Free tool
Google Business Profile categories for salons: the full list
Tick the services you offer and how you run the business, and the tool names a primary category and up to nine secondary categories with a one-line reason for each. Below it: every beauty-related category on Google’s list with its exact spelling, checked September 2026, and the rules for choosing.
How you run the business
Services you offer (tick all that apply)
This becomes the primary category. Pick the service that brings in the most money, not the one you like best.
Suggested categories
The name people type when they want a cut or color. Google’s own example says pick the specific category over the general one.
- Beauty salonThe umbrella term, added second so the profile matches “beauty salon near me” without giving up the specific primary.
- Nail salonManicures and pedicures both live under this name; the US list has no separate manicure category.
- Eyelash salonLash extensions and lifts. Add it only when a trained lash tech is on the books.
- Eyebrow barBrow shaping, tinting and lamination; threading has no category of its own, so it goes here.
- Waxing hair removal serviceThe waxing-specific category; more precise than “Hair removal service”.
- Facial spaFacials in a treatment room. Use this rather than “Skin care clinic” unless you do medical treatments.
- Esthetics serviceThe esthetician’s own category, worth adding next to “Facial spa” when a licensed esthetician does the work.
- Skin care cliniconly if it is trueOnly if you offer clinical skin treatments such as peels or acne programs under a licensed professional.
How to decide
- Primary = what you most want to be found for. It is the category Google weighs most and the one shown under your name.
- Specific beats general. “Nail salon” over “Salon”, “Hair salon” over “Beauty salon” — Google’s own help page gives the first example.
- One profile, one set of categories. A suite renter and the building are two businesses with two profiles; neither should copy the other’s list.
- Add nothing for a service you do not sell. An extra category never widens reach, and an inaccurate one is exactly the mismatch Google’s guidelines are written against.
Every beauty category on Google’s list
Spelled exactly as Google shows them in the English interface, checked against a September 2026 export of the United States list (4,044 categories). Copy the name and paste it into the category field of your profile.
If your profile’s interface is in another language, the same categories appear translated; the meaning and the order are the same.
| Category (exact spelling) | Who it is for | Copy |
|---|---|---|
Hair salon | Primary for any business whose main income is cuts and color. | |
Hairdresser | A second hair category on the US list; “Hair salon” is the usual choice. In the UK and Australia it is the name of the main hair category itself. | |
Stylist | A general styling category; vaguer than “Hair salon” and rarely the better choice. | |
Barber shop | Primary for a barber; secondary for a salon with a barber chair. | |
Hair extension technician | Primary for an extensions specialist; secondary when extensions are one service among many. | |
Loctician service | Loc installation and maintenance. Braiding has no category of its own, so braiders use this or “Hair salon”. | |
Hair replacement service | Hair systems and non-surgical replacement; not for a salon that sells a few pieces. | |
Wig shop | Retail wigs. Only if customers come in to buy wigs. |
| Category (exact spelling) | Who it is for | Copy |
|---|---|---|
Nail salon | Manicures, pedicures, gel, acrylics. Google’s own example of a specific category. | |
Eyelash salon | Lash extensions and lifts. Primary for a lash studio. | |
Eyebrow bar | Brow shaping, tinting, lamination. Threading goes here too. |
| Category (exact spelling) | Who it is for | Copy |
|---|---|---|
Waxing hair removal service | Waxing. The specific one; prefer it over the plain hair-removal name. | |
Hair removal service | The general one. Use it when you offer more than one method. | |
Laser hair removal service | Laser only, with the licensing that implies. | |
Electrolysis hair removal service | Electrolysis only. |
| Category (exact spelling) | Who it is for | Copy |
|---|---|---|
Beauty salon | The umbrella. Primary only when nothing dominates; secondary for any multi-service salon. | |
Facial spa | A facials business with treatment rooms. | |
Esthetics service | A working esthetician; often paired with “Facial spa”. | |
Skin care clinic | Clinical skin treatments under a licensed professional; reads as medical. | |
Beautician | An individual beauty professional. Vague; use a service category instead where one exists. | |
Day spa | Half-day bookings across several treatments with a place to rest between them. | |
Spa | The generic spa name; “Day spa” or “Facial spa” says more. | |
Medical spa | Injectables and laser under medical supervision. Not for a salon. | |
Tanning salon | Beds or spray tan; the one tanning category on the US list. |
| Category (exact spelling) | Who it is for | Copy |
