Boom of self-employment in beauty: masters leave salons

Self-Employment Boom: Beauty Professionals in Russia Are Massively Leaving Salons

Due to tax reforms and the benefits of self-employment, professionals are leaving legal salons, leading to the closure of comfort-class salons. Their incomes have skyrocketed, while the incomes of makeup artists and depilation specialists have fallen.

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How a tax imbalance is killing comfort-class salons — and what will happen to the beauty market in 90 days

The Essence: What Is Really Happening

On May 14–15, 2026, the president of the Association of Beauty Industry Enterprises, Lyalya Sadykova, gave a series of interviews in which she publicly voiced a diagnosis that the industry had been discussing behind closed doors for the past six months. Since January 1, 2026, a tax reform has been in effect in Russia: companies with an annual turnover of over 20 million rubles are required to pay VAT. Before this, the vast majority of salons operated under a simplified or patent system. Now, a legal salon pays up to 49% of a master's income to the state, including insurance premiums and VAT. A self-employed master pays 4%. The difference in tax burden is more than tenfold.

The result was immediate. In March 2026, the number of self-employed individuals in the beauty sector reached 543,000 — an 18% year-on-year increase. Their gross income grew by an average of 10% to $1,500 per month. Meanwhile, salons raised prices by 20–23.5%, but still lose clients who vote with their wallets for private masters whose services are 10–15% cheaper.

This is not market competition. It is a regulatory funnel pulling legal business into unprofitability.

Timeline and Context

The story did not start yesterday. Back in 2020, the pandemic triggered the first wave of masters leaving salons — people got a taste of working from home. In 2023–2024, the number of individual entrepreneurs in the beauty sphere grew steadily — about 900 new registrations annually in St. Petersburg alone. But the turning point came at the end of 2025, when the parameters of the tax reform became known. As early as November 2025, market participants warned that salons with an annual turnover of over $650,000 would be hit.

January 2026 — the reform took effect. February — first statistics: the number of appointments for cosmetic procedures fell by 8–9%. March — Yclients records a 35.4% increase in income for private barbers, 27% for nail technicians, and 18.6% for colorists. April — The Moscow Times reports that up to 20% of salons in large cities could close by the end of the year. May — Sadykova sounds the alarm: comfort-class salons could completely transition to "apartment salons" in two to three years.

At the same time, a counter-process is underway: in St. Petersburg in 2025, only four new beauty salons opened, while twenty closed. The Nail Sunny chain closed a location in St. Petersburg — its revenue was only enough to pay taxes.

Who Wins and Who Loses

Losers — right now:

— Comfort-class salons with an annual turnover of $250,000–800,000. They got hit with VAT but do not have premium prices to compensate for the burden. Their margins, already thin — about 8% even in well-managed projects — have turned negative.

— Mid-price chain projects: Tony and Guy, Nail Sunny. They cannot compete with private masters on price and are losing clients.

— The consumer — but in a non-obvious way. A private master does not bear responsibility for safety like a legal salon does. No receipts, no sterilization standards, no consumer protection mechanisms. The risk is shifted to the client.

Who wins:

— Experienced masters with an established client base. Barbers earning $1,800 per month, colorists earning $2,500 — they are reaping the benefits.

— Business- and premium-class salons. Their audience is less price-sensitive, and they retain clients, although visit frequency decreases.

— Manufacturers of professional cosmetics for home use. As masters transition to private practice, demand grows for products that can be used outside the salon.

What the Media Is Not Saying

Here is an insider perspective that I see from an industry standpoint.

The shift to self-employment masks a problem that will explode in 18–24 months: the disappearance of the professional training system. Comfort-class salons were the main customers of educational programs for novice masters. They hired graduates, trained them further, and provided a client base. A private master does not take on apprentices — they maximize personal income here and now.

The result: in two years, the industry will face a talent shortage. There will be no new colorists, no new nail technicians with quality training. Surviving premium salons will buy the same specialists from each other for ever-increasing sums. Premium service prices could rise by 30–40% — not due to greed, but due to supply shortage.

A second non-obvious point: the tax imbalance hits women twice. On one hand, women are the main consumers of beauty services, and they lose access to affordable legal service. On the other hand, women make up the vast majority of those employed in the industry. Moving to self-employment means no paid sick leave, maternity benefits, or pension contributions. This is a social time bomb.

A third point that is completely overlooked: this crisis mirrors what the British beauty industry experienced in 2023–2025. There, after Brexit and COVID lockdowns, there was also a mass exodus of masters into self-employment. The result: by 2026, the average bill for services in British salons rose by 25%, and 30% of salons in small towns closed permanently. Russia is on the same track, only faster.

Forecast: The Next 30 Days and 90 Days

30 days (until June 15, 2026):

— The Association of Beauty Industry Enterprises will hold a meeting with representatives of the Ministry of Finance. The key demand: to equalize tax conditions for salons and the self-employed. The likelihood of quick concessions is low — the state does not like to admit mistakes in tax policy five months after a reform.

— Another 2–3 chain brands will announce the closure of some locations in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Leaks are already appearing on social media.

— Large salons will start experimenting with a hybrid model: they transfer masters to self-employment while retaining the premises, brand, and client service. Essentially, turning into coworking spaces.

90 days (until August 15, 2026):

— The number of self-employed in the beauty sector will exceed 600,000. This will become a political problem: such a large group of voters removed from the social safety net cannot be ignored.

— The first high-profile court case will occur: a client will suffer from a procedure by a private master and file a lawsuit — but it will be impossible to recover damages because the master has no insurance and keeps no records. This will draw attention to the shadow sector.

— At least one regional governor will announce a pilot program to support legal salons — most likely through rent subsidies or a reduction in the regional portion of taxes.

The main takeaway for the industry: we are witnessing not temporary difficulties but a structural shift. The legal salon business as it has existed for the last 30 years is dying. In its place, three segments will emerge: premium full-service salons, coworking spaces for self-employed masters, and private home studios. The middle segment — comfort-class salons — will disappear as a class. This is not an apocalypse. It is a new anatomy of the market. And whoever first builds a business model for this new reality will reap the harvest while others complain about the tax reform.

— Editorial Team