To not understand hairdresser prices

Im a hairdresser,
firstly, trimming a tiny bit off the ends is exactly the same as cutting off more,
i follow the same process , and the same scissors, it takes the same time , its really not hard to understand …

I have a regular cut and blow dry 45 minute appointment £ 56
1hour option for very long or thick hair is £66
if it takes longer i charge accordingly as my prices are worked out on time

Also its sad to see the usual old tropes about dry cuts on thick hair, i would never cut thick hair dry, you have to wash it to cut it properly , also £30 for a colour would barely pay for the colour used or wages for the stylist

Would you all be happy to work for less than minimum wage ? Why do some of you think paying £12 for a cut is acceptable ?

My root tint and cut is £99
20 % VAT
22 % tax , 15 % employer NAT INS soon
£ 17 ph to the stylist , price of colour and about a million other overheads
£40 every week on flowers

I get really narked on here of people thinking we are trying to rip them off , we all deserve a decent wage , Im pretty sure most of mumsnet users earn more than minimum wage

If you want decent hair you have to pay for it , otherwise its easy and cheap to home colour .
Hair salons are a luxury.
We also have massage chairs, £5000 ,each and my clients love them
we serve posh drinks ,hot choc, g and t, beer and snacks.
Im booked out 6 months ahead and not one of my clients complain about the price
I pay my staff well as they work hard and i have to charge more

Having finally realised that hairdressers mostly charge an arm and a leg to make my hair look and feel worse I've since learnt how to cut it myself.

You all need new hairdressers, mine charges £30, anything extra she tells you exactly what it will be eg £5 for the treatment though this is booked in advance too (for timing reasons) anyway so I know! She's brilliant, works out of her home salon across the street from me.

The hairdresser's I go to doesn't differentiate. It's one price for a cut and blow dry. When it comes down to it you're paying for the skill, time and any materials used. Some people will have very straightforward cuts that don't take long and then may have more elaborate blow dries, straightening or curling as part of that. Others' cuts will need more work and less drying. They take the approach that everyone pays the same and in terms of the work they're having to do, it evens out across the customers.

Ours local, highly recommend, offers a 'teen price'. We booked that online, DD at 15 went in after school in her uniform, chatted about school and then they charged her double, literally double.

Pulled the same trick again even after I double checked. So now I don't bother with them and worse I do a slightly sneery, well you'll get a good cut but ripped off recommendation. Now that has cost them some extremely regular clients. Far more than the £25 to £50 they made in the short term.

Some stylists charge differently. I tend not to go to these stylists. A cut is a cut. It takes the same time no matter if it is a trim or restyle. My friends own a salon and they have set prices but have many clients asking if it can be done cheaper because "it is just a trim". There is no such thing as "just" a trim.

my friendly little hairdressers.... open Mondays, closed Tuesday! took me ages to get my head around that.... but £50 for a full colour or £60 for highlights and tge best cut and colour I've ever had! took my years ro hit the jackpot with hairdressers! these rescued me after a salon had left me with neon orange roots 3 days before my wedding 😂

I’m in London, and most hairdressers seem to charge separately for a cut and a blow dry. I never bother with the blow dry any more because it’s a waste of money and time, and only lasts till the next time you wash your hair anyway. Just gets them to do a rough dry with the dryer.

Some salons charge differently for short or long hair, but have never heard of a different charge for thick hair. I have thick hair and would be annoyed if that was the case.

Always confirm what they have booked you in for - if it’s a cut or a cut & blow dry, that’s what they should charge for. If it’s booked in as a re-style, fair enough. But they shouldn’t be booking you in for one service and then charging for another, unless there has been a conversation with the hairdresser during the appointment and you have agreed to do something else.

@Bjorkdidit ‘no creepy head massages’: Yes! 👏
I used a local guy when my lovely hairdresser relocated. Went in person, agreed what I needed, and got a price for highlights and trim. I asked did the price vary by length, if he needed toner, treatments etc. would there be extra charges. No.

At the appointment (complete with massage CHAIR he didn’t warn me about, I mean really just stop this nonsense)all seemed fine. Other than another customer coming in to complain loudly, a second time apparently, about her colour.

He charged me £40 more than quoted. I said ‘oh we agreed £120 all in when we met last week’. He said he ‘must have accidentally quoted an old deal for new clients. We don’t do that one now’. Then asked when I wanted my next appointment.

Yep this used to piss me off so much!!

I started going for a consultation first so they could fairly assess the hair. Then I'd say to them at the consult AND before the appointment began on the day, "can you tell me how much that is, because I want to bring it in cash". I'd take an extra tenner to give as a tip, but if they charged £120 instead of the quoted £110 I'd have to say "that's a shame I only bought £120 so a tenner was going to be your tip!" I used to feel bad about that, but how many times can you ask them to confirm £110 and it still comes out £120, then no... you're not getting a tip too!

