Gents vs Ladies Salon Licence in Dubai: Why the Split Is Real, Where It Actually Comes From & What Nobody Verifies (2026)

Dubai does license gents and ladies salons separately, and one premises generally cannot serve both. That part is true, and every guide says it. What almost nobody says is that the rules quoted to justify the split, frosted glass, a separate entrance for each gender, restricted signage, staff who must match the gender of the clients, are not written in the document everyone cites for them.

We downloaded and read the current version of that document. Dubai Municipality's Technical Guidelines for Compliance of Salons, Barbershops and Beauty Centers, DM-HSD-GU77-SBBCG2, is now V5, issued 26 March 2026, superseding the V4 of 9 January 2025 that competing articles still quote [2]. Its scope covers "salons, barbershops, beauty centers, women's and men's salons, children's salons" as one standard, so the Municipality's requirements are identical regardless of gender. And across 28 pages there is no clause about separate entrances, window glazing, signage restrictions or staff gender at all.

So the split is real, but it lives elsewhere: in DET's activity classification, where you apply for one activity and get one, and in the premises approval, where the Municipality signs off your internal plan before you open [2]. This guide covers what is codified and what is convention, what GU77 requires identically for both, whether a unisex salon is possible, the health-authority boundary neither licence crosses, and what genuinely differs in cost and economics. Since 2013, our team has set up salons, beauty centres and clinics across the UAE, so the traps come from real files. This is a guide, not legal or tax advice. For the general setup path, read our salon and beauty business setup guide.

Are gents and ladies salons really licensed separately in Dubai?

Yes. Dubai Economy and Tourism treats Gents Salon and Ladies Salon as two distinct licensed activities, and a premises operating on one cannot lawfully serve the other gender. That holds across every consultancy source and every operator we have licensed.

The complication is the numbering. The codes 930201 for Gents Salon and 930203 for Ladies Salon are repeated across dozens of business-setup sites, our own earlier guides included. We tried to confirm them on a DET-owned page and could not: both the DET e-services portal and the Invest in Dubai activity search were unreachable. Treat those codes as commonly reported and unverified, and confirm the activity on the Invest in Dubai search or your DET initial approval before you pay for a trade name, a tenancy or a fit-out drawing.

The gender decision is made at initial approval, before anything else is spent, and it sets your fit-out, staff, marketing and customer base for the life of the licence. Because a salon serves the walk-in Dubai public, this is a mainland business, and our mainland company setup page covers the DET route.

Common Mistake: Signing a tenancy and starting a fit-out before the activity is confirmed on initial approval. Founders who assume they can "add the other gender later" discover it is a second activity on a second premises, not an amendment. The lease is already signed by then.

Where does the segregation rule actually come from?

Not from where you think. Two published instruments get pointed at, and neither contains a gender-segregation clause.

The first is Local Order No. 11 of 2003 concerning public health, retrieved in full from Dubai's official legislation portal [1]. It puts beauty salons under Municipality supervision: Article 26 and Schedule 2 list them among the public-health establishments requiring inspection, and Article 27 imposes the duty to comply with health, technical and regulatory requirements [1]. It is the legal foundation for salon regulation in Dubai, and it is a general public-health statute with no gender provision anywhere in it.

The second is GU77, and this is the original finding. The current V5 of 26 March 2026 covers men's salons, women's salons, barbershops, beauty centres and children's salons under one scope with one set of requirements [2]. There is no clause on separate entrances, none on frosted or covered glazing, none on signage, and none requiring staff to match the gender of clients. The Municipality's own technical standard is gender-neutral.

So where is it enforced? In two places. First in DET's activity classification, because you apply for one activity and receive one. Second in the premises approval, because GU77 requires a "No objection certificate for practising health and safety activities for the approved internal plan of the institution issued by Dubai Municipality Health and Safety Department" before opening, and any layout change requires fresh approval [2]. The frosted-glass, separate-entrance and staff-gender expectations are best understood as convention enforced case by case through that plan approval and through inspection, not as a clause you can quote.

