A hair salon promo video has one job: make someone nearby book a chair this week. The part that books them is real work on real hair, filmed in your salon: the colour melt catching the light, the blow-dry finish, the client's own reaction. Generate that and you are advertising a stylist who does not exist. AI is useful for everything around the work: the salon at golden hour before opening, the retail shelf, the product being worked through the lengths, the end card with the offer and how to book. On 8frame, that is the clip maker's Beauty preset with photos of your own salon and a stylist who agreed to appear, plus your phone footage of real results joined on the Video Editor timeline.
TL;DR
- Real results, generated atmosphere. Every finished cut, colour or style in the video must be work your salon did. Generated hair transformations are fiction.
- No invented reviews. The FTC's rule on consumer reviews and testimonials, announced 2024-08-14, covers reviews and testimonials by "someone who does not exist, such as AI-generated fake reviews, or who did not have actual experience with the business".
- On 8frame: the Beauty preset ("Close-ups, soft light, skin and texture") opens at 3 scenes, 10 seconds, 9:16. Slots: Person (3 photos), Product (2), Place (1), Style (1).
- Fixed prices on the board: Kling v3 Standard 86 credits for 5 s with sound, Veo 3.1 Lite 54 for 8 s with sound, Happy Horse 95 for 5 s at 720p.
- Google Business Profile takes videos up to 30 seconds and 75 MB at 720p or higher: post the best 30 seconds there first.
Why salons need a different split from product brands
A skincare brand can generate most of its content because the product is the jar. A salon's product is a service performed on a specific person by a specific stylist. That changes what is honest to generate:
- The result is the proof. A client choosing between two salons compares your balayage with theirs. If the hair in your video was drawn by a model, the comparison is meaningless, and the client who books for it will notice in the mirror.
- The stylist is the brand. People book Anna, not "the salon". Putting a generated stylist in your ads replaces the reason they came.
- The client is a person with rights. Filming a client's hair means filming the client. You need their permission to post, and separate, explicit permission before their face or photos go into any AI tool.
So the planning rule is: real hair, real stylists, real clients with consent; generated room, light, products and transitions.
A 20-second structure that books
- Mood (3 s, generated): the empty salon at golden hour, light across the chairs and mirrors.
- The work (6 to 8 s, real): hands sectioning, foils going in, the blow-dry, filmed on your phone.
- The result (4 to 6 s, real): the client turning in the chair, the colour in daylight by the window. Same light every time you film results.
- Product beat (2 s, generated or real): the oil or mask you used, on the retail shelf.
- Offer card (3 s): service, price, "book in bio" or your booking link, added as text in the editor.
That is a promo you can remake every week by swapping step 2 and 3 for the latest client who agreed to be filmed. Steps 1, 4 and 5 can stay the same for a month.
Consent and reviews
This is general information, not legal advice.
Consent. Ask every client before you film, and get a short written yes that covers social media and ads. Ask separately if you want to use their photos as references in an AI tool, because that is a different use. If a client says no to their face, film the back of the head and the hands only; most colour work reads perfectly from behind.
Reviews and testimonials. The FTC's final rule banning fake reviews and testimonials (press release dated 2024-08-14) addresses reviews and testimonials that misrepresent that they are by "someone who does not exist, such as AI-generated fake reviews, or who did not have actual experience with the business". A generated client saying "best colour I've ever had" in your promo is exactly that, as is a caption that presents a generated before-and-after as a client's. Real quotes from real clients, with their permission, are fine. If you want a voice in the video, use your own or a team member's, or an AI voiceover that reads your own offer, not a fake customer's opinion.
The generated half: the Beauty preset
1. Photograph the salon and the stylist
- Person (three recommended): a stylist who agreed to appear, front, three-quarter and profile, in even light. This is for the mood and product beats (a stylist working product through the lengths), not for the result.
- Product (two recommended): the products you use and sell, label readable, plain background. The salon's own retail line or the brand you stock.
- Place (one): your salon interior, wide, tidy, in its best light. This is what keeps the generated shots looking like your salon and not a stock one.
- Style (one): a frame from your best past post or a reference that matches your brand's colour.
2. Write one idea and edit the script
Open the Beauty preset. Its question is "Which product are we shooting?"; for a salon, name the treatment and the product together, for example "our gloss treatment with the bond oil". Describe one moment: "the stylist from the photos works a few drops of oil through dark, wavy hair in the salon at golden hour, close framing, soft light". The clip maker drafts a script by scene. Delete any line that shows a dramatic hair transformation, a colour change, or a client's reaction. Keep the scenes about the space, the product and the gesture.
3. Render and check
The render button shows the credit price before you press it. The clip maker renders the scenes as one video. Check the stylist's face for drift across scenes, the product labels against your photos and the salon against your Place photo. Re-shoot what drifted; a failed scene can be retried alone, and failed generations are refunded automatically.