Why should they just bloody change it like that!? They could at least say half way through - "i think we actually need an extra toner today, are you happy with that? It will be an extra tenner?" I'd always say yes, but its just the point isn't it! Or in your case, before they start "actually this is going to be classed as a restyle, so it's gonna be £78 not £63". The worst was once I got "well your hair has taken a lot longer so it will be X"... You already saw it!!! You already quoted!!! Its a bit of a cheeky last minute bid for an extra tenner. I was so tempted to just say "no sorry, I'm not happy to pay that because you already quoted me" but I wasn't brave enough. Found a new salon in the end.

Ha ha, that's what I did. I didn't get my hair cut for over a decade because I just tied it back and trimmed the ends myself (my hair is very fine and broke where the hair tie was anyway).

I decided to stop trying it back so needed a decent cut but was a bit worried about the cost. I went to the village salon for it to be cut into a longish bob with layers (I think, I don't understand hairdresser language) and it was £28 for a cut and finish, even now its only £30 and I'm in and out in just over half an hour. I think it cost more than that at the slightly fancier salon in the nearby small town before I stopped getting my hair cut, partly because the price kept going up because my regular hairdresser had been promoted

There's the owner and a second stylist, I always go after work in the week so I don't know if they have a 'Saturday girl'.

No coffee, no magazines, no unexpected extra treatments that add a surprise 20% to the bill and no creepy head massages. But they both do a nice enough cut, I can just walk there after work with a few days notice for an appointment and I don't want the 'experience' of paying £££s to spend hours at the hairdressers anyway.

My hair is curlyish, but not quite as much as I like. Regular salon doesn't do perms - they'd stopped teaching them at college apparently, so every 18 months or so, a visit to the local little old lady salon.

Pricing is "how much did I charge you last time?" Last year very apologetic, would I mind if she increased the price (around 5 years since first visit). now £45, including a cut. Around £300 in a stylish west end salon last time I looked.

Regular salon has a menu of styling options on the website, prices based on time (15/30/45 mins, etc). Often fits a full cut into a 30 minute appointment. £20ish.

I get it. I think we all don’t think of that when we’re going to the salon. It’s kind of sneaky adding on extra costs.

I love mine because it's simple
Dry cut
Dry cut but with wash and style, diffused dry
(Curly hair so it's always cut dry)

I alternate depending how spendy I feel (with the wash and style it's about £110 so a dry cut is much cheaper!)

I used to go to my local 6th form college, when I had enough time to spare (students are supervised and obviously there is discusion/feedback and they can be quite slow anyway) Prices were set out clearly on the website long or short hair, cut or trim and you could chose the level of student expertise. With a level 3 (advanced) student a cut, wash and blow dry is £11 and a restyle is £13. Just checked another college and a restyle is £12 with an advanced student and £9.50 with an intermediate one. It amused me that men's cuts are only done by intermediate students and £2 for either scissors or cippers.

I pay a lot for my hair but as well as paying for the actual colour, shampoo, hair products, and the stylists time and labour, I am also paying for the overheads of running a salon- heat, hot water, towels, magazines, drinks, rent/ mortgage, phones, computers etc
Plus the stylists 30 years of training and experience.
It takes about 3 hours to my hair. I always look better when I come out. It's worth the money.

Ive got very long hair, almost down my waist, I get balayage, cut and finish, I get it done every 8weeks. It costs me and arm and a leg and some for that. HOWEVER, when I pay, I get email
Receipt with full breakdown so I know what's what. Whilst I don't have an issue with the price for the colour as she uses a lot of product, I'm always amazed how much is my haircut 😂 it's £50!!! And I get minimum length taken, literally bare minimum. I never asked, but I am almost certain that the response will be around the fact that senior stylist is doing my hair 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

Why don't you ask them? My salon has prices set out for each stylist or colourist and prices dependent on their level.

Sounds a bit odd. I've never been charged extra for a 'restyle'. If you've booked a cut and blow dry then they should make it clear before starting the work that they are providing a different service to the one that you booked, and therefore, the price will be different.

I also think it not on to charge extra for 'thick' hair. Nobody can help their hair type. It's like charging fat people more for clothing because they use more material.

And this.

It'll be called The Cutting Edge, or Joy's Styles or Reflections and it'll be just Joy and her business partner Christine and Saturday girl Tara. She will open Saturday mornings 9.30 to 1pm but her salon is closed Mondays.

Dry cut all the way! Why pay for them to wash and dry your hair?

I pay for a dry cut with long layers and bangs put in every eight weeks. They also do a manicure/pedicure. £50.