Run one continuous hexagon grid along each row of chairs, parallel to the mirror wall, with its front edge near the mirrors so light reaches each face from the front and not just the crown. A 5 Grid covers one chair, a 9 or 14 Grid two, a 17 Grid three and a Large 17 Grid four, with Line Grids for narrow rooms and one kit per row when chairs face each other.
In this guide
A barber station is a lighting problem with a twist. The client faces a mirror, so the light that counts lands on the front of the face, and a badly placed fixture shows up as a shadow under the chin.
This guide is for owners fitting out or re-lighting a barber shop. It covers where a hexagon grid, one connected fixture of LED tubes linked in a honeycomb pattern, should sit over the stations, and what size kit your chair count needs. Fit, brightness and color temperature have their own guides. Every kit below is in our range of LED lights for barbershop mirror areas.
Where the Light Should Land at a Barber Station
Picture the station from the side. The chair sits roughly 3 to 4 ft out from the mirror wall, and the barber works in the 3 to 4 ft behind it. A light can go in three places.
- Over the counter and mirror line. This reaches the face from the front and above, the light a fade is judged under.
- Directly over the chair. This lights the crown and drops shadows under the brow, the nose and the chin.
- Behind the chair. The client's own head blocks it from the face.
We call the fix the counter-line rule. Start the grid over the counter and run it back over the chair, so it covers all three spots and the shadow one tube throws is mostly filled in by its neighbors.
Lighting the room from one line of fixtures behind the chairs, because that is where the open ceiling is. The face in the mirror reads darker than the room, and the fade looks uneven even when it is clean.
Over 13 years in the lighting industry, our team has found that a ten-second check beats any drawing. Sit in the chair. Look in the mirror. A shadow under your own chin means the grid needs to come forward.
Lay the Grid Along the Station Row
Run the long side of the grid parallel to the mirror wall so one kit spans the whole row, then set the depth and the ends.
- Front edge. About a foot off the mirror wall, above the counter and clear of mirror frames.
- Depth. From the mirror wall to the back of the barber's working space is about 6 to 8 ft in most layouts our team sees, and the 9, 14 and 17 Grids cover that at 7.9 to 8.2 ft deep. The 8, 11 and 14 Line Grids are long, narrow layouts 5.4 to 5.6 ft deep.
- Ends. Run the grid 2 to 3 ft past the first and last chair, or the end chairs look like second-rate seats.
- Facing rows. Give each row its own grid, since a strip down the middle lights every face from behind. Two standard grids need a room about 18 ft wide, so narrower rooms take Line Grids.
- Ceiling height. Surface mount up to about 13 ft, and above that hang the grid on suspension wires, sold in 3.3 ft and 9.8 ft lengths.
The grid will show in the mirror as an even pattern of lines rather than glare, the discomfort a bright hot spot causes, because each HEXLED tube spreads its light through a low-glare diffuser across a 180 degree beam. For odd-shaped ceilings, see our hexagon lights layout planning guide.
How Many Kits and What Size for Your Chair Count
Because each kit is one connected grid, the question is how many kits and which size, not how many fixtures. Plan one grid per row of chairs. A waiting bench can take its own small kit, such as a 3 Grid or 5 Grid, in a warmer color if you want one, since color temperature is fixed after install.
In most shops, chairs sit about 5 to 6 ft apart center to center. Add 2 to 3 ft past each end chair and a row of three needs a grid about 14 to 18 ft long, the range the 16.4 ft 17 Grid and the 17.4 ft 11 Line Grid fall in.
