Colour records and formulas: what to keep

This is general guidance, not legal advice. Follow your product manufacturer's instructions and check with your insurer and professional body for your own situation.

What to record at each colour appointment

Write it down at the time, not from memory that evening:

• the date, the client and who did the work;
• the colour brand and range;
• the shades and the mix, with amounts if you measure them;
• the developer strength;
• the processing time, and when it started and finished;
• the condition of the hair and scalp before you began;
• any sensitivities or reactions the client mentions, and the date of their last allergy alert test;
• anything you would change next time.

Record refusals too. The NHBF code of conduct says to keep records of refusals and the reasons behind them, and that consultation and healthcare records are retained for at least six years. That figure comes from a trade body code, not from the law, so ask your insurer what they require in writing.

Sensitivities and tests

The NHBF code says clients for hair colour should be tested for possible PPD allergy at least 48 hours in advance. NHS advice is to test the dye on a strand of hair at least 48 hours before use, and it says symptoms can take up to 72 hours to appear. Note the test date and result beside the colour record so both are found together. How long a test stays valid is for you, your manufacturer and your insurer to decide. Write down the rule you follow.

Keeping it private

Colour records often sit next to health answers, so treat the whole file as private. A practical approach is to decide how and where the records will be stored securely and how you can get at them when needed. In plain terms: no loose index cards on the front desk, no records in a shared salon notebook, and a password on any device that holds them.

How long to keep them

The data protection guidance says you cannot keep personal data longer than you need it, and that it sets no fixed time limit for different types of data. It suggests you set and write down standard retention periods, review the data you hold from time to time, and erase or anonymise what you no longer need. The page is marked as under review, so check the current wording. For colour and health records, the six year figure in the NHBF code is the only specific number we found. Check the period with your insurer, and write it into your own one page procedure.

Copying last time's formula carefully

Repeating a formula saves time, but hair changes. Before you mix:

1. Check the copied record really is from a colour appointment, not a cut or a treatment in between.
2. Ask whether anything has changed: a home colour since, a new sensitivity, a change in scalp condition.
3. Check the product line is still the one you use, and that the manufacturer's instructions have not changed.
4. Check the allergy alert test is still in date under your own rule.
5. Write down any adjustment, so the next copy is the right one.

How we help

We build it and set it up; you approve it.

The client's treatment record has a place, at every colour visit, for the colour brand, the shades and mix, the developer strength and the processing time. Next time, "Same as last time" copies them from her last colour record with one tap. They are kept encrypted in your own system, on your own accounts. Formulas from another app are not brought in, so you add them as you see each client. See our page for hairdressers.

Do this next

1. List the fields you will record at every colour appointment.
2. Ask your insurer in writing how long to keep colour and health records.
3. Decide where records are stored and who can see them.
4. Add a check step before you copy a previous formula.

Sources

• NHBF Professional Code of Conduct for Salon Owners (2024)
• NHS, Hair dye allergy
• NHS, Hair dye reactions
• Official UK data protection guidance: storage limitation

Last checked 22 October 2026. General guidance, not legal or tax advice.

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