# Mobile beauty salon and spa vans A ProVanWorks beauty van is a heated, insulated cargo van fitted out as a private treatment room for nails, eyelash extensions, hair styling, massage and similar services, for women and men. We build each van at our shop in Langley, BC, with a seating area for your client and a work area set up for your service. You bring the salon to the client instead of paying rent on a storefront. ## What services can a mobile beauty van be set up for? A ProVanWorks beauty van can be laid out for any service where the client sits or lies still while you work. The most common layouts are: - **Nails.** A manicure station facing the client's chair, and a pedicure station with water for soaking and rinsing. - **Eyelash extensions.** A reclining seat so the client can lie back with their eyes closed, with you seated at their head under good light. - **Hair styling.** A styling chair facing a mirror, and a shampoo bowl with hot water that drains to a grey water tank. - **Massage.** Floor space for a massage table with room to walk around it, in a warm, closed room. Tell us how your day runs and we plan the room around it. Every layout keeps a seating area for the client and a work area for you, with cabinets for products, towels and tools. We use top-quality products and materials in every build. ## What does each beauty van layout look like? These drawings show how ProVanWorks lays out the four most common beauty vans. Each one is a starting point: we move stations, seating and cabinets to suit how you work. Each layout puts the service room in the back half of the cargo area, with a seating area for customers or storage cabinets in the front half beside the side door. ### Nail salon van  A ProVanWorks nail van puts the manicure table under the brightest part of the ceiling, with the pedicure chair and footbath close to the water reservoir so the hot water line stays short. The warm floor matters most here, because pedicure clients sit with bare feet. ### Eyelash extension van  A ProVanWorks lash van is built around a reclining bed, with room for you to sit at the client's head and a lamp over the work. Most lash vans need no water, which leaves more space for seating and storage. ### Hair stylist van  A ProVanWorks hair van has a styling chair facing a mirror and a shampoo bowl fed with hot water, which drains to a grey water tank under the floor. The battery bank is sized for the dryers and hot tools you run, so tell us what you plug in. ### Massage and spa van  A ProVanWorks massage van keeps the middle of the room clear for the table, with space to walk all the way around it. The windows can be left out, or fitted with blinds, so the room stays private for the whole session. ## How does a beauty van keep clients warm in winter? A ProVanWorks beauty van keeps clients warm with insulation in the walls, roof and floor and heat that comes up through the floor and out of the walls. A small diesel, gas or electric heater under the seat warms pipes in the floor and walls, heat exchangers move the warm air around the room, and a thermostat holds the temperature you set. Warm floors matter most for pedicures, when the client has bare feet, and for massage, when the client lies still for an hour. In summer, the front fan runs the air conditioning, so the same van stays comfortable in July. The [cold-weather design](/mobile-grooming-vans/cold-weather-design/) page explains how the heating system works. ## What lighting does a mobile lash or nail van need? Lash and nail work needs bright, even light from above, so your hands and tools do not throw shadows on the work. In our grooming vans, ProVanWorks spaces ceiling lights about every 30 cm for the same reason, and a beauty van can use the same close spacing over the work area. Optional windows add daylight, which some clients and technicians prefer for judging colour. ## How is a mobile nail van ventilated? A ProVanWorks beauty van has two fans, one at the front of the cargo area and one at the back, so you can move air through the room while you work with polish, remover, acrylics and gels. Optional windows open for fresh air on mild days. Ask the makers of the products you use what ventilation they recommend, and tell us, so the layout puts your station where the airflow helps most. ## Does a mobile beauty van need water? A mobile beauty van needs water if you offer pedicures or hair washing, or want a sink for washing hands between clients. ProVanWorks fits a sink with running hot water, a fresh water reservoir and a separate grey water tank where the business needs them, and the hot water keeps working in winter because the plumbing sits inside the heated part of the van. A lash or massage van may not need water at all. The [water system](/mobile-grooming-vans/water-system/) page covers tanks and hot water in more detail. ## How private is a mobile spa van? A ProVanWorks spa van is a closed room with one client inside, which many clients find more private than a chair in a busy salon. Windows are optional. Leave them out for a fully closed room, or add opening windows and plan how you will cover them during a massage or a pedicure. ## What power does a mobile beauty van have? A ProVanWorks beauty van runs your lights, fans and equipment from an auxiliary battery bank that charges at Level 2 EV chargers. Send us a list of what you plug in, such as a nail drill, a UV or LED lamp or a heated massage table, so we can size the battery bank. Solar panels are an add-on and suit a van that parks at one spot all day. Read more about [power and EV charging](/mobile-grooming-vans/power-and-ev-charging/). ## Frequently asked questions ### Do I need a permit to run a mobile beauty business? Rules for personal services vary by province and region, so check with your local health authority about personal service establishment rules before you book clients. ### Can men book services in a mobile beauty van? Yes. A ProVanWorks beauty van is a treatment room, and the layout and finishes are up to you. Nails, lashes, hair styling and massage are services for women and men. ### How do I get a price for a beauty van? Email info@provanworks.com with the services you offer, how many clients you see in a day and whether you need water. We reply with a layout and a quote. See the other [custom mobile business vans](/custom-van-builds/) we build on the same platform.