To not understand hairdresser prices

If there's no hot tub and if anyone talks to me or touches me, it's not a spa as far as I'm concerned.

Really?! They always get those thinning scissors out and I end up with about half of the weight of my hair on the floor!

Theres a thread on this at the mo, asking hairdressers why they do this!!

I've never ever pinned them down on a price op- I ask before and am always told they won’t know until the end- I say but I’d like a cut, layers, colour and for it to be straightened and they always trip over their words telling me they can’t but it’ll be about (tells me price that is generally ten or fifteen euro less but also remind me they can’t actually tell me!!)

@Calliecarpa @Bjorkdidit I sort of want it to be one or the other - if I am paying more than £200 then I expect a really luxury spa like experience, to be honest. In one salon I’ve been to in the past it is like that - a really lovely experience like @Soddingcat describes, beautiful salon with hot chocolate and massage chairs and amazing service and products - and then it feels justifiable and I don’t mind paying for it. But if it’s a big standard straight cut/ trim, or a really basic service, I am happy with that also, as long as I’m not then charged some inflated price. The problem, I think, is that hairdressers see what some salons charge and decide they can just up their prices to that, without providing anything like the same level of service. I think lack of transparency around pricing and levels of service is also a major problem across the board.

My hairdresser doesn't show a price list either on line or in the shop and as others have said, charges different prices every time. There isn't ever a displayed price so you can't check what you are paying against a displayed price list. I paid £100 recently for roots and full highlights but without a cut. It is cash only so now when I book the appointment I ask the price in advance. I was once charged £40 for a cut I didn't have. I thought the price was expensive, I expressed mild surprise but was told it was a price increase. Fortunately when I next came in another stylist told me they had realized I had been overcharged and were deducting the amount this time. But if they had displayed prices I could more easily have checked and queried.🤔

Exactly @Calliecarpa I see going to the hairdressers as in the same category as going to the dentist or for my eyes tested. It's not something I do for fun and I'd say that whether or not the salon had flowers and massage chairs.

That's exactly how I feel. Obviously some people want 'an experience' when they go to the hairdresser and are willing to pay for it, which is fair enough and their choice, but I just want to have my hair cut (and sometimes coloured) as quickly as possible so I can get out of there and go and do something more interesting. For me, going to the hairdresser is a tedious chore I have to do once in a while, not a luxury experience.

I’m with you OP! I went to a salon to get a full head of highlights having seen the price on the website (£130) only to be told afterwards that what I’d had was a ‘creative colour’ which costs £200 plus! It’s ridiculous and such a scam! Has really put me off getting my hair done at all as I never know how much I’ll end up being charged!

Well obviously you have sufficient clients who want the service and experience that you provide, but a lot of people just want their hair cut so most of the costs you mention aren't needed for that, they're an extra.

My hairdresser charges different prices everytime I go. Even if it'sthe same thing im having done. Sometimes its less than the time before. They don't have a price list and it's mainly regulars.
When I was hairdressing we had record cards for every customer but I'm going back a few years! I get mine done by someone I used to work with all those years ago.

I moved hairdressers as mine was getting so expensive.

It used to be about £120 for balyage on shoulder length hair, then it crept up to £130, then £150, now its about £180. They added extra for toner, for conditioner, for a restyle vs cut, if you have a fringe they charge for trims, and they;ve now announced different price brackets for short / medium / above shoulder / below shoulder / long hair

They've announced a third price rise in 2 years - at that point I went 'nah you're ok'

They wanted to charge £27 for a 15 minute appointment for a girls dry trim (5-15 years) - I moved my daughter elsewhere where we pay £12.

This particular hairdresser employs all its staff, which is great, but if they promote someone, obviously the customer pays more. They also enter every award possible and shout about their success - but the local business awards cost £450 to enter, so that cost for multiple categories is passed onto the customer.

I used to have my hair done with them every 8 weeeks - i had to start stretching it out to 12-13 weeks because the cost was so much, so they started upping the price cos everyone did the same.

Now I go elsewhere and pay £90 every 8 weeks, and my new hairdresser (who used to work for this company and set up on her own) said shes inundated with people coming to her now because they got fed up with the fact that their haircut was costing a different amount every single visit.

I go to a 2 person salon and another for beauty treatments.
Closed on a Monday. No fancy coffee machines.
No massage chairs. But gives a very good cut.
Cut and blow dry is £30, full highlights £65. On my short hair.

If you want a lot off the length but don't want to pay for a restyle, just cut most of it off at home and then go in to have it 'tidied up'.

I have thick hair OP, getting thinner with age as expected, but a word of advice: if they come at you with the thinning scissors say, "Absolutely not!" A skilled stylist can do your hair without resorting to those implements of the devil! Also there's nothing wrong with having big hair!

I agree with having to pay a fortune for a decent cut nowadays. On another thread a hairdresser said that standards in modern hair dressing training have decreased significantly, so finding a decent stylist now is difficult. Older more experienced stylists cost more!

We charge more for long / thick hair because of blow dry time , not cut
it usually takes me much longer to blow dry hair than to to cut it , smooth blow dry , then often waved with the GHD irons , so I need an hour

Why do o many charge extra for long hair?
Surel it's the same cuts just with longer bits of hair falling on the floor!

I remember the days when a toner was included as part of the colour as otherwise it wouldn’t look so good. Next thing they’ll be charging you separately for the dye!!

My mobile lady is only £20 for a wet cut, I wash it before she comes and it only takes about 5 minutes! I wouldn’t want to pay more than that tbh.

Well having checked the website I have the option of paying for a cut and blow-dry- no restyling options available. Just +£13 for extra time so I'm optimistic I won't end up with a huge bill.

I think a restyle would include a discussion about the style, together with some advice about the cut and then how to style it at home. For example going from long hair to a graduated bob.

if you just want an inch or two inches taken off and that’s it, that’s not a restyle.

I go to a hairdresser who works from a building in their garden and it’s £40, whatever cut you have (that’s the wet cut and blow dry price). They are always honest with how it will style at home, and I appreciate that. Happy with the service, and the results, and it’s very close too!

edited to add I am in SE England for context for prices

I used to go to a hairdressers and she was very good but it was different prices each time. It would be like £132, then £116, then £148 and I never knew why.

I know obviously she must have done different treatments. When I go in and they say what they are going to do I tend to not understand and just say yes.

If it's all straight forward cut it yourself then have it shaped/trimmed at the salon

Technically your hair doesn’t require anything, it’s personal preference how someone likes their hair to sit and look.

Thankyou @Soddingcat for the breakdown
I do now travel further and pay more with two teenage girls. It was never about the amount, it was about the social embarrassment of asking young teenagers more than the price advertised because they had blonde/red/curly/straight /you name it hair. And when the price doubled there were no extra time or services in fact they finished early and DD was hanging around.
Have got all cross again thinking about it!

This is exactly what mine is like. 😆A couple of years ago, the price of a cut went up from £12 to £13.50. 😆

I have a lady come to my house to cut and colour my hair. She's great, much cheaper than salons as she doesn't have their overheads.

I like that what I pay her she gets to keep too, it's helping another mum rather than big organisation.