Instagram and TikTok for hairdressers and barbershops

Your profile as a portfolio

A profile should make clear within seconds what you do, where you are and how to get an appointment. These points belong in it:

• Name with location. “Hairdresser Cologne Ehrenfeld” instead of just the salon name. People searching for “hairdresser Cologne” are more likely to find you this way, based on practical experience. We know of no official statement from Instagram on this.
• Bio with service, location and booking. For example: “Women · Men · Kids | Cologne-Ehrenfeld | Book online ↓”.
• Booking link. Instagram allows up to five links in the bio (since April 2023, according to PetaPixel). Use one for booking and one for the imprint (Impressum).
• Highlights. Prices, team, booking, reviews.
• Imprint (Impressum). A salon profile is commercial, so it needs an Impressum under § 5 of the German Digital Services Act (DDG). According to a ruling of the Higher Regional Court of Hamburg (OLG Hamburg) of May 21, 2026, a clearly labeled link under the bio is enough (individual case). The required details are in Imprint (Impressum) on Instagram, Facebook & co..
• Professional account. If you want to publish posts through a tool like companycore, you need a professional Instagram account (Meta for Developers, retrieved October 13, 2026). In the app, companycore refers to an Instagram business account.

Before and after: show the result

A before-and-after photo answers the question “Can she do it?” without words. It only works if the pictures are comparable.

• Same angle, same light. Same spot at the chair, camera at eye level, no flash.
• Neutral background. A calm wall, no shelves with products and no stray bags in the picture.
• Carousel or Reel. In a carousel, the result is on image 1, with before and intermediate steps following. In a Reel, a cut shows the change.
• Caption with service, duration and place. For example: “Balayage and cut, three and a half hours, Cologne-Ehrenfeld.”
• Stay real. You never show results with AI images. An embellished after can be misleading (our reading under § 5 UWG, the German Unfair Competition Act; not legal advice).

Client photos: ask first

Anyone recognizable in a photo generally has to agree to its publication (§ 22 KUG, the German law on the right to your own image). In the salon that means: ask before the photo and record the answer.

• Document consent. Ideally in text form, for example through a short form you offer as a QR code at the mirror.
• Minors. Here the parents’ consent is required.
• Take withdrawal seriously. Under the GDPR (DSGVO), consent can be withdrawn at any time. You then take the post offline, including from your schedule.
• It works without a face too. Hair from behind, a color gradient in detail, hands with scissors.

The same rules apply to your team, there in writing or electronically and separate from the employment contract. Everything else is in Photos of employees and customers.

Music in Reels: the expensive mistake

Instagram’s and TikTok’s music libraries are licensed for private use. A salon account is a business account, and “commercial” is interpreted broadly (Osborne Clarke, March 27, 2026). The Händlerbund (a German retailers’ association) reports €5,300 plus VAT for a single Reel (case of July 31, 2026), and the law firm WBS reports €9,000 in damages in a case brought by Frommer Legal.

A creator account doesn’t solve the problem: the music library for creators is not a commercial license. And the same clip on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube needs sound that is allowed everywhere, because a platform-bound library doesn’t cover the other channels. Everything on this is in Music in Reels and TikToks.

Salon account or stylist as a creator?

Both have their place. A salon account stays with the business when someone leaves: booking link, Impressum, reviews and team are in one place. A stylist’s personal account ties customers to the person, but also belongs to her. When she leaves, she takes her followers with her.

Our recommendation to start: one salon account that features the team. You need consent from everyone pictured. If someone leaves, you take the pictures offline if in doubt. Whether business or creator: the music rule doesn’t change.

Booking and reviews

• Booking link in the bio and a “Book” highlight that explains in two sentences how to get an appointment.
• Keep your Google profile complete and reply to reviews without naming customer data. In a US survey (BrightLocal 2026, n=1,002), 97% read reviews before choosing a local provider. We have no comparable figure for Germany.
• Reviews as a post. Leave the text unchanged, name the source, show name and profile picture only with consent.
• No reviews in exchange for discounts. The Hildesheim Regional Court (LG Hildesheim) prohibited a €50 voucher for Google reviews on December 28, 2021 (11 O 12/21). The UWG prohibits fake or commissioned reviews (annex no. 23c).

companycore doesn’t reply to reviews and doesn’t publish to your Google profile. You handle both directly with Google.

Is TikTok worth it for a salon?