| Kit | Footprint | Output | Chairs | Floor area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 Grid | 7.9 by 5.3 ft | 15,840 to 17,280 lm | 1 | 90 to 170 sq ft |
| 9 Grid | 12.5 by 8.2 ft | 29,040 to 31,680 lm | 1 to 2 | 170 to 320 sq ft |
| 14 Grid | 13.1 by 7.9 ft | 37,620 to 41,040 lm | 2 | 210 to 410 sq ft |
| 8 Line Grid | 12.5 by 5.6 ft | 24,420 to 26,640 lm | 2, narrow room | 140 to 270 sq ft |
| 17 Grid | 16.4 by 7.9 ft | 44,880 to 48,960 lm | 3 | 250 to 490 sq ft |
| 11 Line Grid | 17.4 by 5.6 ft | 33,000 to 36,000 lm | 3, narrow room | 190 to 360 sq ft |
| Large 17 Grid | 20.2 by 9.8 ft | 59,840 to 65,280 lm | 3 to 4 | 340 to 660 sq ft |
| 14 Line Grid | 21.7 by 5.4 ft | 41,580 to 45,360 lm | 4, narrow room | 240 to 460 sq ft |
| 23 Grid | 13.8 by 12.8 ft | 58,080 to 63,360 lm | Square open floor | 330 to 640 sq ft |
| 39 Grid | 17.4 by 16.4 ft | 93,720 to 102,240 lm | Large square open floor | 530 to 1,040 sq ft |
Footprints and outputs come from the product pages. The floor area column is where each kit's lower output works out to 90 to 180 lumens per square foot, our conversion of the 50 to 100 foot-candles, the light that reaches the work surface, that the Illuminating Engineering Society lists for barber shops and beauty parlors in its IES Lighting Handbook, a reference since the 1940s. Why that band, and 5000K versus 6500K, is the job of our barber shop color temperature guide.
Pick by chairs, then check the floor area, and if your cutting floor is bigger than a kit's range, go up a size or add a kit. The 23 and 39 Grids are full-ceiling kits for a square floor, sized by area alone.
For three or four chairs with depth to spare, we suggest the Large 17 Grid first, and a Los Angeles barber shop we supply runs one. Its longer 22.5 in tubes mean fewer connection points.
Rows longer than 21.7 ft take two kits in a line, and an L-shaped floor or a column in the row goes through our Custom Hexagon Lights page, where our team designs the layout.
Smaller non-dimmable kits ship with a plug-in cord. Larger kits and all dimmable kits ship with hardwire cables, so have a licensed electrician connect those.
Barber Shop Lighting Setup Checklist
Run through this before you order, with your own measurements, since the figures above are typical, not fixed. It is the list our team works from when a shop sends a floor plan.
- Measure each row from the first chair center to the last, counting any chair you plan to add, then add 2 to 3 ft at each end.
- Measure the station depth from the mirror wall.
- If chairs face each other, measure the room width. Under about 18 ft, plan on Line Grids.
- Above about 13 ft of ceiling height, plan on suspension wires.
- Pick the kit from the table and check your floor area against it.
- Decide on a separate waiting area kit, and pick each kit's color temperature.
- Tape the outline on the ceiling, sit in a chair and check the mirror for a chin shadow.
Next Steps
In short, one grid per row, front edge over the counter, length set by the chairs. Pick the kit from the table, then compare our bright barber lights side by side on the product pages. For anything other than a straight row, send the floor plan through the custom page and our team will design the grid.
About this update, October 2026. We narrowed this guide to placement and kit size and rebuilt the size table from current product specs.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many hexagon light kits does a barber shop need?
One grid per row of chairs, so a single row takes one kit and two facing rows take two. A square open floor can take one 23 Grid or 39 Grid sized by floor area.
What size hexagon kit do I need for a two chair barber shop?
A 9 Grid at 12.5 by 8.2 ft or a 14 Grid at 13.1 by 7.9 ft spans two chairs at the usual 5 to 6 ft spacing. In a narrow room, an 8 Line Grid at 12.5 by 5.6 ft does the same.
What size kit covers four barber chairs?
A Large 17 Grid at 20.2 by 9.8 ft spans four chairs in a row at about 5 ft spacing, or a 14 Line Grid at 21.7 by 5.4 ft in a narrow room. Two facing rows of two take one kit per row.
Where should you place lights in a barber shop?
Start the grid near the mirror wall so light reaches each face from the front, and run it back over the chairs. A fixture only behind the chair leaves the face in shadow.
Will a hexagon grid reflect in the barber mirrors?
Yes, and that is part of the look. Each tube spreads its light through a low-glare diffuser across a 180 degree beam, so the reflection reads as an even pattern of lines.