Real Talk: Do not ignore the convention. Privacy screening on a ladies salon shopfront is expected, and a plan submitted without it may well come back. But it is settled at plan-approval stage with the Municipality, not by quoting a regulation that does not say it. Ask the Health and Safety Department what your plan needs, in writing, and build to that answer.

The same pattern runs through the Municipality's other salon standards: Spa and Massage Centers Compliance (Ladies and Gents), DM-HSD-GU19 V4, 2024 [3]; Home Salon Service Providers Compliance (Men's, Women's, and Children's Services), DM-HSD-GU95 V2, January 2025; and the voluntary Ideal Salon Technical Guidelines DM-HSD-GU75 V4, July 2025, which again covers men's, women's and children's salons together with no segregation clauses [4]. The Municipality names both genders in one standard, then regulates them identically.

What does Dubai Municipality's guideline actually require?

The same things, from both of you. Because GU77 V5 is one document with one scope, a barbershop in Al Quoz and a ladies salon in Jumeirah face identical documents, sterilisation rules, staff certification and fire compliance [2], and no published source shows a different inspection regime by gender. These are the requirements verified directly in the V5 text [2]:

Two of those catch people out. The sterilisation split is method-specific, so a single UV cabinet does not cover a salon that also does nails [2]. And the waste and pest-control contracts must be with Municipality-approved companies, which is not the same as having a contract: operators who signed a cheaper unapproved contractor have failed inspection on that line alone.

Now the counterweight. A set of numeric premises specifications appears in almost every competing article, including older material on this site. We searched both GU77 V5 and GU75 V4 in full and did not find any of them [2][4].

That does not make the numbers wrong. They may sit in a design annexe or an Arabic-only circular we could not retrieve. Treat them as planning guidance rather than quotable rules, and confirm the binding version with the Health and Safety Department before your drawings are final.

Can you run a unisex or family salon in Dubai?

In effect, only by running two segregated salons inside one footprint. Sources agree a mixed or family concept is possible where the Municipality and DET approve separate zones, separate entrances and separate staff by gender. That is not permission to merge, it is permission to co-locate: there is no approved route to one open room where a male barber and a female stylist work side by side. We also looked for a dedicated "Unisex Salon" activity and found no DET-confirmed code, so anyone offering one should be asked to show it on the Invest in Dubai search before you pay a deposit.

Quick Math: Price the unisex idea before you fall in love with it. Two divided sides means roughly double the fit-out area, two reception points, two waiting areas, two sterilisation setups and two rosters, against one lease and one manager. The saving is the rent line. The cost is everything else, doubled. For most first-time operators, one focused salon beats a split footprint, and the second licence is a year-two decision.

What actually differs between a gents and a ladies salon?

Not the health rules, and not the regulator. What differs is the shape of the business: the menu, the room count, the fit-out spend, the ticket value and the speed of the chair.

The privacy line deserves precision. A ladies salon is expected to be visually private from the street, and most are, so that expectation will shape your shopfront. It is simply not a clause in GU77 V5 [2], so plan it as a design requirement agreed on your internal plan.

Based on our experience, the operators who get this right treat plan approval as a conversation, not a formality. They submit early, ask the Health and Safety Department what the shopfront, layout and room division need to look like for their unit, and get the answer before the joinery is ordered. The ones who suffer build to a blog post, then rebuild to an inspector.

What can neither licence do: the DHA boundary

Neither licence lets you perform cosmetic-medical procedures. This is the most expensive line to cross, it applies identically to both genders, and GU77 V5 states it directly. Its General Requirements section instructs operators: "You must refer to the Dubai Health Authority when providing non-surgical cosmetic services to obtain the necessary approvals and permits", and separately requires "Not providing unauthorized medical services in beauty centers, salons, and barbershops" [2].

