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?

Excuse the typos... Its been a long day in a very busy salon where we have worked our arses of 😅

At Rush of all places ??? My hairdresser told me to do the Olaplex myself at home because of the price they charge . These are the prices in my salon in the SE.

Full Head Highlights

£110.00

Half Head Highlights

£90.00

Partial Highlights

£75.00

Partial + Tint

£100.00

Half Head + Tint

£110.00

Global Colouring Application

£67.00

Regrowth Application

£63.00

Semi-Permanent

£60.00

Balayage

From £120.00

Scalp Bleach

From £60.00

Toner

£10.00 (stand alone £20.00)

Re-Style (75mins)

Cut & Finish (60mins)

£72.00

£62.00

Blowdry

£30.00

@TheGoogleMum I found home dyes were ok. But have given them up and growing out my grey for radical feminism. It is nicer not to have to bother.

The price may vary if you see a junior or senior or consultant stylist
30 mins of my hairdressers time is £75 - without colour fees on top so £300 for 4 hours work sounds okay

@goodwinter I'm with you, how can they charge for both? 🤔

To be honest - this seems in line with London prices - no way I’d pay this at Rush but it seems in line with other London stylists I’ve gone too. The Olapex seems pricey but you agreed to that without checking the price so that ones on you. And balayage on the price list literally means balayage and nothing else - a cut/ blow dry/ olaplex treatment will always be more

Very expensive...my friend who wins awards for balayage etc said cost should be about £150 max for all that.

For clarification on my salon what you had done would of been 190 and we are a " high end salon" out of London so I think you are paying that price for the location that the salon is based I

[quote lovescaca]@goodwinter I'm with you, how can they charge for both? 🤔[/quote]
Yes there is something wrong with the balayage and the whole head of colour eg I get root retouch and highlights and it is a combined price .

Ouch that’s steep! The baylayage seems right, but never known anywhere to not include a cut and blow dry along with a colour! I’ve had a full dye + baylayage at the same time before- I think it was because I said I wanted to cover the greys, meaning I wanted the blonde and grey blended at my temples, but they decided to dye my hair the exact shade it is then do baylayage over it. Hope you get some of your cash back!

Never known a place to include a cut and finish with a colour .

For a complicated colour plus cut in a central London salon that’s not that bad. If you want cheaper you need to go local.

Bloomin heck
Did god do your hair!!

Ummm, I’m a bit of a tightwad so I do mine at home. A bottle of dye left on for half the recommended time then pick up a few strands at a time , put some foil behind them, squirt with sun in and blow dry. Looks ok to me and my friend was very surprised it’s not natural. Costs about a tenner. Of course it would be lovely to go to a salon, but I just can’t bring myself to pay £100 plus to be faffed around with. ( plus I don’t like all the trendy full on hairdressers stuff)

I've paid around £200 for balayage, Olaplex, cut and finish - and that's not in London. It's a time-consuming process and takes hours for the stylist to paint on the colour, which is why it is more expensive than traditional highlights. I've always been given an exact itemised quotation in advance, however.

I agree with pp that I would query the cost of the two colour treatments but I can absolutely see how the costs added up over the course of four hours in a central London salon.

Good grief!

This is why I'd never feel comfortable getting anything done without having the price explicitly stated up-front. I hate surprises at the till!

When I consider how much money I'm saving by not giving a crap about my hair (DIY trims and dye-jobs, when I can be bothered)... I'm treating myself to a shopping spree!

I'd complain, OP. Maybe they'll at least give you something against your next trip to the salon. You have nothing to lose!

I spend a lot of money on my hair, say £200 every 6 months for highlights with a cut, then £100 every 3 months for maintenance of both. I have also had keratin hair smoothing (£150) and extensions (£400 hair cost, £150 fitting fee) in the past.

I think you were absolutely ripped off OP. I have never been to Rush (didn’t even know they were a thing tbh) but the salons I have been to are luxury. I hope after all that, you like your hair!

@dementedpixie

That's a bonkers price I pay around £60 for full head highlights and the cut is included in the price

I pay around that too, I am up North though but have been to the same hairdresser, getting the same for 15 years!

They are taking the P*ss. I went to Headmasters and paid £167. I got given a tint before I could question it - and they tried to give me opalex! The hairdresser said it was to protect my hair on the beach! I said I didn't want it.
They have obviously been primed to add these extras.
I would call them and question it. Point out whats on the website and say you are going to call trading standards. Also put an honest review on Google!
Mine was expensive but yours was obsene!
Just because you've paid it doesn't mean you can't question the price now. You may not get anywhere but it will make you feel better.

I'd be going back and asking for an explanation as to how 'your full colour' could have been full if half was ballaged.. i'd expect either credit to be used in the salon - or - a refund

They are paying premium rent rates for the location and that is what hikes up the price, not the qualifications or talents of their hairdressers.

I'd have told them to sod off with the tip for starters.

In my experience cutting and colouring are always charged separately. I used to go to a salon which charged for colour + finish or cut + finish, so it was poor value for money to get your cut and colour done in one visit as you’d pay for the blow-dry twice. I used to get them done on separate visits.

I've pm'd the OP my local area and the salon I use. There are two other pricier salons, one Toni & Guy and the other some sort of training academy about 20 yards away from my one. I'm sure that there are salons close to her where she can make an appointment if she gets recommendations.

You say the price wasn't clear on the website, why didn't you question what the price would be before committing to the work.
It would also appear that you've gone somewhere high end that can charge way more than other salons.

My daughter just had a full bayalage, with cut and blow dry for £90 in a none high end salon