Should I be upset at paying £300 for haircut

[charlieginger1987]

Hi ladies,
Have waited 7 months to get my hair done and finally went today. I got a full head of balayage highlights, a root tint to cover my greys and a cut and blow dry. The website was really unclear and it said £130 for a full head of balayage. Knowing sometimes that hairdressers add optional extras I budgeted £180 just in case. I got to the till, the receptionist seemed awkward, didn't confirm the price straightaway, so I asked her what it was, and £300 appeared on the credit card machine. I can only guess that she didn't say the figure out loud because she was embarrassed to charge me that much. I didn't want to say too much in front of a full salon full of people but I simply said "wow that's expensive?" She shrugged and didn't say anything but "your e-receipt will be sent directly to you". I thought I'd best pay and then query the receipt later as I already felt so embarrassed and caught off guard.

Looking at the receipt they have charged me for:
£130 full head of balayage
£65 full head of permanent colour
£65 ladies cut and finish
£35 olaplex
£5 tip
Total: £300

Am I right to be completely shocked at the price of this?? It did take 4 hours and I have long thick hair but really? Have you ever heard of a haircut this expensive and fellow hair stylists, does this price sound reasonable to you?

Needless to say I have sent Rush an email but am I being unreasonable questioning the price of this haircut?

I paid 180 once and promised myself I would never do it again and would speak up. I wouldn't have had 300 in my bank!

I had this at rush once. I can't remember the details as it was years ago but I booked with a 25% off voucher for cut and blow dry and a bunch of extras were added on like treatments without telling me the cost and it ended up far more expensive. I was young and too embarrassed to challenge it.

Every other salon I've been to would say the price when telling you the treatment.

The individual elements seem par for the course for an expensive salon chain like Rush, but I'm surprised you paid for a normal full dye job and balayage. That's the bit I'd question.

How does your hair look, incidentally? Are you happy with it? (I'd hope so for £300!)

Could understand it if you had some designer e.g. Nicky Clark personally do it. Otherwise I'd consider I was robbed

I would have questioned it at the time, and not paid until it was explained.

@Nekoness you are welcome

Just to change the subject slightly - my hairdresser actually said Keratin is better than Olaplex
I think Olaplex is great but Keratin does more ?
When you are bleached toned and using purple shampoos I often feel like I've got straw on my head 😩🤣
Soooo drying .. always trying to find a good intensive moisturising routine

It could have been a genuine error.

Mine cost that two years ago for balayage and toning at rush with a different stylist to one I’d booked . Last bloody time I ever went there! I did call and query it the next day and got £20 off. Outrageous

I’m expecting to pay around this when I get mine done. I too have full root tint, full head of balyage, Olaplex and a cut. It’ll be around £260. Outer London borough.

The price list is fully available from their website. I am totally unsure why the op is saying it isn’t and that it’s unclear. It’s not.

This is why I go to a local lady with her own salon in her garden. £75 for a cut and colour on Wed (inc tip).

It's a ridiculous price. I don't think there is anything you can do now though. You willingly paid it.

I would have asked the price before hand or at least questioned it before paying.

@XiCi

Highlights is the better option as these blend in the greys. Completely disagree with this, especially if you are dark. Balayage usually is darker at the roots anyway so really lends itself to a root touch up as part of the colour. Looks so much better than highlights as well.

I have this exact hairstyle and agree, highlights from the roots are so much higher maintenance if you have dark hair with a little grey (I have 10% but it’s mainly in the front and parting). The darker roots blend better when my roots come through.

OP I have the same as you and pay £140 for balayage and £35 for the root colour then £65 for the cut and finish. So would expect to pay £240 without the olaplex. Did they charge you £5 tip or did you ask them to put that on? Because I think that’s cheeky. I never tip.

I had something similar at Rush a couple of years ago. I asked for a stylist and without my knowledge they’d changed my booking to have a senior stylist or whatever the most experienced person is called. The charge ended up being double what I’d worked out. Maybe this is what happened?

I complained at the time and they charged me the lower price in the end but it was embarrassing. Never been back.

Wow, I guess that’s London prices for you.

Olaplex repairs internal damage to the hair shaft, but it’s not a conditioner (unless you specifically buy the Olaplex conditioner). It won’t make your hair feel soft and shiny.

You can buy 2litres of Olaplex no 2 for less than £130. That will easily last you a year using it at home.

@jannyapple sorry, but your hairdresser is mistaken.
Keratin is a protein substance already in the hair (and nails) and Olaplex re-links damaged hydrogen disulphide bonds. You can buy products containing both substances but they do completely different jobs.

My eyebrow went up when I saw Rush. They charged me 45.00 for a blowdry once...she didnt tell me about the "hair treatmwnt" shed given me during the hair wash.
I paid because she swore she did and it cant be put back in the bottle but by God I roasted them online.
Not totally surprised

Hi @ShurImGrand123 thank you
I think that is what she meant .. that Keratin based products like Kerastis have more benefits than Olaplex
I've not tried any as I've currently got a massive tub of Osmo deep conditioning mask I'm using
Still feels like straw sometimes lol

@lolaflores

My eyebrow went up when I saw Rush. They charged me 45.00 for a blowdry once...she didnt tell me about the "hair treatmwnt" shed given me during the hair wash. I paid because she swore she did and it cant be put back in the bottle but by God I roasted them online. Not totally surprised

Yes it seems that is the issue, not being overly transparent about the additional costs and some of the treatments

That's insane, you should have queried at the time though. I have root touch up tint and ful balliage for £120 , and I have longish thick hair, but the cut and finish is included in the price.
Unless they asked if you wanted the extras they shouldn't have done them. You should query the full head tint too x

I was researching family history and found that there is a hairdressing salon where an ancestor used to live. I had a look at their price list to see how upmarket (or otherwise) the street is now. Some treatments cost £450 - admittedly for 3 hours with a senior stylist. Would be possible to spend £1000 there.

www.karinejackson.co.uk/price-list-new/

A mobile hairdresser cuts my hair and DH's for £25. Different part of the country.

Got mine done last week. £15 dry cut then £6 for box of home dye. In a Zoom call 3 separate people commented on how nice it looked. Sorted.

I was thinking about this last night.

If it was £150 last time at the same rush why didn't you question it and say it £150 last time?

Or i wonder if last time was their 50 per cent off for new customer offer and therefore 300 is the correct price

Totally agree about Rush pricing too, I’ve been caught out with a different stylist or treatments I didn’t agree to.

When I took my kids there for a cut they charged £15 each for the boys 5 and 3 (fine that’s what they told me and they both had a big restyle) but then I asked if they could cut dds hair, she was just 1 and it really was 3 snips and they charged £20. Because girls haircuts cost more. I said you’ve spent 20 minutes doing ds1 long thick hair and 2 mins if that doing dds baby hair and dd is more because she’s female? They just shrugged.

@dementedma

Got mine done last week. £15 dry cut then £6 for box of home dye. In a Zoom call 3 separate people commented on how nice it looked. Sorted.

It’s not the same tho is it. You can’t do your own balayage from a box dye. So that’s only applicable for certain looks and styles. Which are great if that’s what you want but lots of people don’t. It’s not like we all get the same hair do and are comparing like for like.

Insane! The most I've paid is about £100 but since lock down I've been colouring my own and will probably carry on. I pay about £40 for a cut and bd.
Surely they should have just charged you for either full head of colour OR balayage, not both? Did they ask if you wanted Olaplex or just add it on anyway?

I'd cry paying £300 for my hair 😭