On the other side of that line sits the DHA's Standards for Non-Surgical Cosmetic Procedures, V2.1 of March 2025, governing botulinum toxin, dermal fillers, laser hair removal and chemical peels [5]. Those need a separate DHA clinical facility licence, a licensed medical director and DHA-registered practitioners, which a Municipality and DET beauty licence of either gender does not reach.

This is where salons quietly become unlicensed clinics. A supplier sells a device, a therapist has a certificate from somewhere, and a service appears on the menu that belongs in a DHA facility. If your plan includes any of it, you are opening a clinic alongside a salon: our aesthetic clinic setup guide covers that route, and DHA vs MOHAP clinic licensing covers which authority you would sit under.

Pro Tip: Get your menu confirmed in writing before you print it or advertise it. The grey items are the same in both a gents and a ladies salon: anything device-based, anything that breaks the skin, anything injected. Ask the Municipality for the beauty side and DHA for anything clinical, and keep the written answer with your licence file. Talk to a setup expert→

How does premises and layout approval actually work?

Through the internal plan, and it is the step that quietly decides everything else. Your drawing shows the activity, the entrance arrangement, the shopfront, treatment room divisions, wash points, the sterilisation area, product storage and waste handling, and the approving officer reviews it against the activity you applied for [2]. A ladies salon plan showing an open shopfront, or a mixed concept without a real division, is where the conversation happens.

Sequence therefore matters. Confirm the activity, take the unit, draw the plan, submit for the NOC, fit out, then Civil Defence, then final inspection. Founders who fit out first for a landlord's rent-free period end up rebuilding, and the rebuild costs more than the rent they saved.

What do staff need, and does gender come into it?

Occupational health cards for everyone, the qualifications your services require, and the practical expectation that your team matches your clients. GU77 V5 requires a valid professional health certificate for every service provider and an updated employee list on file [2], and neither requirement is gendered in the text.

The staff-gender expectation is the same kind of thing as the frosted glass: universally observed, and not written in the Municipality's guideline [2]. In practice a ladies salon employs female staff and a gents salon male staff, and that is what plan approval and inspection expect to see. Hire on that basis, and treat any claim of a written rule with the caution you give the activity codes.

Skill mix is where the two part company. A barbershop runs on cutting and beard specialists, so one discipline covers most of the revenue and cross-cover is easy. A ladies salon needs hair, colour, nails and skin covered separately, meaning more heads and a harder rota. That is one of the honest reasons ladies salons cost more to run.

Renewals are the part nobody budgets for: health cards expire, the employee list must stay current, Civil Defence and waste contracts renew, and the licence and Ejari come round annually. That running work is what our post-setup services exist to carry.

What does each one cost to set up?

Build it from line items, and accept that no official DET fee schedule is published, which is why every source quotes a wide band. A 2026 picture in AED, with a confidence flag on every row.

The ladies premium deserves a straight answer rather than an invented number. Every source agrees a ladies salon costs more to fit out and to run. No source isolates the gap numerically, so we will not. The reasons are structural: more treatment rooms instead of an open chair line, more service categories each needing their own station, higher-specification finishes, and a larger specialised team. Quote those four items for your own unit and the premium becomes a real figure rather than a guess.

Quick Math: Compare the two on the lines you can verify. Licence and activity at AED 10,000 to 25,000, Municipality approvals at AED 2,000 to 8,000, and health cards at AED 700 to 1,000 for four staff. That is roughly AED 15,000 to 37,000 of regulatory cost before rent, fit-out and stock, and it is the same for both genders. Everything that makes a ladies salon more expensive sits in fit-out, rooms and headcount, not the licence.

Can one company hold both a gents and a ladies licence?

Yes, and that is the standard route to serving both markets. A single company can hold both activities, operating them as two branches on two premises, each with its own tenancy, internal plan approval, Civil Defence sign-off and staff. There is no published cost premium or discount for holding both, so budget two of everything premises-related and one of everything company-related.

