The problem
Color manufacturers give skin test instructions, and records on cards or in a stylist's head get lost. Checking for a valid test before each of 30 color appointments a week, at about 1.5 minutes each, takes 45 minutes a week, about 3.2 hours a month, and a missed test is a risk to the client and to your insurance.
What the AI does
Fresha's help center says you can set patch test requirements for specific services. Clients booking online are asked to confirm they've had a valid test, and if not, they're told to complete one in the salon; bookings aren't blocked, but appointment notifications remind them. You record each test on the client's profile with the date, who did it, a status of pending, passed or failed, and notes. Fresha treats a passed test as valid for 6 months and you can't change that. Your color manufacturer's instructions and your insurer's terms decide when a test is needed, and the stylist decides whether to go ahead.
A worked example
A three-stylist salon in Lincoln does about 30 color appointments a week, with skin tests noted on record cards. They move to Fresha's Team plan, mark every color service as needing a patch test and record each test on the client's profile.
Before
About 1.5 minutes per color appointment checking record cards, 30 a week
After
Tests on each client's profile with a flag on the booking, saving about 3.2 hours a month
What it's worth
About $86£65€77A$125C$122 a month in time saved: 1.5 minutes on each of 30 color appointments a week is 45 minutes, times 4.3 is about 3.2 hours, worth $86£65€77A$125C$122 at $27£20€24A$38C$38 an hour. That is against Fresha Team at €9.95 (about $12£9€11A$17C$17) per stylist, about $35£26€31A$50C$49 a month for 3, shown in local currency, or nothing extra if you already use Fresha.
How to set it up
- Mark each color service in Fresha as needing a patch test.
- Record each regular color client's last test from the record cards, with date, product and result.
- Book new color clients a skin test appointment before their first color, as the manufacturer's instructions say.
- After each test, update the status and note any reaction.
- Before each color, check the profile and ask whether anything has changed, such as a new reaction to hair dye or a temporary tattoo.
What goes wrong
- Fresha's 6-month validity is fixed. Many color instructions ask for a test before every color service; follow them and treat Fresha as the record, not the rule.
- Bookings aren't blocked without a test, so the stylist's check before mixing color still matters.
- Test results and reactions are health data under UK GDPR. Keep them in Fresha with access limited, not in a group chat.