4. Assemble on the Video Editor timeline
Put your generated mood shot first, your real work and results in the middle and the offer card last. Add captions from a pasted script (there is no transcription). Leave filter presets off the result clips: a Warm filter on a cool blonde changes the colour you are selling. Join clips with sound on the timeline; the Montage node (10 credits) joins picture only and its file has no audio track. For a voiceover, ElevenLabs text to speech costs 13 credits per started 1,000 characters.
Prompts for the generated shots
Prompt:
The empty hair salon from the reference photo at golden hour before opening, warm low sun through the front window sliding across the styling chairs and mirrors, slow dolly along the row of chairs, calm and clean, no people, no text
Prompt:
The stylist from the reference photos works a few drops of hair oil through long dark wavy hair at a styling station, seen from behind the client, close framing on the hands and lengths, soft window light, the oil bottle from the product photos on the counter with its label unchanged
Prompt:
The two hair products from the reference photos stand on a glass retail shelf in the salon, a hand takes one and turns it to show the label, shallow depth of field, salon softly blurred behind, labels readable and unchanged
Prompt:
A row of clean towels being folded and stacked at the salon basin area, morning light, slow push in, neutral warm grade, no faces in frame
None of these shows a finished hairstyle as a result. That is on purpose.
Which model for which shot
Fixed prices per clip on the 8frame board, in credits:
| Model on the board | Credits | Good for | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Veo 3.1 Lite | 54 for 8 s with sound | The empty salon mood shot from text or your Place photo | 720p; 16:9 or 9:16 only; from an image it is locked to 8 s |
| Kling v3 Standard | 86 for 5 s with sound, 57 silent | Animating a product photo or a shelf | Needs a start image; 720p |
| Happy Horse | 95 for 5 s at 720p | Keeping the same stylist across shots with 1 to 9 character references | Check the face every take |
| Seedance 2.5 | 157 for 5 s at 720p | The product-in-hand beat on the same model family the clip maker calls | Tops out at 720p |
| Kling 2.6 Pro | 95 for 5 s with sound, 47 silent | A text-only atmosphere shot at 1080p | Sound is a toggle |
No video model on 8frame outputs 4K, and there is no video upscaler, so film your real results on the phone's best setting. Hair detail (individual strands, curl pattern) is something models invent rather than copy; that is another reason to keep results real.
Where to post
- Google Business Profile: up to 30 seconds, up to 75 MB, 720p or higher. Google's guidance says "the image should represent reality", which suits real results.
- Instagram Reels ads: 9:16 at 1440 x 2560 in Meta's ads guide, with 14% at the top, 35% at the bottom and 6% on each side kept clear of text and logos. Put the price and booking line in the middle band. See Instagram Reels ad specs.
- Local reach in general: AI video for local businesses covers formats beyond the promo.
Rather have the clips made for you?
If you run a salon and would rather spend your time behind the chair, the 8frame team can make the generated shots for you: 10 clips in 5 business days for $490, with one round of changes, made in the same Beauty preset this guide uses. Send photos of your salon, products and a stylist who agreed to appear, plus a short brief, on the done-for-you beauty clips page. To make them yourself instead, open the Beauty preset in the clip maker and follow the steps above.
FAQ
Can I use AI to show hairstyles in my salon's ads?
Not as your results. A generated hairstyle is not work your salon did, and showing it as yours misleads the client who books for it. Use AI for the salon atmosphere, the products and transitions, and film real results with the client's permission.
Can I use AI-generated reviews or testimonials?
No. The FTC's rule on consumer reviews and testimonials covers reviews and testimonials by someone who does not exist, such as AI-generated fake reviews, or by someone with no actual experience of the business. Use real client quotes with their permission.
What should a salon promo video include?
A short mood shot, real footage of the work, the real result in consistent light, a product beat and an end card with the offer and booking route. 15 to 30 seconds covers it; Google Business Profile accepts up to 30 seconds.
Do I need the client's permission to post their hair?
Yes, ask before you film and get a written yes that covers social media and ads. Ask separately before using their photos in any AI tool. If they decline showing their face, film from behind.
What does a salon promo cost on 8frame?
The clip maker shows its price on the render button before you render. Single shots on the board have fixed prices, such as Veo 3.1 Lite at 54 credits for 8 seconds with sound and Kling v3 Standard at 86 for 5 seconds with sound. Plans start at $19 a month for 1,000 credits; Creator is $49 for 3,000.
Sources
- FTC press release, Federal Trade Commission Announces Final Rule Banning Fake Reviews and Testimonials (2024-08-14; reviews and testimonials by someone who does not exist, such as AI-generated fake reviews, or who did not have actual experience), checked 2026-11-04
- Google Business Profile Help, photo and video guidelines (video up to 30 seconds, 75 MB, 720p or higher; "the image should represent reality"), checked 2026-11-04
- Meta ads guide, Instagram Reels video (9:16, 1440 x 2560, safe zones 14% top, 35% bottom, 6% sides), checked 2026-11-04
- 8frame prices, presets, defaults and limits: the 8frame app, checked 2026-11-04
Try it without signing up: the 8frame canvas opens on a real board. The canvas is free and unlimited; generation is paid from $19/month.