Ownership is not a barrier either way. 100% foreign ownership has been available for mainland DET professional and commercial licences since the 2020 and 2021 reforms, with no salon-specific carve-out found. The gender of the salon does not affect who can own it, and the mainland company setup route is the same for both.

Common Mistake: Opening the second gender as an afterthought in the same unit, behind a partition that was not on the approved plan. The layout change needs re-approval [2], and the activity is not on your licence. It is the fastest way to turn a working salon into a closed one.

How is a salon taxed, and why does free zone not work?

Ordinary mainland treatment, and the free-zone route fails twice. On corporate tax, a salon pays 0% on taxable income up to AED 375,000 and 9% above. Small Business Relief treats revenue at or below AED 3 million as producing no taxable income, but only for tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2029 [7], so plan for it to fall away.

On VAT, beauty and grooming services are standard-rated at 5%, with mandatory registration once taxable supplies pass AED 375,000, and no exemption for either gender because these are not medically necessary treatments. That is the DHA boundary seen from the tax side: if a service would qualify as healthcare, it belongs in a licensed clinic, not on a salon menu [5].

Free zone survives contact with neither the licensing nor the tax rules. On tax, Ministerial Decision No. 229 of 2025 makes transactions with natural persons an Excluded Activity for the free-zone regime [6], and a salon's customer base is individual people, so the 0% rate is unavailable. On licensing, a salon serving the walk-in Dubai public needs mainland licensing anyway, and Municipality approval attaches to a mainland premises. Our free zone company setup page explains what the zones are genuinely good for, which is a great deal, just not a public-facing salon.

Founders who incorporate in a zone first pay for a restructure that dwarfs the saving, which is why the free zone company setup comparison belongs before the licence is issued. Corporate tax filing, VAT returns and renewals then run for the life of the business, and our post-setup services cover that cycle.

Is a gents or a ladies salon more profitable?

Both can work, and anyone who tells you which wins is guessing. No published benchmark exists for Dubai chair utilisation, gents versus ladies average ticket, staff cost as a share of revenue, or rent as a share of revenue, and we will not invent them. What we can give you is the context and the mechanism.

The context is good. The UAE beauty and personal care market was USD 3.29 billion in 2025, is forecast at USD 3.49 billion in 2026 and projected to reach USD 4.68 billion by 2031 at 6.05% compound annual growth, with premium beauty up around 12% in retail value in 2025 [8]. Men's grooming is a real growth segment, with men-exclusive venues emerging as a category.

One number deserves a warning. A figure of 3,592 registered salons in Dubai, split as 1,859 men's and 1,634 hairdressers, is quoted as though it were current. It traces to 2017 with no clear reprintable source. There is no current published count of Dubai salons, so do not build a market-share argument on it.

The mechanism is the same in both: chair utilisation is the metric that decides the business. Rent, fit-out amortisation and base salaries are fixed the day you open, and revenue is a function of how many hours each chair or room is producing. A barbershop reaches break-even through volume at a lower ticket, which makes location and footfall decisive. A ladies salon reaches it through fewer clients at a higher ticket over longer bookings, which makes retention and service mix decisive. They fail differently: an empty barbershop fails on traffic, an empty ladies salon fails on repeat business.

Real Talk: The gender question is not the profitability question. We have seen a small gents unit in a residential cluster out-earn a beautifully finished ladies salon on a prime road, and the reverse, in the same year. What separated them was utilisation, pricing discipline and whether clients came back, not the activity on the licence. Against other local-demand models, our gym and fitness business and cleaning company guides make useful comparisons.

Can you open a corporate bank account for a salon?

Yes, and the licence gender is irrelevant to the bank. A mainland company with a salon activity, a tenancy, an Ejari and Municipality approvals is a bankable business, and onboarding follows the standard UAE pattern: know-your-customer checks, an in-person meeting, licence and tenancy in hand, and a maintained minimum balance. What matters more is the payment setup: a merchant facility, a terminal at reception and clean reconciliation between booking system and bank statement decide whether your accounts are usable.