|---|---|---|
Massage spa | Treatment rooms and several therapists. | |
Massage therapist | One licensed practitioner under their own name. | |
Foot massage parlor | Foot massage only. | |
Reflexologist | Reflexology as the main service. | |
Sports massage therapist | Sports and remedial massage. | |
Thai massage therapist | Thai massage as the main service. |
| Category (exact spelling) | Who it is for | Copy |
|---|---|---|
Make-up artist | Bookable makeup: bridal, events, lessons. | |
Permanent make-up clinic | Microblading, powder brows, lip blush — the permanent-makeup category. |
| Category (exact spelling) | Who it is for | Copy |
|---|---|---|
Beauty supply store | A shop customers visit to buy products. Not a salon with a retail shelf. | |
Cosmetics store | A cosmetics shop. Named “Cosmetics shop” on the UK and Australian lists. | |
Beauty product supplier | Trade supply to other businesses. | |
Hair extensions supplier | Sells hair, to stylists or the public. | |
Barber supply store | Barber tools and products retail. | |
Health and beauty shop | Mixed health and beauty retail. |
| Category (exact spelling) | Who it is for | Copy |
|---|---|---|
Beauty school | Training for a license. Called “Beauty therapy college” on the UK and Australian lists. | |
Barber school | Barber training. |
Not on the list — use the nearest name
- Blow-dry bar — there is no blow-dry category; use “Hair salon”.
- Braiding — no category; braiders use “Hair salon”, and loc specialists “Loctician service”.
- Threading — no category; “Eyebrow bar” for brows, “Hair removal service” for the face.
- Microblading — filed under “Permanent make-up clinic”.
- Spray tan — the same “Tanning salon” as beds.
- Salon suites — renting space is not a category; each renter runs their own profile.
- Head spa and scalp treatments — no category; stay with “Hair salon”.
Names change by country
The same category can carry a different name in another market: the US “Hair salon” is “Hairdresser” in the United Kingdom and Australia, “Cosmetics store” becomes “Cosmetics shop”, “Beauty school” becomes “Beauty therapy college”, and “Waxing hair removal service” gains a hyphen. Some categories exist in one country and not another. Search the field in your own profile; the meaning matters more than the spelling.
The suggestion is a fixed rule set that runs in your browser. Nothing you tick is sent or stored.
How the categories work
- The primary category is the one Google weighs most. It shows on your profile under the business name and shapes which searches you can appear in; the nine secondary slots widen that, they do not replace it.
- Specific beats general. Google’s own help page uses the example: instead of “Salon”, choose “Nail salon”. A hair business that picks “Beauty salon” as primary is competing for a vaguer search than the one its customers type.
- Every category must describe a service customers can book today. A shelf of shampoo does not make you a “Beauty supply store”; Google’s guidance says categories describe what the business is, not everything it sells or does.
- Names are checked against Google’s United States list from September 2026 and compared with the UK and Australian lists the same day. This is a fixed rule set running in your browser — not a prediction of where you will rank.
The category gets you found; the website is where the client checks prices and books. Naratake salon, barber, nail and spa starting points are free to build and preview with no card to sign up, and Storefront Pro adds appointment booking on the published site.
Browse the salon templatesCommon questions
What is the best Google Business Profile category for a hair salon?
“Hair salon” as the primary, for a business whose main income is cuts and color. Add “Beauty salon” as a secondary only if you also offer nails, skin or lashes. In the United Kingdom and Australia the same category appears as “Hairdresser”, so search for that name instead.
How many categories can I add to a Google Business Profile?
One primary and up to nine additional, ten in total. Most salons need three to five. Fill the slots with services you actually book, not with every name that sounds related — an unused category dilutes the profile rather than widening it.
Should a booth or suite renter use the salon’s categories?
No. A renter who runs a separate business at a shared address — own name, phone number and clients — can usually hold a separate profile under Google’s guidelines; read the part of the Business Profile guidelines on businesses that share an address before creating it. That profile’s categories describe the renter’s services: “Hair salon” or “Nail salon”, not the building. The suite operator’s own profile describes what the operator sells.
Why can’t I find a category that other salons have?
Category lists differ by country and by the language of your profile, and the list changes through the year. Search the exact name in the category field of your profile; if it is not offered in your country, take the nearest specific one from the table on this page — a general category beats an inaccurate one.