Last-Chance Apocalypse Shopping: Sally Beauty Supply

So, the apocalypse has happened, and it’s as bad as you feared. Crazy, wild-eyed people are running everywhere trying to grab anything and everything they can find to survive. They hit the grocery stores, drug stores, there’s no bottled water to be found in a 10-mile radius — but they don’t notice the little Sally Beauty Supply tucked away in an obscure strip mall. Hmm…..

One would think that a store like Sally Beauty has absolutely nothing worthwhile for a prepper, but in fact, it just might be a little gold mine.

A little backstory about beauty and survival

One of my favorite hair stylists of all time, Rich in Phoenix, was a prepper. Sometimes we chatted about disaster scenarios, an economic collapse, and the like, and Rich had a stash of stored food, a Berkey, and other preps he didn’t talk much about. Anyway, he once told me that if the S ever hit the fan, he was prepared to cut and color hair at his home. “Women will always want to look good, no matter what.”

This exact sentiment was mentioned by Selco of SHTF School. He described the desperate times he experienced during the war in Bosnia but agreed that women still cared about their looks, even in a time of war.

Maybe a last-chance shopping trip to Sally Beauty might not be so crazy, after all!

Last-Chance Apocalypse Shopping List

Here’s what I found at Sally Beauty that could be helpful during the apocalypse or some other societal meltdown. In large part, I focused on products that lend themselves to helping you survive by providing services and having desirable, in-demand items for barter.

Reading glasses

Scoop these up by the handful in all vision strengths. If you need reading glasses yourself, you know how frustrating it is to try and read without them. After the apocalypse begins, readers could be worth their weight in gold. Or chicken eggs. Or ibuprofen tablets, or any other item in barter that you might need. Wondering what barter is all about? Read this.

Hair clippers and trimmers

As long as you have access to YouTube, you can learn how to cut hair. Heck, line up the kids and grandkids and start learning today! It would be easy to set up an in-home hair styling or barber shop. Trust me. After the apocalypse, no one is going to be looking their best but a decent haircut will still be in demand, and if yours are less than decent? Well, hair grows back, right?

Hair rollers and hairpins

Just in case you’re dealing with power outages or an all-out power grid failure, having these on hand will allow you to style hair without any power at all. Grab some styling creams and gels for a longer-lasting curly style. Who knows? Maybe that old-fashioned hair-roller style might come back in vogue, post-apocalypse, and you’ll be in demand as The Stylist With Hair Rollers!!!

Nail polish, clear top coat, and polish remover

The country is full of very successful Vietnamese nail salons and owners who have become quite wealthy by providing a simple service that helps make millions of women of all ages feel pretty. With a variety of polish colors and the ability to provide manicures and pedicures, you not only have a way to earn extra money but you’ll have a supply of small, barter-ready items.

Heavy-duty floor mats

Beauticians are on their feet for long hours every day. These heavy-duty foam mats provide spongy comfort for their feet, legs, and backs. If you think about a post-apocalypse world in which you’ll be doing a lot of manual labor every day, one of these floor mats could be a huge blessing.

Towels

How many towels do you think the average salon goes through in one day? Dozens and dozens, for sure. These towels cost a little over a dollar each at Sally Beauty and bundles of them would have multiple uses. You really can’t have too many towels.

Gloves

When you think about the chemicals hair stylists come in contact with, it’s no wonder that Sally Beauty carries nitrile, vinyl, and latex gloves in various sizes. Grab as many boxes of these as you can for sanitation purposes if nothing else. Read my article on cleaning up biological messes if you doubt me.

Capes

When I think of a societal collapse, the first thing that comes to mind is “hard times.” Perhaps we’ll be living without any electricity and those handy appliances that make life so much easier. We may be cooking over campfires and doing loads of laundry by hand. Why not wear a beautician’s cape in place of an apron to help keep clothes clean and reduce the amount of clothes washing — a back-breaking chore no matter how it’s done. These caps could also be handy for protection when dealing with sanitation chores or even sick or diseased people. Add a face mask and gloves, and you’ll be as protected as any ER doctor could be.

Barbicide liquid and/or wipes

Barbicide is a hospital grade disinfectant, and if there’s anything you can’t get too much of, it’s going to be disinfectant. Disinfect everything you touch in order to decrease the chances of spreading disease.

Shampoo

Buy this in the biggest containers possible and in all varieties — shampoo for color treated hair, shampoo for oily/dry/etc. In a pinch, this could be used as a multi-purpose liquid soap or poured into smaller containers for sale or barter. It will also come in handy when you open your in-home hair salon! PRO-TIP: One part shampoo to two parts water will help your shampoo supply last longer and still provide a nice clean head of hair.

Shears of all sizes and types

Everyone needs a good pair of scissors and hair-cutting shears are of high quality. Stylists spend a lot of money on their shears, and it would be smart to pick up at least 2 or 3 pairs for cutting hair, keeping in a medical kit, and just having on hand a handy, multi-purpose tool.

Tweezers

Some of the better medical kits contain good-quality tweezers but most often, they don’t. Tweezers have so many uses you can’t go wrong by picking up a few pairs. They do lose their tweeziness after a while, so you’ll be glad you have a few backup pairs.

Girly things

Sally Beauty carries a nice variety of things like false eyelashes, earrings, facial masks, lipsticks, combs, and other little things to help us look pretty. In a world that is suddenly dangerous, confusing, and scary, these will bring cheer and a smile, whether you give them away as gifts, sell them, or have them on hand for barter. They’re kind of like comfort food for the soul.

A Last-Chance Apolcaypse Shopping spree at Sally Beauty might not be the craziest thing you ever do! There’s a lot more to these little stores than meets the eye.

Coming next: Harbor Freight

Don’t miss the other stores in my series:

• Walgreens
• Tractor Supply
• Harbor Freight
• Whole Foods
• National Parks & Historic Sites
• Dollar Store
• Hobby Lobby
• JoAnn Fabrics