Real Client Stories

The frosted-glass argument that had no clause. A client's fit-out contractor and his landlord disagreed about the shopfront treatment on a ladies salon, and both insisted they were quoting the regulation. Neither could produce it, because it is not in the Municipality's guideline [2]. We submitted the internal plan and asked the Health and Safety Department what the unit required. The answer took days and the joinery was ordered once.

The barbershop that wanted to add a ladies side. An operator with a successful gents unit wanted to partition the back half for female clients. It was a second activity on a second premises: the layout change alone needed fresh approval [2] and the activity was not on his licence. We structured it as a second branch on a nearby unit, which took longer than he wanted and cost far less than a closure order.

The salon that had become a clinic. A ladies salon added an injectable service after a supplier assured the owner it was a beauty treatment. It sits on the Dubai Health Authority side of the line, requiring a clinical facility licence and registered practitioners [5], and GU77 V5 prohibits unauthorised medical services in a salon [2]. We removed it and had the remaining scope confirmed in writing before the next inspection.

Set up your Dubai salon on the right activity

The gender split is real and worth planning around properly. What is not real is the confident regulatory language wrapped around it. The public-health statute everyone should cite says nothing about gender [1], and the Municipality's current guideline covers men's, women's and children's salons under one identical standard with no clause on entrances, glazing, signage or staff gender [2]. The split lives in DET's activity classification and in the internal-plan approval, and that is where your questions belong.

Since 2013, BusinessDubai.ae has completed 700+ company registrations across the UAE, including salons, barbershops and beauty centres of both kinds. We will confirm the correct DET activity before you commit to a unit, structure the mainland company, take the internal plan and health and safety NOC through Dubai Municipality, keep your menu on the right side of the DHA boundary, and set the tax position correctly from day one. If your model is not a fixed shopfront, our mobile and at-home beauty guide covers the separate permit that route needs. Talk to a setup expert→

Frequently Asked Questions

Are gents and ladies salons licensed separately in Dubai?

Yes. DET treats Gents Salon and Ladies Salon as separate licensed activities, and one premises generally cannot serve both genders. The decision is made at initial approval and shapes your fit-out, staff and market for the life of the licence.

What are the activity codes for gents and ladies salons in Dubai?

They are commonly reported as 930201 for Gents Salon and 930203 for Ladies Salon, but neither could be confirmed on a DET-owned page because the DET portal and Invest in Dubai activity search were unreachable. Treat both as unverified.

Which law requires gender segregation in Dubai salons?

No published law we could find states it. Local Order No. 11 of 2003 puts beauty salons under Municipality health supervision through Article 26, Schedule 2 and Article 27, but contains no gender provision [1]. The split is enforced through activity classification and premises approval.

Does Dubai Municipality require frosted glass on a ladies salon?

Not in its published technical guideline. We read GU77 V5, issued 26 March 2026, in full and found no clause on window glazing, frosting or covering [2]. Visual privacy is a convention settled during internal-plan approval, so ask the Health and Safety Department.

Do gents and ladies salons need separate entrances?

There is no separate-entrance clause in GU77 V5 [2]. Separate entrances are consistently described as a condition for mixed or family concepts, and are handled through the approved internal plan rather than a published rule. Confirm the requirement for your layout early.

What is DM-HSD-GU77 and why does it matter?

It is Dubai Municipality's Technical Guidelines for Compliance of Salons, Barbershops and Beauty Centers, now V5 issued 26 March 2026, superseding the V4 most articles still cite [2]. It sets the documents, sterilisation, staff certification and fire requirements every Dubai salon must meet.

Are the health and safety rules stricter for ladies salons?

No. GU77 V5 covers salons, barbershops, beauty centres, women's, men's and children's salons under one scope with one set of requirements [2], and no published source shows a different inspection regime by gender. The differences are commercial, not regulatory.