In Germany, TikTok reaches 20% of people aged 14 and over weekly, and about every second person among 14- to 29-year-olds (ARD/ZDF Media Study 2025). If your clientele is young, as at a barbershop, a trial makes sense. You clarify two things beforehand. Business accounts see only the “Commercial Sounds” in the TikTok app. And according to TikTok Help, a clickable link in the profile is only available from 1,000 followers or with a verified business account (help text checked only through excerpts, please check in your account). Without a clickable link, it’s questionable whether your Impressum is “directly accessible” (“unmittelbar erreichbar”).

Weekly plan and 30 post ideas

Three posts a week are a good start. As a guide, aim for 3 to 5 Instagram posts per week (Buffer, August 2025, correlation); details in How often should a business post?.

Showing results

• Color change. Before and after with the same angle and the same light.
• Cut of the week. A detail shot from behind.
• Color gradient in three steps. Roots, lightening, result as a carousel.
• Hairstyle for an occasion. Updo for prom or wedding, with a note on when to book.
• Beard care before and after. For barbershops: contours, length, care product.
• Kids’ cut. Only with the parents’ consent, ideally from behind.

Sharing knowledge

• Care tip of the week. One tip, one application, one photo.
• Product explained. What’s in the treatment and who it suits.
• Recognize your hair type. Three features that show it.
• How often to come back for a trim? Your answer for short, long and colored hair.
• Myth or fact. A question you hear all the time, with your answer.
• Caring properly after coloring. The first three days at home.

Salon and team

• Team profile. Name, specialty, favorite product, with consent.
• A day in the salon. From unlocking the door to the last appointment, as a short video.
• Apprentice start. First week, first question, first cut on a practice head.
• Training or trade fair. What you brought back and from when you offer it.
• Favorite tool. Scissors, hair dryer or razor, and why.
• Anniversary or renovation. What the salon used to look like.

Appointments and offers

• Free appointments. Every Friday for the next week.
• Freed up at short notice. An afternoon appointment; whoever writes first gets it.
• New service. What it is, what it costs, how to book.
• Voucher for Mother’s Day or Christmas. With an expiry date and no small print.
• Company vacation. When you close and from when you can be booked again.
• Price list. A graphic with all prices, with the text also in the caption.

Community and reviews

• Review of the week. Unchanged and with the source.
• Question for followers. Which color in fall: copper or chocolate brown?
• Client of the week. Only with consent.
• Local tip. The café next door where customers wait while the color sets.
• Thank-you post. After an anniversary or a round number of reviews.
• Delivery unpacked. New products on the shelf.

With companycore

Under Backstage › Models you create an AI model of yourself and select it in the Visual Designer with the posting type Photo under Person, for example for announcements with your face (Models and AI double). Images with your model are AI images: they carry the label AI-GENERATED (see AI labeling in companycore) and don’t belong in before-and-after or result posts. You maintain products such as Cosmetics & beauty and a location for your salon under Backstage › Products and Backstage › Environments. If you want the location in every caption, tell core in the Post Generator: “remember: …”.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Media Perspektiven: ARD/ZDF Media Study 2025, social media between growth and saturation (in German), 2025 (primary source)
• Buffer: How Often Should You Post on Instagram, August 13, 2025 (vendor study, correlation)
• PetaPixel: Instagram Now Lets Users Have Five Links in Their Bio, April 18, 2023 (secondary source)
• Meta for Developers: Instagram Platform Overview, retrieved October 13, 2026 (primary source)
• § 5 DDG (in German; primary source)
• RA Mauritz: Instagram imprint, OLG Hamburg confirms (in German), August 6, 2026, on OLG Hamburg of May 21, 2026, 15 U 99/24 (secondary source)
• § 22 KUG (German Art Copyright Act, right to your own image; in German; primary source)
• Osborne Clarke: Use of music on social media platforms, March 27, 2026 (secondary source)
• Händlerbund: €5,300 for a Reel, music use is expensive (in German), case of July 31, 2026 (secondary source)
• WBS: Music use on Instagram, Frommer Legal sends warning letters to businesses (in German; secondary source)
• Meta Business Help: Accessing the licensed music library, retrieved October 13, 2026 (primary source)
• TikTok Ads Help: Commercial Music Library, retrieved October 13, 2026 (primary source)
• TikTok: Commercial Music Library User Terms, retrieved October 14, 2026 (primary source)
• TikTok Support: Website link in profile, retrieved October 13, 2026 (official help page, content checked only through a search excerpt)
• BrightLocal: Local Consumer Review Survey 2026 (vendor study, US sample, n=1,002)
• UWG, annex to § 3(3) (in German; primary source)
• 123recht: LG Hildesheim prohibits financial incentives for Google reviews (in German), December 28, 2021, 11 O 12/21 (secondary source)