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?

Even for London that is expensive! Hope you love your new hair do.

Every time I go to RUSH I feel like I have been bled dry. And I expect to pay £120 - £180, so that says a lot. They gauge you.

I would say:

• you always pay for a cut on top of a colour service, but even for RUSH, £65 seems a lot

• every colour service you add, expect an extra cost. However I would say they should charge you for a root tint rather than a full head of permanent colour because that is what you had

• Olaplaex used to be £25 at RUSH so they should have told you that it was £35. You can buy the bottle of what they use for £26 so I normally do that and it lasts 6+ months!!!

• I would not have tipped.

I would write to them and query the permanent colour cost, as well as the Olaplex cost.

I never go to Rush anymore for precisely that reason!!!

You’re well within your rights to query being charged for full head of colour and full head balayage they can’t charge you for two heads!! Doesn’t matter you’ve already paid it at all.

You can buy a whole bottle of Olaplex for less than £35!

£300! I would've cried

I think balayage is really expensive- I overheard a hairdresser at the salon I go to saying if the client had balayage it would cost £180- did they really want it? (I think with cut included)

Root re-touch up where I go is £46 and a cut is anywhere between £45 and £68. I'm in the Midlands not London do I don't think what you paid was wild for London- you did have quite a lot done, but it should have been made clear how much the total would be. I hate that toner isn't included in the cost of highlights and then you're told you need a toner, and a treatment, and if you don't have a cut you have to pay for a blow dry.

I pay this level, at a top independent salon in London. But I know I will pay this level. Assuming you had a second colour over the balayage? £75/hour, in that area, seems fair to me. Rents are astronomical around there.

I don’t think they should have charged full head on the tint as you didn’t have a whole head of tint! You had roots which should be cheaper.

Having said that, hairdressers in London are SO expensive. I now have my natural hair colour as I resented paying £250 each time for balayage and a cut/finish. I’ve tried shopping around but am yet to find a reasonably priced salon in London so just gave up.

I've paid that but in central London.

To be honest, I think that's pretty standard for central London prices for a branded salon.

I'm not sure why you think you were just paying for balayage yet they also cut your hair. Did you seriously think the haircut was free?!

I used to pay £65 before Covid for cut and colour. Through lockdown I learned to do it myself. Now I am just going to keep doing it myself costs £7 for hair dye. I would never pay that much for haircut even though I could afford it. I have had weekend city breaks cheaper! I am assuming they are charging so much to make up for losses during lockdown.

Did they do all those things? I mean do a full head colour and then balayage on top of it?

I've stopped colouring my hair but when I did, the cut was usually included in the colouring price. Unless super complex, then they might add £20

Individually those prices are very expensive but not outrageous. But it combined they are outrageous. I would not have left the tip.

I just paid £175 for a balayage, cut blow dry and roots and I'm in the South East

I've paid 320 for balayage, no cut, no olaplex BUT that was with super duper top stylist and more importantly I was fully aware of the cost before I set foot in the salon

Def query the full head dye, that's crazy. I'm being generous but maybe it was a mistake??

That's crazy. I did get caught out once in a salon I'd read the advertisement the full set of highlights price didn't include conditioner or blow-dry.
I never went back it was around 90 all in.

Rush is a total rip off. Next time go to Boutain Rose in Canary Wharf (assuming it’s still open, hope it is!) as they are far more upfront and you will plan hairstyles with you. There’s also another hairdresser at Jubilee Station who are really good

How much would have spent on your hair in the last 7 months?

I think it's like any form of abuse, you shouldn't beat yourself up for not screaming out loud at the time, and it's never too late to do something about it!

Good luck OP, they must realise it's daylight robbery and just rely on people being too embarrassed in the salon. Bastards.

That sounds expensive but if you agreed to the services then it's okay, I suppose. I always ask upfront for the price and then make my decision. I also have very thick hair and its surprising how much time and product it soaks up.

I think the main issue you have is that its central London prices. I've lived in a few capitals and they always charge more than other towns and cities.

Mind you, I'll gladly pay 150€ at my salon for, in reality not so much, because they give me what I want. I'll get a few ash highlights, a pastel toner and a decent cut. I gave up on expensive salons because they seemed to decide that a woman in her 40's should only be allowed a sandy, warm blonde layered bob. Boiled my piss, so it did. Plus, this is just my opinion, but Turkish hairdressers are the best at colouring thick/textured dark hair. Find yourself a nice Turkish hairdresser .

Sounds about right for Central London. Only thing I'd query would be the separate all over colour and the balyage. The rest seems fine.
Do you live in Central London? Why go to somewhere you know is going to be expensive then moan about the price?

Looks about right to me. Balayage is always very expensive because they paint on the colour freehand it takes hours. How do they do the grey roots? It would be another treatment charge as the balayage isn’t an all over colour. The balayage will last ages and you’ll just need the root colour for the next few months but you are choosing a very expensive colouring option!

I can believe £65 for ithe cut easily in central London, snd you knew about the bayalage cost. But you said root tint and I don't even know what olaplex is. You should have queried it then amd there, which you can do without making a fuss or being awkward.

£300?
Oh.
My.
God.

Really? I love my hair but really? £300?

having just read the other thread on neglecting yourself, no wonder people are wearing holey underwear if paying £300 for hair and £500 at the opticians.

Oh my gosh, I’d be mortified, no way on this earth could I justify paying that much, even if it looks mind blowing amazing, it will need touching up in 6 weeks.

Everything seems to have jumped up in price recently, but that is one hell of a price you’ve paid.

Fucking hell, I got to your third paragraph and was going to jump to the comments and reccomend RUSH for next time as they were very reasonable then i saw that's where you went. I only had balayage and a toner though. I refused a hair cut as there's a place nearby who do a basic trim for £12.

I can't believe they did that, well I can...but still. I'm booked in to have my hair done by one of their salons again next month. I'll be making damn sure they don't try to pull this on me too.

£300 is insane.

I'm sorry that was sprung on you afterwards.