Is your salon dementia friendly? It’s not a question many think about, but as 46.8 million people have dementia worldwide, you will likely cater to someone with symptoms at some point. With this in mind, we share our advice to make sure you perfectly cater to a client with dementia.
Dementia friendly training
To make your salon dementia friendly, you’ll first need to look into some training. The Alzheimer’s Society is a well-established and trusted organisation that can help with this, advising staff on common misconceptions and how to assist clients. They offer a full range of resources and training through their website, so make sure you make use of this for your staff.
Keep the salon experience authentic
Maintaining the salon experience is a big part of making your salon dementia friendly. Researchers at Manchester and Stirling Universities noticed that the smell of shampoo, lotions and hairsprays trigger familiar memory and remove distress from those with dementia. This also means aromatherapy a great choice for your treatment menu!
Help with treatment choices
A good way to make your salon dementia friendly is by offering relevant treatments to those affected. Even though they will often want something familiar, remember to assist them with pictures wherever necessary to help them with their decisions. It’s also worth keeping the menu offerings short and concise, so as to not make the selection confusing.
Communicate clearly
Sometimes, keeping your speech clear and friendly is the best way to guide someone with symptoms of dementia. Through letting clients know what you’re doing at every step of the treatment with a calming voice, you’re letting them know everything is okay. Remember to speak face-to-face and keep eye contact, too!
Maintain contact with the same therapist/stylist
Maintaining repeated contact with the same therapist or stylist will help make your salon dementia friendly. That way, your clients can build a relationship with a familiar face, which will help with other aspects, such as when it comes to the payment process. This can be problematic when clients need to enter a pin or handle physical money, although can be assisted by the therapist or stylist they’ve built a relationship with.
Salon by Premier Software® can take payments for future appointments to reduce the number of times needed to pay. Additionally, Salon can set-up repeat bookings for a regular date and time for any clients with symptoms of dementia. Book a free webinar or presentation of our software today.