What documents does Dubai Municipality require before a salon opens?

A No Objection Certificate for practising health and safety activities against your approved internal plan, an updated employee list, a valid professional health certificate for every service provider, a lift safety certificate where applicable, and a Dubai Civil Defence fire compliance certificate [2].

What sterilisation equipment does a Dubai salon need?

GU77 V5 specifies method by tool type: UV sterilisation for hair, eyebrow and eyelash tools, and thermal or dry-heat sterilisation for metal nail tools [2]. A single UV cabinet does not cover a salon that also offers nail services.

Can I run a unisex or family salon in Dubai?

Only as two segregated operations inside one footprint. Sources agree it requires Municipality and DET approved separate zones, separate entrances and separate staff by gender. No DET-confirmed unisex activity code was found, so ask to see the activity before paying a deposit.

Can one company hold both a gents and a ladies salon licence?

Yes. The standard route is one company holding both activities as two branches on two premises, each with its own tenancy, internal plan approval, Civil Defence sign-off and staff. No official cost premium or discount for holding both is published.

Do salon staff have to be the same gender as the clients?

That is the practical expectation and what plan approval and inspection expect to see, but it is not written in GU77 V5, which contains no staff-gender clause [2]. Hire on that basis, and treat claims of a written rule with caution.

Do salon staff need occupational health cards in Dubai?

Yes. GU77 V5 requires a valid professional health certificate for every service provider and an updated employee list on file [2]. Figures of AED 700 to 1,000 per staff member circulate widely, but no DM or DHA fee schedule confirms them.

What is the minimum size for a salon in Dubai?

Widely quoted specifications include 2.3 metre ceilings, 1 metre between hairdressing chairs, 0.5 metres between manicure and pedicure stations and roughly 3m by 4m for a two-chair salon. None appear in GU77 V5 or GU75 V4 [2][4], so treat them as guidance.

Can a salon do Botox, fillers or laser hair removal?

No, not on a beauty licence of either gender. GU77 V5 directs operators to refer to the Dubai Health Authority for non-surgical cosmetic services and prohibits unauthorised medical services in salons [2]. Those procedures need a DHA clinical facility licence [5].

What does the DHA regulate that a salon licence does not cover?

The DHA's Standards for Non-Surgical Cosmetic Procedures V2.1, March 2025, governs botulinum toxin, dermal fillers, laser hair removal and chemical peels [5]. Each requires a clinical facility licence, a licensed medical director and registered practitioners, whether the salon is gents or ladies.

Is microblading allowed in a Dubai salon?

Treat it as unconfirmed. Microblading and cosmetic tattooing appear in some regulatory framings on the health-authority side of the boundary. Do not assume a salon licence covers them, and get written confirmation from Dubai Municipality and the DHA first.

Can a foreigner own a salon in Dubai?

Yes. 100% foreign ownership has been available for mainland DET professional and commercial licences since the 2020 and 2021 reforms, and we found no salon-specific carve-out in either direction. The gender of the salon does not affect who can own it.

Can I set up a salon in a free zone?

Not for serving the Dubai public. A salon needs mainland activity licensing and Municipality premises approval, and Ministerial Decision No. 229 of 2025 makes transactions with natural persons an Excluded Activity, so the 0% free-zone rate is unavailable [6].

How much does it cost to open a gents salon in Dubai?

Trade licence and activity registration commonly run AED 10,000 to 25,000, Municipality and health approvals AED 2,000 to 8,000, health cards AED 700 to 1,000 per staff member, and barbershop fit-out AED 80,000 to 200,000 or more, with total setup typically AED 200,000 to 500,000.

Is a ladies salon more expensive to set up than a gents salon?

Yes in direction, and no source quantifies the gap, so we will not. The reasons are structural: more treatment rooms, more service categories, higher-specification finishes and a larger specialised team. The licence and Municipality fees themselves are identical.

