White vs. Colored Towels: What Your Salon Needs

Created: Friday, 14 June 2019 16:20

A new salon business owner needs to purchase towels for his salon, and he can’t decide between white or colored towels. He needs to make a decision soon but doesn’t know what to consider before making his purchase.

If you’ve ever faced this dilemma as salon owner — whether you own a hair, nail or tanning salon — you understand the overwhelming thought process the business owner went through. After all, white and colored towels each bring something different to a salon’s decor and overall atmosphere, and it’s not easy to choose between them.

Here are a few reasons salon owners have a tough decision when purchasing towels for their business.

1. To Buy Salon Towels in Wholesale

Your hair and nail salon will serve many customers. Several stylists or technicians will be working their own stations, each servicing multiple customers in a day. Since every customer requires one or more towel throughout their service and most shops are open five to six days a week, you can see why it makes sense for your salon to buy towels in bulk.

2. To Have a Uniform Look and Feel in the Salon

The towel selection for your salon can set the tone when customers enter your shop for the first time. You can purchase colored salon towels to complement your brand colors in a way that adds a special touch, or you can choose white salon towels for a cleaner look.

3. To Purchase Different Sized Towels

One size does not fit all when stocking your salon business with towels. Your salon may offer a variety of services, such as shampooing, blow drying, nail polishing and design, pedicures, manicures, and much more — each service will not require the same size towel. Consider the following scenarios:

• If you’re a hair stylist, you can use a large towel when shampooing clients’ hair and a medium size towel to place around clients’ necks when trimming their hair.
• If you’re a nail technician, you can use a fingertip towel when cleaning clients’ hands or feet after performing a pedicure or manicure and a hand towel when wiping down stations.
• If you work in a tanning salon, you can use a washcloth or hand towel when wiping down tanning beds and other equipment. However, your customer will desire a large body towel.

4. To Purchase Durable, Long-Lasting Salon Towels

We know purchasing wholesale towels is an investment for your salon. When you’re a salon owner, the last thing you want is to buy towels, then have their quality and color diminish too soon. You need to invest in high-quality salon towels, so you know you can satisfy your customers long-term.

What Makes a High-Quality Salon Towel?

Investing in salon towels means you care about the quality of those towels and how they will allow you to operate your shop successfully. When you have a high-quality salon towel made of the right materials, you can reduce skin irritation since towels often come in contact with harmful chemicals. You may think you found a quality towel because of its softness, but there are a few other things you should consider as you decide between white or colored salon towels. Here are three of them.

1. Texture and Material

The materials used to make a towel have an impact on its quality. When a towel is made of poor-quality fabric, you will see it fade over time, become less absorbent or tear. Most quality salon towels are made with cotton because the material is absorbent, which makes it ideal for salons. Towels can also be made with rayon, nylon or a cotton blend. Towel Super Center sells 100% terry, cotton towels with loops that can absorb water — perfect for any salon.

2. Density and Thickness

A good quality towel has high GSM, or grams per square meter. GSM is a measurement used to determine the thickness and absorbency a towel has, and it's based on the weight of the fabric used. When thinking about what salon towels you need for each section of your shop, you should consider what you’ll need for each service. A towel that’s too thick will take longer to dry, while a towel that’s too thin could wear and fade faster.

You wouldn’t want to purchase a towel for shampooing with a low GSM. Likewise, if you purchase one with a high GSM that’s too thick, you risk your towels developing mold or mildew if they do not dry properly. Here are three GSM levels to look for when examining a towels density and thickness:

• 200-300 GSM: Poor quality towel
• 400-600 GSM: Medium weight and average quality towel
• 600-900 GSM: Premium/luxury towel — very dense, heavy and absorbent

3. Bleach-Resistant and Color Safe

The last thing you want is for your salon towels to be covered with stains, fade or lose their color from exposure to chemicals — or worse, turn yellow when they started out as white. Knowing whether the material of your towels is bleach-resistant can save you money down the line because you can use bleach to clean and sanitize your bleach towels for repeated use.

Benefits of Colored Towels for Your Salon

If you want to add vibrant colors to your salon’s decor, then purchasing colored salon towels may be exactly what you need to give your salon your desired look at feel. Here a few benefits colored towels offer:

• Add a pop of color: That’s right — you don’t have to think about painting the walls of your all-white salon because your colored towels can add the right pop of color and give your salon a decorated look. If you shop at Towel Super Center, you will have more than 22 color choices available, ranging from black and silver to lime green or hot pink. You can brighten the room with a range of options such as pastels, bold, bright or neon colors.
  
  
• Allow for a new, coordinated look: Don’t want to feel stuck with your salon decor? You can use colored towels to switch it up whenever you want. Strategically place towels around your salon in areas so customers see them as soon as they enter. You can also purchase some towels strictly for decoration and switch them out as needed. If you desire to create an environment to match or complement your salon brand colors, you can also use colored towels to pair two or three colors together.
  
  
• Less obvious staining: Hair, nail and tanning salons have a variety of products, and many contain chemicals, dyes or other substances that are prone to staining. When you choose a dark-colored towel, such as brown or navy blue, you may not notice stains as easily. Of course, you will want to avoid staining and try to remove any before they set, but if that doesn’t happen, you may be able to get away with a small stain that’s unnoticeable to your customers.
  
