How to run a hair stall at your school fair.

Hair stall carnage, 2.5 hours in. The table looks lovely at the start, promise.

How to run a hair stall at your school fair

As you may know Braid Maidens exists because of my daughter’s love of Frozen and that I started an ‘Elsa and Anna' hair stall at her school Christmas fair back when she was in reception.

I have recently received loads of requests to come and run braiding stalls at various school Christmas fairs, even as far away from me as Brighton!

It’s SO lovely to be asked and I really do appreciate all the messages but it’s just not something I can offer viably (apart from at my kids’ school because we don’t have to charge to be there.)

So I thought I’d put together a checklist to encourage you to run your own hair stalls.

It is always a big hit with the kids and fairly easy to do with a few volunteers and low overheads.

You will need:

A small team of volunteers

Your team are key to making the stall a success.

Look for the kids who come to school with great braids or styles and then find out who’s doing them.

It might be a parent, grand-parent, older sibling, carer or nanny - whoever it is; track them down and see if they’d like to take part.

Having 3-6 people is good so you can ideally work in pairs and do an hour each so you get time to enjoy the fair too.

A menu

Keep it simple.

The first year we did it, we literally just offered an Elsa plait (one Dutch braid either centrally or from the side and over one shoulder) and Anna plaits (two French or Dutch plaits).

Depending on what your team can do with hair, work out your offering and create a menu.

Photos of the styles really helps the kids choose.

Once you’ve brushed hair (be prepared for tangles!) styles can take up to 15 minutes dependent on length etc so less is definitely more.

An area

You’ll probably be in a classroom or school hall so it’s just using what’s available to you.

You’ll need a bit of space for a queue and waiting parents.

We generally have a table for kit and 3 chairs for ‘clients’ with a bit of space between them.

Kit and products

Table cloth - usually from Poundland/ Wilkos to match the fair’s theme.

A few pots and plates to hold hairbands and products - again from the same shops.

Hairbrushes

Pintail combs for partings/ Wide tooth for curls

A water spray bottle - great for curls/ fine hair/ little kids

A variety of elastics - small for braids, bigger for thicker hair

Kirbi grips

I don’t tend to use loads of product on young kids’ hair but, depending on texture, it’s good to have on hand.

Just ask parents’ permission first/ check re allergies.

Hair gel - I use ECO Styler with Argan Oil

Detangler spray - I use got2b Oh My Nude

Options for shorter hair/ those that don’t want braid styles

Coloured or glitter hairspray is always really popular, especially in school or festive colours.

The volunteer that does this doesn’t need any braiding experience either (some artistic flair does help) - so that’s a bonus!

You will need some paper towels or a hairdresser’s cape to put on their shoulders to protect clothes and permission from parents (it’s not AS popular with them for some reason!)

We’ve found stripes/ half and half heads/ football team colours and creating a mohawk or spiky style first, then spraying is well-loved and once one person is brave enough to have a go, lots will follow.

Good to do near a window/ door to outside area for ventilation.

I tend to buy colours from Claire’s Accessories as they do a 3 for 2 and it’s great quality/ fun colours.

Or you can get some good deals if you find a wholesaler for Party Success hair colour sprays.

(NB: Not affiliated with any brands mentioned in this post - it’s just what I use.)

Pricing

I’ll leave that up to you as you know your parents and what they can afford/ are willing to pay.

As an example, we charge £2-£2.50 for a hairstyle (£5 for adults) and £1- £1.50 for a full head of spray … you can work that out depending on what you spend on your coloured spray.

It may not be the biggest earner at the fair, but it’s great fun, makes a good profit and it’ll definitely be the one the kids will be talking about! You never know, you might even start a tradition.

If you like this idea but don’t know how to braid YET - we can definitely help in a few ways. You could come to an in-person class, learn online with me, or if you’d like to raise funds for your school whilst learning a new skill, why not book Braid Maidens for a PTA Fundraiser.

Let me know how you get on, I’d love to hear.

Hope to teach you/ braid you soon,

Annis x

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Menu as created by the Year 6 Break Time Braiding Club who helped man the stall at our last school fair