To think hair salons are extortionate?

[chatterbug22]

I haven’t been to the hairdressers since the last lockdown, instead using box dyes. We have a hairdresser in the family so they don’t mind giving the occasional trim every six months.

I’d love to go back to a really nice hair salon, but a basic colour and cut starts from £85-£120, and balayage would be anywhere from £110-170!

AIBU to think this is really extortionate? Theoretically I have the money and could pay but wow, I just think it’s excessive and so so much. I want to treat myself and feel good about my hair. I know costs of everything have gone up and that a good stylist deserves paying well for their time and effort, I would never want to underpay someone. I just can’t believe it’s so much! Up north and not looking at city centre salons either.

You can. But barbering is a different technique so it entirely depends on what style you want. So it might not be as quick as you think

Don’t be naive

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4260452/

www.cdc.gov/phhsblockgrant/states/highlights/newyork2017.htm

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19755396/

Just a different way of spending money locally, then.

My friend is a hairdresser (owns her salon) & she’s loaded! Definitely in the wrong job!

The hairdresser is not responsible for how fast your hair grows!

That's why your roots show!

Bloody hell!

Where do you go? Mayfair?

Are those London prices?
I pay £52.50 for a color, cut and blow dry in a northern market town.

I've been spending over £100 on colour and cuts and I'll be honest, I can't really tell the difference between professional colour and a box dye. I've now given up on highlights, they're just too expensive to maintain and have gone for an all over colour. I'm going back to box dyes because I just can't justify the cost.
I know people are in the salon for 3 hours to get highlights but while waiting for the dye to take, the stylist is working on other clients, so it's not like one customer is taking up the whole 3 hours. I think the cost is getting prohibitive for most people now.

£25 for dry cut £10 for the special blue shampoo I use at home. I always pay cash as a sort of apology. Grew out the colour over the lockdowns so no more balayage which was around £100 but lasted for months.

Yes certainly. I just got used to doing this in the pandemic and thought why go back? It doesn't look any different. If I were doing something complex like balayage I would go to a hairdresser.

Most hair salons would go out of business if people stopped having their hair dyed. I’ve saved thousands since I stopped colouring my hair several years ago, but many women don’t seem to like having their natural hair colour!

Most haven't gone back to that since Covid rules wouldn't let them.

And as you can see from this thread, lots of people decided post-covid that they wouldn't go so often. A lot of older women have gone with the grey (I refuse to, it definitely makes you look older)

Now with the cost of living crisis they've cut back even further.
But overheads still need to be paid.

Owning your own salon is the only way to make proper money as a hairdresser as you take a cut (ahem) from every client your staff see

£18 for dry cut every 2 months - takes about 20 minutes Up from £16 pre pandemic. Paid £10 once during pandemic for home visit when hairdressers were allowed to work again.

Never had hair dyed or hi- lighted. In my 60s now with minimal grey hairs.

Just cannot justify spending £s on hair.

I don't think it's too expensive for the time, products, training etc but like everything it just depends if it's too expensive for you. Last year I was getting my coloured every 8 weeks paying £150, this year I have paid £150 for balyage twice but won't be able to get it done again but that doesn't mean the price is too high, just too high for me.

I am £95 every 6 weeks for cut and colour
And a blow dry every Saturday morning at £20
Worth it to me

This is exactly what I do.

£60.50 every 5/6 weeks here for my roots coloured cut blow dried and straightened. Bargain.

I pay £140 for cut and colour. He’s one of the salon owners and absolutely the best cutter and colourist I have ever had. Does the whole thing including shampoo, as do the other stylists. I’m there for three hours.

Similar, except it's more like every 6 months for me.

Having hair that was a nice colour anyway and has stayed that way must have saved me a small fortune over the years.

I get my hair done by an apprentice at an academy attached to a lovely salon. A cut and blow dry is £15 and a colour and blow dry is £30. It’s only available on one day and it does take a while but you get the full salon experience. And the senior stylist checks your hair to make sure it’s right so you always come out with nice looking hair.

I have been going to the same salon for 10 years for my colour and cut and blow dry and it’s not a fancy salon but it is a very good salon and it is in London and since they reopened after lock down the prices have gradually increased by 40percent.

Even though businesses were given a lump sum “bail out” by the government for many it wasn’t enough to cover their rent and bills hence the large increase that they have to charge clients now to recoup their losses.

It’s just a horrendous situation all around.

Yes hence why I stopped going to the hair dressers altogether. The last time I went I had about an inch cut off and the colour hadn't changed at all. I asked for it to be cut to my shoulders from the middle of my back and to go from dark brown to bronde, the girl doing it was so rude when I queried why she hadn't done anything I had asked and said to do it how I wanted it would be more after she agreed to do it the way I wanted to begin with! I left £150 down and with basically the same hair just an inch shorter. I have been growing my hair out since the start of the pandemic and now have entirely natural colour and it is very long. I want to get it cut and coloured soon but I'm unsure as I had such a negative experience.

which academy is this? PM me if you'd prefer I'd much rather go to a reliable suggested one on here even if I have to travel x

You just had a bad experience and should move on from that and book yourself a appointment in a new salon. Make sure you get a consultation first and explain exactly what you want doing to your hair, then the stylist will give you a price and either you get it done there and then or make a appointment for a later date.

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