Keep clients coming back · Every business
Aftercare Instructions Clients Actually Follow, for Salons and Med Spas
Clients forget most of what they hear at the chair before they reach the parking lot, so aftercare that works is short, written down, sent home with them and checked once before they leave.
At a glance
- Aftercare instructions are the few things a client must do, and avoid, in the days after a color, a lash set, a peel or an injectable for the result to last and for the skin or hair to heal well.
- A review in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine reports that 40% to 80% of medical information is forgotten immediately, and almost half of what patients do remember is incorrect.
- In one study the review describes, only 14% of spoken instructions were remembered correctly, against more than 80% when the instructions came with simple pictures.
- The fix is a three-part habit: say the three most important steps, hand or text the same three in writing, and ask the client to repeat them back in their own words.
Part 1 | Why the explanation at the chair disappears
The last ten minutes of a service are a poor time to learn anything. The client is looking in the mirror, checking the time, finding a card and thinking about the drive home, while the stylist or provider explains when to wash, what to avoid and which product to use, often in the same tone as the small talk that came before. A review of research on patients' memory, published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, found that 40% to 80% of what practitioners tell patients is forgotten immediately, and that almost half of what is remembered is wrong, and a first-time med spa client, a little nervous and taking in a lot at once, is in much the same position as a patient.
The owner's inner voice usually blames the client: I told her not to wash it for two days. The research suggests a different starting point, which is that the instruction was delivered in a form people rarely keep. When the client comes back with faded color or irritated skin, the business pays twice, once in the free fix or the refund and again in the review, and the American Academy of Dermatology notes that serious side effects after a chemical peel often happen because the patient did not follow the dermatologist's instructions.
Part 2 | Written, short and checked
Written instructions help. A Cochrane review of two trials with 320 parents of children discharged from hospital found that giving written information along with the spoken explanation significantly increased both knowledge and satisfaction compared with spoken information alone. Pictures help even more, according to the review in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, which describes a study where recall rose from 14% for spoken instructions to more than 80% when simple pictographs were added.
| How instructions were given | Remembered correctly |
|---|---|
| Spoken only | 14% |
| With simple pictographs | Over 80% |
The check is the step most businesses skip. The federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality recommends the teach-back method, which asks people to explain, in their own words, what they need to do, and it frames the question as a check on how well the provider explained, not a test of the client.
Part 3 | The aftercare card, in salon and med spa words
A good aftercare card fits on one side of a postcard or one text screen, puts the three most important steps first and names the one sign that means "call us." The wording below is a starting structure; the specific steps for each service should come from the product manufacturer's directions and, in a med spa, from the medical director's written protocols.
| Service | The three steps, in the client's words | Call us if |
|---|---|---|
| Color or lightening | Wait [number] days before your first wash; use the color-safe shampoo we sent home; rinse with cool water | Your scalp burns, itches or blisters |
| Lash extensions | Keep them dry for [number] hours; no oil-based makeup remover; brush them gently each morning | Your eyes are red, swollen or watering |
| Light chemical peel | Moisturize as directed; stay out of the sun and tanning beds until healed, then sunscreen every day; don't pick at peeling skin | Your skin burns, itches or swells |
| Injectables | Follow the written instructions from your provider for the first [number] hours; skip the gym today; don't rub the area | You notice unusual pain, color change or swelling |
The American Academy of Dermatology puts healing time at one to seven days for a light peel and seven to 14 days for a medium peel, with total sun avoidance until a medium peel heals, so the card for a peel client should also show the date the healing window ends.
The teach-back script at checkout
- Hand over the card. "These are the three things that matter most for the next few days."
- Ask for the teach-back. "So I know I explained it well, what will you do when you get home tonight?"
- Correct gently. If the client misses a step, point to it on the card and ask again.
- Send the same card by text or email within the hour, with a photo of the finished result, so it lives on the client's phone.
- Check in once. A short message on day two ("How is your skin feeling today?") catches a problem while it is still small.
General information, not medical advice; follow your medical director's protocols and the manufacturer's directions, and talk to a licensed professional about your situation.
How you compare
- Written aftercare: count how many of last week's clients left with written instructions, on paper or by text. The Cochrane review suggests every client who didn't is starting from spoken instructions alone.
- Callbacks and redos: track redo appointments and aftercare complaints by service for one month; that number is your baseline for judging whether the card helps.
Questions to ask this week
Which service brings the most redos or worried messages? Start the card there.
Could a client say your three steps back without looking? If your own team can't name the same three, the client won't either.
Write the card for your most common service this week, then count redos and aftercare questions for a month to see what changed.
About this research: This article draws on a review of patients' memory for medical information in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, a Cochrane review of written and spoken discharge information, guidance on the teach-back method from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and patient guidance on chemical peels from the American Academy of Dermatology. The studies come from medical settings, where recall is best measured; salon and spa clients may remember more or less, but the pattern of fast forgetting is the useful part.
Sources
- Kessels, R. P. C. Patients' Memory for Medical Information. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 96(5), 2003.
- Johnson, A., Sandford, J. and Tyndall, J. Written and Verbal Information Versus Verbal Information Only for Patients Being Discharged From Acute Hospital Settings to Home. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2003. Two trials, 320 participants.
- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Use the Teach-Back Method: Tool 5. Health Literacy Universal Precautions Toolkit.
- American Academy of Dermatology. Chemical Peels: FAQs.
Related reading: Signature Experiences for Salons, Barbershops and Med Spas, From the Welcome to the Rebook · Retail Inventory for Salons and Spas: What to Stock and How Much · The Peak-End Rule for Service Businesses: Design the Best Moment and the Last One · The Thank-You Message to Send After Every Job or Visit
Work with osNOVA on aftercare clients follow
We help salons and med spas turn aftercare into a short, written habit at every checkout, with cards for each service, a teach-back the whole team uses and a day-two check-in, starting from what you want more of, whether that is fewer redos, better reviews or more clients who rebook because the result lasted.
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