Client Consultation Form Questions by Specialty: What to Ask Before Hair, Lashes, Nails, and Skin

Quick answer: A good consultation form collects client details, relevant history, allergies, and goals, then records consent with a name, date, and signature. Keep consultation questions separate from consent statements, and make photo consent its own choice. Add specialty questions for hair color, lashes, nails, skin, and brows below.

Updated October 2026. This is general information, not legal or medical advice. Requirements vary by state and service, so check your state board and your insurer.

A consultation is where a service starts well or goes wrong. The right questions catch a reaction, a past color mistake, or an unrealistic goal before the first product touches the client.

A good form turns that conversation into a record. Here is what to include, and what to add for each specialty.

Consultation, Consent, and Patch Test Records: What's the Difference?

These get mixed up, and it helps to keep them apart.

Document	What it does	Examples
Consultation form	Gathers information	Health history, allergies, lash or hair history, goals
Consent form	Records that the client understands and agrees	Risks acknowledged, aftercare acknowledged, agreement to proceed
Patch test record	Documents a test and its result	Date, product, result, client decision

Lash Lift Society notes that a combined form is the most efficient approach for working artists, as long as the client reads and signs it before the service. Glamorph's checklist adds a useful test: can the client tell consultation questions from consent statements?

Core Fields for Every Specialty

Start with the basics that nearly every published template includes:

• Full name, phone, and email
• Date of the appointment and the service
• Allergies and sensitivities
• Current medications and relevant medical conditions
• What the client wants, and any concerns
• Emergency contact, if you use one
• A consent statement, with name, date, and signature

Jotform's cosmetology template covers allergies, medications, and surgical history, and notes that a typical salon intake form includes contact details, medical history, allergies, service preferences, and emergency contact information.

Glamorph recommends collecting only the consultation details that are relevant to the service and recording the form's version, so you know which wording a client signed.

Hair Color Add-Ons

A color-specific form should go further than the basic intake, according to Glowforms' 2026 guide on color services. Ask:

• When was your last color service?
• What products have you used at home, including color-depositing masks?
• Have you used bleach or lightener, and roughly when?
• What is the current condition of your hair and scalp?
• Do you wear extensions, wigs, or protective styles?
• Have you ever reacted to color, lightener, toner, fragrance, or topical products?
• Was a patch test offered, completed, or declined? (Record the date.)
• What is your goal, and what have you disliked before?

A patch test consent form records the test and the client's decision, which protects the client and you. Keep a formula and result note on the client's profile.

Lash Add-Ons

Lash forms ask about the eye area, so be thorough. Published templates include:

• Have you had lash extensions or a lash lift before?
• Have you ever had redness, swelling, stinging, or irritation after a lash or eye treatment?
• Are you allergic to medical tape or adhesive? (Jotform calls out those two specifically)
• Do you have any eye conditions, or have you had recent eye surgery or infection?
• Do you wear contact lenses?
• What curl, length, and fullness do you want?
• Do you understand the aftercare and the fill schedule?
• Patch-test preference, if you offer one
• Signature lines for the client and technician

Nail Add-Ons

• Any known allergy to acrylic, gel, adhesives, or polish ingredients
• Any current nail or skin conditions, infections, or injuries
• Medications or conditions that affect healing
• Preferred shape, length, and style
• Prior reactions to nail products
• Whether you want natural nail care, extensions, or removal

Skin and Esthetics Add-Ons

PDFfiller's facial consultation template lists skin goals, skin challenges, products currently used, and health information such as illnesses and allergies. Add:

• Current skincare routine and products
• Skin type and main concerns
• Recent procedures, peels, or facials
• Medications that affect skin, including topical and prescription products
• Pregnancy or nursing status, if relevant to your services
• Sun exposure and recent tanning
• History of cold sores, eczema, or other skin conditions

Brow and PMU Add-Ons

Brow and permanent makeup services come with stricter requirements in many places, so check your state board and insurer. Common questions include:

• Medical conditions and medications
• Recent procedures or injections
• Skin conditions in the treatment area
• Prior brow or permanent makeup work
• Healing expectations and aftercare acknowledgment
• Whether a patch test or screening is required before booking

Photo Consent: Keep It Separate

If you take before-and-after photos, make photo consent its own choice. Glowforms and Glamorph both recommend keeping photo permission and marketing use separate from service consent, so a client can say yes to the service and no to being photographed.

A simple version:

I agree to have photos taken of my service. ☐ For my record only ☐ For use in the pro's portfolio and social media ☐ No photos

Minors and Guardians

If you serve minors, guardian consent requirements may vary by business and location, per Glowforms. Ask your state board and insurer what you need.

Copy-Paste Core Form

Here is a short combined form to adapt. Add the specialty questions above.

Client name: ____ Phone: ____ Email: ____ Service today: ____ Date: ____ Allergies or sensitivities: ____ Medications and relevant conditions: ____ What are you hoping for? ____ Anything you do not want? ____ Have you had a reaction to a product or service before? ☐ No ☐ Yes (describe) ____ I have answered these questions truthfully and understand the service, the risks, and the aftercare. Signature: ____ Date: ____ Form version: ____

Where to Keep the Information

Keep client history where you can find it before the next appointment: allergies, formulas, preferences, and notes. Primzy's Client CRM stores private notes, linked formulas, and photos on each client's profile, and your client list exports to CSV. Whatever you use, store consent records securely and only keep what you need.

Mistakes to Avoid

• Collecting too much. Ask only what is relevant to the service
• Mixing consent and questions, so clients cannot tell what they agreed to
• Skipping the patch test conversation where it applies
• Bundling photo consent into service consent
• Never updating the form. Review it each year, and when you add a service
• Losing the record, or keeping it somewhere you cannot find

How to Decide What to Add

If you do color: Add history, bleach timing, reactions, and a patch-test record.

If you do lashes: Add allergies to tape and adhesive, past reactions, eye conditions, and aftercare acknowledgment.

If you do skin: Add products, medications, recent procedures, and skin conditions.

If you take photos: Add a separate photo consent choice.

If you are unsure what your state or insurer requires: Ask your state board and your insurer before you finalize the form.

Sources

• Lash Lift Society, "Lash Lift Consultation Form: What to Ask Every Client"
• Glamorph, "Beauty Client Consent Forms: What to Include (Checklist)"
• Jotform, "Cosmetology Client Consultation Form Template" and Jotform, "Eyelash Extension Consent Form Template"
• Fun Forms, "Hair Color Patch Test Consent Form"
• PDFfiller, "Cosmetic Consultation Template"
• GlossGenius, "Free Template: Hair Consultation Form"
• Glowforms, "How to Create a Salon Consultation Form for Color Services" (2026)
• Your state board of cosmetology and your insurer: confirm requirements for your services