Lighter than health, not nothing
Salons and barbers are not regulated like dentists and clinics; there is no professional body policing what your website says about a balayage. But general law applies everywhere: consumer protection on prices and cancellation terms, privacy law on client data, accessibility law on the site itself, and in some places licensing rules that touch the website. Here is what changes by country. It is orientation, not legal advice.
United Kingdom
Prices: the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations and the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 require that displayed prices be accurate and include unavoidable charges; "from" prices are acceptable if the "from" is genuinely available. The CMA has been active on drip pricing.
Deposits and cancellation: the Consumer Rights Act and unfair terms rules mean cancellation charges must be proportionate to actual loss; terms must be shown before booking. Deposits forfeited without reasonable notice provisions can be challenged.
Privacy: UK GDPR for client data (names, contacts, appointment history; allergy and patch-test records are health data and special category). Privacy notice; ICO registration for most salons; DPAs with the booking platform.
Cookies: consent for non-essential cookies under PECR.
Accessibility: the Equality Act applies to services; WCAG 2.1 AA is the expectation.
Licensing: no national licensing for hairdressing; some local authorities license certain beauty treatments (special treatments licences in London boroughs and elsewhere). Display where required.
Photos: consent for client images; model release good practice.
United States
Prices: FTC rules on deceptive pricing; state consumer protection laws; advertised prices must be honoured as stated.
Deposits and cancellation: state contract and consumer law; terms disclosed before booking; a few states regulate automatic renewals and gift card expiry, which touch memberships and vouchers.
Privacy: state laws (California's CCPA/CPRA, Virginia, Colorado, and a growing list) for salons over their thresholds; most small salons are under them but the booking platform may not be. Biometric laws (Illinois BIPA) if any face-based tool is used. Card data handled by the platform under PCI.
Cookies: no federal consent requirement; state opt-out rights where laws apply.
Accessibility: the ADA applied to websites through litigation; WCAG 2.1 AA the defensible standard. Salons have been targets of website accessibility claims.
Licensing: state cosmetology and barber boards license individuals and salons; several states require the licence number to be displayed in the salon and some address advertising. Check the state board for website display rules.
Photos: consent; state right-of-publicity laws.
Canada
Prices: the Competition Act on misleading pricing; provincial consumer protection acts; Quebec's Consumer Protection Act is notably strict on all-inclusive pricing.
Deposits and cancellation: provincial; terms must be clear before booking; Quebec restricts certain penalty clauses.
Privacy: PIPEDA federally; provincial laws in BC, Alberta and Quebec; Quebec's Law 25 imposes consent, privacy officer and policy requirements.
Cookies: Quebec's Law 25 requires consent for tracking; meaningful consent elsewhere.
Accessibility: AODA in Ontario (WCAG 2.0 AA for organisations over the threshold); Accessible Canada Act federally; others variously.
Licensing: provincial; some provinces license hairstylists and estheticians through trade certification. Display where required.
Photos: consent; Quebec's Civil Code protects image rights strongly.
Australia
Prices: the Australian Consumer Law requires that displayed prices be the total price including GST and unavoidable charges; component pricing rules; "from" prices must be genuinely available.
Deposits and cancellation: ACL unfair contract terms provisions; cancellation fees must be reasonable and disclosed; ACCC guidance on no-show fees.
Privacy: the Privacy Act applies to businesses over the turnover threshold, but many booking platforms and any salon handling health information (patch tests, allergies) are within scope; a privacy policy is expected.
Cookies: no specific consent law; privacy policy disclosure.
Accessibility: Disability Discrimination Act; WCAG 2.1 AA.
Licensing: state and territory; some require registration for skin penetration procedures (piercing, some beauty treatments). Display where required.
Photos: consent; ACL on misleading imagery.
European Union
Prices: the Price Indication Directive and Consumer Rights Directive require total prices including VAT; national rules on price lists (some countries require a displayed price list in the salon and expect the same online).
Deposits and cancellation: the Unfair Contract Terms Directive; national implementation; proportionality.
Privacy: GDPR; health-adjacent data (allergies, patch tests) as special category; privacy notice; DPAs.
Cookies: ePrivacy consent as implemented nationally.
Accessibility: the European Accessibility Act from June 2025 for many private digital services above the micro-enterprise threshold.
Licensing: national; several countries require a master craftsman qualification to operate a salon and may expect it displayed.
Photos: GDPR consent plus national image rights.
What is the same everywhere
- Displayed prices accurate and inclusive; "from" only where genuine.
- Cancellation and deposit terms shown before booking, proportionate, applied consistently.
- A privacy notice matching what the booking platform and site actually do.
- Consent for every client photo.
- WCAG 2.1 AA.
- Licence numbers displayed where the jurisdiction requires.
Where this sits
Every salon website we build runs through a country checklist at the content stage covering price display, deposit terms, privacy notice, cookies, accessibility, licence display and photo consent. The structure is the same for a barbershop in Austin and a salon in Manchester; the checklist is what differs.