Client Intake Forms for Salons and Studios: What to Ask (and What the Law Requires)

Most salons collect some client information before a treatment — a patch test record, an allergy note, a goals question. But once a business offers anything beyond standard hair and beauty services, intake forms stop being a nice-to-have and start being part of how the business protects itself.

What a Standard Intake Form Should Cover

For most hair, beauty and nail services, a pre-arrival form should capture:

• Contact details and how the client prefers to be reminded (SMS or email).
• Known allergies, skin sensitivities or reactions to previous products.
• Relevant medical history — pregnancy, skin conditions, medication that affects healing or sensitivity.
• The result or goal the client is booking for, so the consultation starts from the right point.
• Consent to hold this information, in line with UK GDPR.

Collecting this before the client arrives, rather than on a clipboard in the chair, saves consultation time and gives staff a record to refer back to on the next visit.

Where Intake Forms Become a Legal Requirement, Not Just Good Practice

For prescription-only treatments — most commonly Botox (botulinum toxin) and some prescription-strength skin treatments — the rules are stricter than for a haircut or a facial, and it's worth being precise about what a form does and doesn't cover.

Botox is a prescription-only medicine (POM) in the UK. By law, it can only be prescribed following a proper consultation carried out by a qualified independent prescriber — typically a doctor, dentist or nurse prescriber — who assesses the client and takes responsibility for the prescribing decision. That consultation has to involve direct assessment of the client; it is not something a form alone can satisfy, and current guidance is clear that remote prescribing without proper assessment is not acceptable practice.

What an intake form does do is capture and document the information that consultation depends on: medical history, current medication, previous reactions, contraindications (such as pregnancy, certain neurological conditions or allergies), and the client's informed consent. Having this recorded — rather than only spoken about in the room — is exactly the kind of evidence insurers, regulators and professional bodies expect a practitioner to hold on file.

In practice, that means: use the intake form to gather and document history and consent ahead of time, but treat it as support for the required prescriber consultation, not a replacement for it.

Why This Matters for Your Insurance and Your Liability

Most professional indemnity and treatment insurance policies for aesthetics and advanced beauty treatments require evidence of a proper consultation and signed, informed consent before a claim will be honoured. If something goes wrong and there is no documented medical history or consent on file, a practitioner can find themselves unsupported by their own insurer — separate from any regulatory issue.

The same principle applies, in a smaller way, to standard salon services. Colour and lash tint services typically require a patch test 24–48 hours before treatment under manufacturer and insurer terms; a missing patch test record can void cover in the event of a reaction. A digital intake form that timestamps when the patch test question was answered gives the business a record it wouldn't have from a verbal check.

Building This Into Your Booking Flow

The most reliable way to collect this information is to make it part of booking, not a separate step someone has to remember to send. When a form is attached to the service at the point of booking, the client fills it in once, before they arrive, and the practitioner has it ready for the in-person consultation.

Slotivo's intake forms attach directly to a service, so a client booking a colour appointment or a consultation for a prescription treatment answers the relevant questions during checkout. The answers sit against the client's record for every future visit, so history doesn't have to be re-asked each time.

A Few Rules of Thumb

• Standard services: collect allergies, patch test confirmation and goals before every appointment.
• Prescription treatments: use the form to gather medical history and consent ahead of time, but the prescribing consultation itself must still be carried out in person (or by live video where permitted) by a qualified prescriber.
• Keep records, not just conversations. A signed form with a timestamp is evidence; a chat in the chair is not.
• Review your form questions against your insurer's requirements, not just what feels useful — they're often more specific than you'd expect.

This guide is general information, not legal advice — check current requirements with your professional body, insurer or regulator for the specific treatments you offer. See how forms fit into the wider booking flow on the intake forms page, or get started for free.