas or as independent freelancers. This flexibility allows you to choose a work arrangement that suits your lifestyle and other commitments.
Upselling opportunities: in addition to nail services, you can offer additional products and services such as nail care products, nail art tools and retailing nail polish. These supplementary offerings can increase and diversify your revenue.
04. Beauty salon
Running a beauty salon requires multifaceted responsibilities. As an owner, you'll manage a team of beauty professionals, ensuring they're well-trained and provide top-notch service. Handling financial aspects, such as budgeting, setting service prices and ensuring smooth operation scheduling, are crucial to maintaining profitability and customer satisfaction. It's about fostering a great work environment, managing finances effectively and streamlining customer appointments for a successful beauty salon business.
Beauty salon examples we love:
Speak Salon offers hair cuts, highlights and hairstyles for special occasions
Runway Salon is a California-based hair salon
DG Beauty Salon offers hair and coloring services, eyelash care, nails, waxing and makeup
Then there’s the need to create marketing strategies to attract and retain clients. This can involve advertising, social media marketing and special promotions to boost salon visibility.
Despite the challenges the following are some of the advantages of starting a beauty salon:
Steady demand: beauty services are consistently in demand for a wide range of services, including haircuts, hairstyling, nail care and skincare both for special events and in the day to day.
Recurring revenue: satisfied clients typically return for haircuts, color, nails and other services every few weeks, ensuring a steady flow of income.
Diverse client base: beauty salons serve a diverse clientele, ranging from young adults seeking trendy styles to older individuals in need of classic grooming. This diversity allows beauty business owners to build thriving businesses.
Upselling: salon owners can increase revenue by offering retail products such as haircare and skincare items, styling tools and cosmetics. These products can be upsold to clients, enhancing the overall income of the salon.
While owning a beauty salon can be a rewarding business idea, it's essential to be prepared for the challenges involved and the responsibility of managing a team and the day-to-day operations.
Learn more: How to make a beauty logo
05. Beauty reseller
A beauty reseller purchases beauty products from manufacturers or wholesalers and then sells them to consumers or retailers. They manage inventory, ensure products are stored well and market/sell to their target audience through pricing, marketing strategies and distribution channels.
Here are the advantages of starting this type of beauty business idea:
Low startup costs: compared to starting a beauty salon or manufacturing beauty products, becoming a beauty reseller typically requires a lower initial investment. You don't need to develop and produce your own products, which can be costly. Instead, you can start with a relatively small inventory and scale your business as it grows. Focus on making an eCommerce website to sell and then go from there.
Consistent demand: the demand for beauty and cosmetic products remains consistently high. People regularly purchase these items for personal grooming and self-care, making it a stable and potentially profitable business.
Flexibility: as a beauty reseller, you have flexibility in terms of where and how you sell your products. You can operate online via eCommerce, have a physical store, or even distribute products through partnerships with salons and spas.
Industry knowledge: running a beauty reselling business allows you to gain valuable insights into consumer preferences and trends in the beauty industry. This knowledge can be advantageous if you decide to expand your business or create your own beauty brand in the future.
While beauty reselling offers several advantages, it's important to research and understand the beauty industry, including regulations, trends and competition. Building strong relationships with suppliers and providing excellent customer service are also essential for success in this business. Looking to sell online? You might also want to consider beauty dropshipping.
06. Eyelash care
An eyelash business specializes in providing products and services related to eyelash enhancement and care. One of the primary services offered by an eyelash business is the application of eyelash extensions.
In addition to extensions, eyelash businesses may offer lash lift and tint services. A lash lift involves perming natural lashes to give them a lifted appearance, while a lash tint adds color to the lashes for a more dramatic look. These services are popular among clients looking for a low-maintenance yet eye-enhancing option.
Eyelash businesses to be inspired by:
Many eyelash businesses also retail a range of lash products, including mascara, eyelash serums, cleansers and other accessories. Providing clients with aftercare and maintenance products is a common practice.
Why is it a good beauty business idea?
Potential for repeat business: eyelash services often require regular touch-ups and maintenance appointments, which means a consistent stream of repeat business. Clients typically return every few weeks for touch-up services, ensuring ongoing revenue.
Upselling possibilities: in addition to providing services, you can sell related products to clients, such as lash serums, cleansers and aftercare kits. These additional sales can boost your income and provide clients with the tools to maintain their lash extensions or lifts.
Low barrier to entry: starting an eyelash business typically requires modest startup costs, primarily for training, supplies and equipment. You can start small and expand as your client base grows.
Flexible work model and schedule: eyelash businesses can operate in various settings, from home-based or mobile services to standalone lash studios or working within established beauty salons. This flexibility allows you to choose a work arrangement that suits your lifestyle and career goals.
While an eyelash business can be a profitable venture, it's crucial to invest in high-quality training and products, maintain hygiene and safety standards and stay updated with industry trends and techniques.
07. Beauty subscription business
A beauty subscription business is where customers subscribe to receive beauty products regularly, often on a monthly basis. Beauty subscription businesses then carefully curate and select a range of beauty products to include in their subscription boxes. This involves identifying trending or high-quality beauty items such as skincare, makeup, haircare, fragrances and tools. The selection process is crucial to make sure subscribers receive valuable and appealing products.