How many salons are there in Dubai?

No current count is published. A figure of 3,592 registered salons, 1,859 men's and 1,634 hairdressers, circulates widely but traces to 2017 with no clear reprintable source. Do not treat it as current, and be wary of competitor analysis built on it.

Is a gents or a ladies salon more profitable in Dubai?

Neither wins by default, and no published Dubai benchmark exists for chair utilisation, average ticket, staff cost ratio or rent share by gender. A barbershop earns through volume at a lower ticket, a ladies salon through higher tickets over longer bookings.

How is a Dubai salon taxed?

Corporate tax at 0% on taxable income up to AED 375,000 and 9% above, with Small Business Relief for revenue at or below AED 3 million available only for tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2029 [7]. VAT is 5%.

Is there VAT on salon services in Dubai?

Yes, at 5%, with mandatory registration once taxable supplies pass AED 375,000. Beauty and grooming services carry no exemption because they are not medically necessary. Clinical treatment by a licensed provider is a different category and belongs in a licensed facility [5].

Do spa and massage centres follow the same gender split?

The document pattern is the same. Dubai Municipality's spa standard is titled Technical Guidelines for Spa and Massage Centers Compliance (Ladies and Gents), DM-HSD-GU19 V4, 2024 [3], naming both genders in one standard, exactly as GU77 V5 does for salons [2].

What is the Ideal Salon certification in Dubai?

DM-HSD-GU75, Ideal Salon Technical Guidelines V4, July 2025, is a voluntary A-grade excellence certification from Dubai Municipality [4]. Its scope covers men's, women's and children's salons together with no gender-segregation clauses, reinforcing that the Municipality regulates both identically.

Can I open a corporate bank account for a salon in Dubai?

Yes, and the licence gender is irrelevant to the bank. Expect standard UAE onboarding: know-your-customer checks on shareholders, an in-person meeting, licence and tenancy in hand, and a maintained minimum balance. The payment setup matters more than the account itself.

References

[1] Dubai Legislation: Local Order No. 11 of 2003 concerning public health, Article 26, Schedule 2 and Article 27, listing beauty salons as public-health establishments subject to Municipality inspection and compliance duties. Local Order No. 11 of 2003

[2] Dubai Municipality: Technical Guidelines for Compliance of Salons, Barbershops and Beauty Centers, DM-HSD-GU77-SBBCG2 V5, issued 26 March 2026, covering men's, women's and children's salons under one scope, with the health and safety NOC, sterilisation, staff certification and DHA referral requirements quoted above. DM salons and beauty centres guideline V5

[3] Dubai Municipality: Technical Guidelines for Spa and Massage Centers Compliance (Ladies and Gents), DM-HSD-GU19-CSCM2 V4, 2024. DM spa and massage centres guideline

[4] Dubai Municipality: Ideal Salon Technical Guidelines, DM-HSD-GU75-IS2 V4, July 2025, the voluntary A-grade excellence certification covering men's, women's and children's salons. DM Ideal Salon guidelines

[5] Dubai Health Authority: Standards for Non-Surgical Cosmetic Procedures V2.1, March 2025, governing botulinum toxin, dermal fillers, laser hair removal and chemical peels. DHA non-surgical cosmetic standards

[6] UAE Ministry of Finance: Ministerial Decision No. 229 of 2025 on Qualifying and Excluded Activities, making transactions with natural persons an Excluded Activity for the free-zone corporate tax regime. Ministerial Decision No. 229 of 2025

[7] UAE Ministry of Finance: decision on Small Business Relief for corporate tax purposes, revenue at or below AED 3 million, for tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2029. Small Business Relief

[8] Research and Markets: UAE beauty and personal care market, USD 3.29 billion in 2025, USD 3.49 billion forecast for 2026 and USD 4.68 billion by 2031 at 6.05% CAGR. UAE beauty and personal care market