  

What to Consider Before Buying Colored Salon Towels

Before making your purchase, you need to understand some limitations you can face when choosing colored towels for your salon. While colored towels can enhance the overall atmosphere of your salon, there a few practical considerations, such as: 

• Whether they’re colorfast or non-colorfast: When you have a new towel, especially one that is a bold color, you always want to wash the towels first. However, because of the material, new towels have the potential to bleed if they’re not colorfast. If a towel is colorfast, then the dyes in the fabric are not likely to bleed during washes. If a towel is non-colorfast, then the dyes in the fabric are more likely to bleed during washes or when it comes in contact with other fabrics. So, if you purchase multiple colored towels that are non-colorfast, you can potentially ruin many towels in a single wash.
  
  
• Their potential to fade over time: Because you will need to frequently wash the towels you have, there is a potential for the color to fade over time. If the color of your red towel fades to a magenta pink after a few washes, you will have to purchase new towels more often.
  
  
• Color or style becomes outdated fast: Most wholesale towel companies like Towel Super Center have a variety of colors to choose from. You may pick a color for your salon and find out later the shade is no longer available, or a company switches manufacturers so you can’t get the exact match you’re looking for. You could risk having to purchase a new set if you find you need to reorder towels and cannot find a color that matches your existing set.

Why Use White Towels in Your Salon: Benefits of White Towels for Your Salon

White salon towels offer several unique benefits that colored towels do not. When making the decision on what towels to use in your salon, you should consider the following benefits white towels offer:

• Can easily match with other colors: White is a neutral tone, so it easily matches with any other color. If your salon brand uses two or more colors, you can have white towels to complement them.

• Ability to buy in wholesale: You can make one large order when buying white towels because you don’t have to worry about purchasing a certain number of one color towels and another number of a different color. At Towel Super Center, we sell several styles of white salon towels in a variety of sizes to meet the needs of any salon owner who needs to make a wholesale purchase.

• Doesn’t go out of style: White is a classic color, so it will always be available and in style. If you decide to change the appearance of your shop, your white towels will match any new decor. You don’t have to worry about buying a new set of towels to go with your new color scheme.

• Can give your salon an upscale look: When used in a decorative setting, the color white can make a business appear more upscale. Some people associate white with cleanliness, so you can impress your repeat clients with a clean, consistent look. Your clients will notice how each time they enter your salon, there is a fresh, white towel waiting for them. They’ll have a higher perception of your salon for its professionalism. Who wouldn’t want to go to a salon that takes such great care of something so simple like towels?

• Easy to clean: One of the biggest advantages of white towels is that they are easy to clean and sanitize. Because you don’t have to worry about separating colors, you can feel comfortable using bleach to remove any stains left by harsh salon chemicals, dyes or dirt and germs. You can also wash them using very hot water, which sanitizes them for repeated use. Because you don’t have to worry about the color bleeding in the wash, you can purchase bleach-resistant towels, so you can feel at ease when you use bleach to tackle tough stains and remove any harmful contaminants.

Benefits of Bleach-Resistant Towels

One of the things you want to check the towel label for — regardless of if you purchase a white or colored towel — is whether it’s safe to use with bleach. Bleach is a chemical used to clean and disinfect surfaces. While it is great for removing stains, it can be harsh your salon towels if they’re not equipped to handle it.

Because you will wash the towels in your salon frequently, you want to make sure you don’t ruin them by using bleach. You can use bleach with white towels without fear, as long as they’re bleach-resistant or bleach safe. Bleach-resistant or bleach-safe towels are specially made with materials that allow them to come in contact with bleach without damaging their quality, durability or color.

Bleach-resistant towels offer several benefits because they:

• Look fresh
• Come in many colors not just white
• Come in many sizes
• Require less maintenance
• Cost-effective
• Last a long-time

Washing your white towels with bleach helps to further sanitize and remove stains, all while maintaining the quality and color of your towels. Remember to always mix bleach with water first and do not pour it directly on the towels.

You should never bleach on colored towels that are not labeled bleach-resistant or bleach safe — otherwise, you risk damaging your towels. A colored towel that’s labeled colorfast may not be okay to use with bleach.

Here’s a quick test you can perform to determine if you have bleach-resistant towel:

1. Mix two teaspoons of bleach with ¼-cup of water.
2. Place a little bit of the mixture onto a small, unnoticeable area of the towel.
3. Blot the area dry after waiting one minute.
4. Check to see if the towel changed colors. No color changes mean the towel can be bleached.
   
   

Shop Towel Super Center for Your Wholesale Salon Towel Needs

If you can’t decide between white towels vs. colored for your salon, you now have the information you need to make an informed decision. At Towel Super Center, we sell a wide variety of white and colored bleach-resistant salon towels in more than 22 colors and various sizes to meet any salon’s needs. You can save money and time when you buy our high-quality salon towels made with 100% terry cotton.

Shop Towel Super Center for your wholesale salon towel needs.