Learn more: How to start a subscription box business
Beauty subscription businesses manage the subscription process, including acquiring new subscribers, processing payments and coordinating the shipping and delivery of subscription boxes. They may offer different subscription tiers or customization options to cater to a more diverse customer range.
Why is it a good beauty business idea?
Recurring revenue: beauty subscription businesses enjoy a steady stream of recurring revenue as subscribers pay for the service on a monthly or quarterly basis. This model can provide some degree of financial stability and profitability with enough subscribers.
Strong customer engagement: beauty subscription businesses have a direct line of communication with their customers, enabling them to gather feedback, tailor product selections and build a community of beauty enthusiasts. This can help with promoting the business and growing the number of subscribers.
Scalability: beauty subscription businesses can scale their operations by acquiring more subscribers and expanding their product offerings. As the subscriber base grows, the business can explore customization options and premium tiers to cater to different client segments.
While a beauty subscription business offers several advantages, it's important to stay competitive by consistently delivering value, maintaining high-quality product selections and providing excellent customer service. Responding to subscriber feedback and adapting to changing beauty trends is also crucial for long-term success.
For Mai Dinh, Founder of House of Suppliez, subscription boxes have proven to be a tried and tested business idea.
"A lot of our growth has to do with our subscriptions. We have 7,000 subscribers and every month people, all across the world, are getting our products. Our customers are the best—over 70% are returning customers."
08. Beauty consultant
A beauty consultant offers personalized guidance on skincare and makeup. They evaluate a client's skin and suggest skincare products or makeup, such as colors and application techniques, based on the individual's needs. They typically work in stores, spas, or independently for beauty brands, providing advice and product demonstrations.
Why is it a good beauty business idea?
Long-term client relationships: beauty consulting is built on providing personalized recommendations and guidance, which clients appreciate. This regular one-on-one interaction fosters trust and can lead to loyal, long-term client relationships and a profitable business.
Industry growth: the beauty industry is continuously evolving and consumers are increasingly interested in skincare and makeup products. The demand for expert advice and guidance in navigating the vast array of products available makes beauty consulting a valuable service.
Diverse work options: beauty consultants can work in various settings, including salons, retail stores, or as independent consultants. The flexibility in your work arrangement allows you to adapt to your lifestyle and goals.
While beauty consulting offers many advantages as a beauty business idea, success in this field requires building a strong client base, staying updated with beauty trends and maintaining excellent interpersonal and communication skills. Building a reputation as a knowledgeable and trustworthy beauty consultant is key to a thriving business.
09. Homemade skin care products
The core activity of a homemade beauty product business is creating beauty products. This includes selecting natural ingredients, researching and testing recipes and ensuring that the final products are safe, effective and meet quality standards. Entrepreneurs often spend time experimenting with different ingredient combinations to create unique and beneficial products.
Homemade skin care business examples we love:
Once Upon A Time Soaps homemade soaps, as well as lip and foot balm
Cass Style Soaps vegan soaps, candles and bath bombs made from locally sourced ingredients
The Bare Bar artisan, environmentally friendly and vegan soaps
Fresh and Bubbly handmade soaps
Why is it a good beauty business idea?
Growing demand: there’s a rising demand for natural and organic beauty products as consumers become more conscious of the ingredients they apply to their skin and hair. Homemade beauty product businesses can tap into this trend by offering clean and natural alternatives to commercially produced items.
Creativity: Entrepreneurs have the opportunity to be creative and craft unique products that cater to specific skincare or haircare needs. Homemade beauty product businesses often offer personalized or customized products.
Niche markets: Homemade beauty product businesses often target niche or specialized markets, such as customers with specific skin conditions or unique preferences. This targeted approach can result in a loyal customer base.
When starting this type of beauty business idea, entrepreneurs should ensure they comply with all legal and regulatory requirements related to cosmetics and skincare. This includes ingredient safety, labeling and adherence to local and national regulations. Additionally, product quality, consistency and safety should always be a top priority.
10. Hairdressing
A hairdressing business offers various services such as haircuts, coloring, styling and treatments. They may also sell haircare products like shampoos and styling items. This additional retailing of products can generate extra income for the business.
Why is it a good beauty business idea?
Steady demand: haircare is a consistent and essential aspect of personal grooming for many people. Clients require regular hair services to maintain their appearance, making the demand for hairdressing services steady and reliable. It also tends to be something of a recession-proof business idea, as hair care is always prioritized.
Creativity: hairdressing offers a creative outlet for individuals with a passion for hairstyling. Hairdressers can experiment with different cuts, styles and colors and they often enjoy the satisfaction of helping clients look and feel their best.
Upselling: in addition to providing hair services, hairdressing businesses can earn additional income by recommending and selling haircare products to clients. Upselling can significantly contribute to the overall revenue.
Work flexibility: hairdressers can choose to work in various settings, including salons, spas or as independent stylists. This flexibility allows them to tailor their work arrangement to their lifestyle and career goals.
While starting a hairdressing business has numerous advantages, it's essential to invest in high-quality training and adhering to hygiene and safety standards is crucial to ensuring the well-being of clients. Building a reputation as a skilled and trustworthy hairdresser is key to success with this beauty business idea.
Other business ideas to consider
Consider these service business examples for service business ideas and inspiration.
