Your top beauty membership questions answered

Beauty memberships are gaining momentum! And with all this interest come lots of questions.

Written by

Jo Blundell

While some gate-keep this information, we believe in sharing what we've seen work across the (almost) 1,000 clinics and salons that have adopted aglow.

From what to include in your memberships to how to talk about them with clients, here are the top questions we hear every day - answered with real insights from clinic and salon owners who've made the switch.

What should I include in a membership?

The most successful memberships we see combine three elements:

Core treatments: One or more regular services to deliver consistent results
Exclusive perks: Benefits that make members feel special
Term of membership: Typically 3-12 months with auto-renewal and 30–day notice period

"We offer three main memberships for toxin, facials, and light and laser treatments. Each includes a set number of treatments within the year, 10% off products, 15% off other advanced skin treatments, priority booking, and a free birthday facial," shares Zoe from Tuesday Skin.

Pro tip: Start with your most popular treatment sequences. What services do your best clients already book regularly? These make perfect membership foundations.

How many membership options should I offer?

Keep it simple. We recommend starting with:

2-3 template memberships featured on your website
The ability to create custom memberships through consultation

"We first launched with some templates, but we found that many of our memberships were based around personalised plans. Having the stylist say, 'You'll need these specific treatments over the next three visits' became the personalised membership," explains Tenille from Little Birdie Hair.

Credits vs memberships - what's the difference?

This is crucial to understand. Credits and memberships are fundamentally different approaches:

Credit systems:

Payments accumulate into a redeemable balance
Create financial liability on your books
Can impact your ability to get business loans
Require complex tracking and accounting

Memberships:

Work like a gym membership or Netflix subscription
Provide ongoing access to specified services
Generate predictable recurring revenue
Automatically manage themselves through aglow

(we've gone into more detail on this topic here)

How long should a membership be?

Most successful memberships run for 6-12 months, aligning with the time needed to see results and then shifting onto a maintenance plan that is always-on until your member elects to cancel or pause their membership.

"We ran two memberships back to back for a teenage acne client, and now she's on a maintenance programme and loving her skin," shares Erin from Golden Hour Skin.

Can I sell memberships online?

Yes, you can offer template memberships on your website - these work well for straightforward services like regular facials or blowouts. For more complex treatments, encourage consultation first so you can create personalised plans.

What terms and conditions should I outline?

Key areas to cover include:

Payment terms and frequency
Membership cancellation policy and notice period
Membership treatments, frequency, perks and conditions

aglow provides a robust legal framework for these contracts, so you can focus on delivering great experiences.

What if my client wants to cancel early?

Have a clear, fair policy. Most businesses require:

Completion of minimum term (usually 3-12 months)
30 days written notice
Payment of outstanding balance - we recommend requesting at least 50% of remaining balance if full payment isn't feasible

"I explain the commitment upfront during consultation. When clients understand the value and see it as part of their routine, early cancellation rarely comes up," shares Amelie from Amelie's.

How do I launch memberships?

Start with your loyal clients - they're already fans of what you offer and committed to coming in regularly. Your next client could be your first member. It doesn't need to be complicated.

Some businesses create special launch events, like Lilly from Aesthetic Skin Co: "We launched exclusively over four days with mini consultations, skin analyses, and special perks for the first 30 sign-ups. Our clients loved feeling special and part of something exclusive."

How do I talk to clients about memberships?

Frame memberships as a way to achieve better results through consistent care. Focus on:

Their specific goals and desired outcomes
How regular treatments support those goals
The convenience and VIP benefits
Making premium care more accessible through manageable payments

What are common membership perks?

Popular perks include 3 or more of the following:

Priority booking
Product discounts (10-15%)
Complimentary birthday treatments
Treatment upgrades
Member-only events
Exclusive access to new services
Product samples or welcome gifts

Should I discount pricing for members?

Instead of discounting, increase your casual pricing and position membership rates as the "smart" option for regular clients. As Kathleen from Inigo Cosmetics notes: "It's about making premium treatments more accessible through manageable payments, not about discounting our expertise."

‍How do I price memberships?

Price based on the value you deliver.

Consider:

Introducing premium pricing for casual visits to incentivise membership adoption
Including high-value perks that justify the investment
Calculate the total value of your membership treatment inclusions and split this across the term of the membership
Offer weekly/ fortnightly/ monthly payments that feel manageable for clients and match their income cycle

The aglow platform makes pricing memberships easy from templates that you offer to lots of clients to personalised membership plans.

How are memberships different to series or packages?

‍Packages and series are pre-purchased credits that:

Create financial liability on your books
Require manual tracking
Often lead to unused credits
Can impact business loans and valuation

Memberships are ongoing commitments that:

Generate predictable monthly revenue
Automatically manage themselves
Encourage regular visits
Build long-term client relationships
Create opportunities for upsells
Support business growth and valuation

Think Netflix vs buying individual movies - memberships create lasting relationships while packages are one-off transactions.

Beauty membership-based businesses don’t need to be complicated or mysterious. You’ve got this!

Have a question we haven't covered? We're here to help - reach out to support@getaglow.co anytime.

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