Extraction handles the station. A room purifier handles everything that escapes it — and in a salon you generally want both.
- Activated carbon, not carbon-scented
- Sized for salon rooms
- Filters always in stock
A salon air purifier treats the whole room, while an extractor treats one station. Extraction at the desk removes most dust and vapour at the source; a room purifier deals with what escapes it, with the air around a waiting area, and with rooms where several technicians work at once. In a busy salon the two do different jobs and work best together.
Extraction or purification: which do I need?
Start with extraction. Capturing dust and vapour where it is created is always more effective than trying to clean a whole room afterwards, and it is cheaper per station.
Add purification when the room is the problem rather than the station: several technicians working together, a small or poorly ventilated treatment room, a waiting area next to the stations, or a home salon where the rest of the house shares the air.
| Extraction at the station | Room air purifier | |
|---|---|---|
| What it treats | The breathing zone at the desk | The whole room's air |
| Best at | Dust and vapour at source | What escapes, plus general air quality |
| Per-station cost | Lower | Shared across the room |
| Typical use | Every acrylic or filing station | Multi-station rooms, waiting areas |
Why activated carbon and not HEPA alone?
Because a salon's problem is chemical as well as particulate. Particle filtration captures filing dust well, but monomer vapour, hair colour and keratin fumes are gases — and gases pass straight through a particle filter.
Activated carbon adsorbs those vapours, which is why every unit we build for salon use carries a meaningful quantity of it rather than a thin impregnated pad. Our carbon refills are sold by weight for exactly this reason: 0.5kg, 1kg and 3.5kg, depending on the unit.
What size purifier does my salon need?
Match the unit to the room volume and how hard the room works, not to the floor area alone. A three-metre ceiling holds a lot more air than a domestic room of the same footprint.
As a rule of thumb: one room unit per treatment room, or per cluster of two to three stations in an open salon, with extraction at each acrylic station regardless. If you tell us the room size and the number of technicians we will tell you what we would put in it.
What we can and cannot claim
We are a UK supplier of filtration equipment, not a medical authority, and we would rather be straight with you than sell on a health claim we cannot stand behind.
What our units demonstrably do is move a defined volume of air through particle filtration and activated carbon, capturing dust and adsorbing vapours. What we will not tell you is that any air purifier prevents illness, treats a condition or protects against a specific infection. If a supplier is promising you that, treat the rest of their claims carefully too.
Keeping a purifier working
A purifier with a spent carbon stage is a fan. Carbon has a finite capacity: once it is saturated it stops adsorbing, and there is no warning smell to tell you — in fact the return of the monomer smell usually is the warning.
We keep refills and unit-specific filters in stock across the range, from £19.99 for a 1kg desktop carbon refill upwards.
Find the filter for your unit →
Tell us about your room
Salon type, room size and number of technicians is enough for us to recommend a setup. Call 01892 750777 or email sales@ravair.co.uk.
Shop air purifiers Station extractionFrequently asked questions
In a busy salon, usually yes. Extraction captures dust and vapour at the station; a room purifier handles what escapes, the waiting area, and rooms where several technicians work at once.
Because monomer vapour and hair product fumes are gases, and gases pass through particle filters. Activated carbon adsorbs them — and the quantity of carbon determines how long it keeps working.
Size it to the room volume and workload rather than floor area. As a rule of thumb, one room unit per treatment room or per two to three stations, with extraction at every acrylic station.
It depends on hours of use and how busy the room is. A practical sign is the smell returning — by that point the carbon is saturated and should already have been changed.
We do not make that claim. Our units filter particles and adsorb vapours; we will not tell you that an air purifier prevents illness or protects against a specific infection.
Ready when you are
Prices are on the site, delivery is UK-wide, and the team will say when something is not the right fit.