Do you have to be a barber to open a barbershop?

Usually not to own one, but licensed barbers have to do the work. The Texas establishment application asks for the owner's practitioner license number only if the owner has one, and in Texas only a licensed barber may shave a beard or use a razor without a guard to outline the hair or shave the back of the neck. Other states set their own rules.

Does a barbershop need a shampoo sink?

Most states want running water where services happen. Texas requires a sink with hot and cold running water in the service area, or enough shampoo bowls if you shampoo or do chemical work. A wet barber station with its own sink can cover that, or you can use a separate shampoo bowl.

How to Open a Barbershop | License, Chairs, Space and Layout

Q: How wide does a barbershop need to be?

It depends on the state. Pennsylvania requires a barber shop to be at least 12 feet wide, with 15 feet of length for one chair and 5 more feet for each added chair. Many states set no width at all, so check your barber board's rules before you sign a lease.

To open a barbershop, make sure you and your barbers hold current licenses, pick a space that fits the number of chairs you want, decide on wet or dry stations, draw the layout, then get the shop’s establishment license before you cut a single head. Starting a barber shop usually takes less plumbing than a hair salon, but the chairs are bigger and some states set the shop’s size by the chair count.

Here is how to work through it in order.

What License Does a Barbershop Need?

Two kinds. Each barber needs a personal barber license, and the shop needs its own establishment or shop license from the state.

Texas runs barbering and cosmetology shops through one establishment license application. The fee is $78, all requirements have to be met within 12 months of filing, and the owner signs a statement not to open until the license is issued. Texas also says only a licensed barber may shave a beard or mustache or use a razor without a guard to outline the hair or shave the back of the neck. That matters if you plan to hire cosmetologists alongside barbers.

Pennsylvania writes minimum sizes for barber shops into its rules, covered below. The salon license guide compares more states.

How Much Space Does a Barbershop Need?

Start with the chairs. A barber chair is bigger than a salon styling chair. Takara Belmont’s Elegance BB-225 is 25 inches wide and 37 inches deep, and its Legacy model is about 27 inches wide and 48 inches deep. Because barber chairs recline, they need extra floor in front of the station.

Some states write the size into law. The Pennsylvania square footage rules require a barber shop to be at least 12 feet wide and 180 square feet, with 15 feet of length for one chair and 5 more feet for each added chair. By that rule, a four-chair shop needs at least 30 feet of length. Other states use other numbers, and many set none.

As a planning range, Buy-Rite Beauty suggests 150 to 200 square feet per stylist for a whole salon, counting the waiting area and restroom. A barbershop with no shampoo area may land toward the low end. See how much space a salon chair needs.

Wet or Dry Barber Stations?

A barber station comes two ways. A dry station has no plumbing, takes less room and can move if you change the layout. A wet station has a built-in shampoo sink, which saves a walk but needs water lines and a drain at every station.

Texas requires a sink with hot and cold running water where services are provided, or enough shampoo bowls if you shampoo or do chemical services. A common setup is a row of dry stations and one or two shampoo bowls on the plumbing wall. Every sink drain needs a hair trap.

Zenoti prices barber stations at $200 to $1,500 and a wash station at $800 to $3,000, so each wet station adds real cost on top of the plumbing.

How Far Apart Should Barber Chairs Be?

Minerva Beauty recommends about 54 to 56 inches between styling chairs, measured center to center, and at least 5 feet clear straight out from each station. Buy-Rite suggests 4 to 6 feet. Barbers work all the way around the chair, so don’t squeeze the line to fit one more.

Leave room at the ends too. Minerva suggests at least 2 feet between the last station and a side wall. More detail is in space between salon stations.

How Do You Lay Out a Barbershop Floor Plan?

In a long, narrow storefront the chairs usually fit in a line along one long wall, with the waiting area near the front window and the back room at the rear. Plan these pieces:

A reception or checkout counter near the door, so walk-ins see someone right away.
Waiting seats with a clear path past them to the chairs.
The chair line, with mirrors and stations on the wall and the reclined depth of each chair in front.
A shampoo bowl or wet station on the wall where the plumbing is.
A restroom. Texas requires at least one in or near the shop, with no chemicals stored in it.
A back room for towels, laundry and supplies.
Walkways of at least 36 inches, the minimum width for an accessible route in the 2010 ADA Standards.

The barbershop floor plan tool has a 28 by 40 inch barber chair, stations, a shampoo bowl, waiting chairs and a restroom block. Type your room’s inside size, line up the chairs, and it shows square feet per chair and flags any pair closer than 54 inches center to center. When the plan works, print it or save it as SVG for your contractor. It also builds a shopping list of the pieces you placed.

What Do Inspectors Look For in a Barbershop?

Shop inspections focus on water, sanitation and paperwork, so build those into the plan from the start. The Texas application lists the conditions its inspectors check:

Hot and cold running water in the area where services are done.
A container big enough to fully soak tools and implements in liquid disinfectant.
Non-porous, washable flooring wherever chemicals are mixed or water may splash.
Ventilation that clears chemical odors and brings in fresh air.
One restroom in or near the shop.
Posted licenses, sanitation rules and required signs.

California’s board adds toilets, handwashing facilities and drinking water to the list of things a shop must have before it opens, and it requires a licensee in charge at all times. If you plan to be away from the shop, name who that person is.

What Does It Cost to Start a Barber Shop?

Zenoti’s estimate puts a typical barber shop at about $84,000 to open, with a low end near $18,000 and a high end around $254,000. Taking over a space that already has chairs and plumbing can come in under $20,000. Barber chairs alone run $300 to more than $2,500 each by Zenoti’s figures. The full breakdown is in how much it costs to open a barber shop.

If the numbers are tight, two routes cut the start-up bill. Renting a chair or a suite first lets you build a client list without a lease. The salon opening guide also covers SBA microloans, which go up to $50,000 for equipment and working capital.

What Are the Steps to Open a Barbershop?

Confirm your barber license and those of anyone you’ll hire or rent chairs to.
Decide how many chairs you want and check your state’s size rule, if it has one.
Write a short plan and budget, including whether barbers will be employees or booth renters.
Find a space wide and long enough, with plumbing where the sink will go.
Draw the floor plan and get build-out quotes.
Apply for the shop license and pass any inspection your state does before opening.
Post the required licenses and signs. Texas lists each practitioner’s license, the shop license, sanitation rules, a consumer complaint sign, a human trafficking sign and a list of booth renters.
Order chairs and stations once the plan is final.

If you want to add nail or skin services later, how to open a nail salon covers the ventilation side.