To not understand hairdresser prices

[SuperAunt08]

I don’t go to the hairdressers anywhere near as often as I should/would like but I tend to grow my hair to about boob length and then get sick of it and get it cut to just above shoulder length but it is very thick and needs thinning out too.

I usually book a cut & blowdry, mainly because I don’t know any better but I’m often caught out by the final price when instead of the advertised price they say ‘ it was a restyle so will be ££’ what constitutes a cut vs a restyle? How many inches cut off? Time taken?

I don’t begrudge them charging more for their time but I would like to have an idea of how much it’s going to cost me before I get to the till

My hairdresser charges different prices everytime I go. Even if it'sthe same thing im having done. Sometimes its less than the time before. They don't have a price list and it's mainly regulars.
When I was hairdressing we had record cards for every customer but I'm going back a few years! I get mine done by someone I used to work with all those years ago.

Well obviously you have sufficient clients who want the service and experience that you provide, but a lot of people just want their hair cut so most of the costs you mention aren't needed for that, they're an extra.

I’m with you OP! I went to a salon to get a full head of highlights having seen the price on the website (£130) only to be told afterwards that what I’d had was a ‘creative colour’ which costs £200 plus! It’s ridiculous and such a scam! Has really put me off getting my hair done at all as I never know how much I’ll end up being charged!

That's exactly how I feel. Obviously some people want 'an experience' when they go to the hairdresser and are willing to pay for it, which is fair enough and their choice, but I just want to have my hair cut (and sometimes coloured) as quickly as possible so I can get out of there and go and do something more interesting. For me, going to the hairdresser is a tedious chore I have to do once in a while, not a luxury experience.

Exactly @Calliecarpa I see going to the hairdressers as in the same category as going to the dentist or for my eyes tested. It's not something I do for fun and I'd say that whether or not the salon had flowers and massage chairs.

My hairdresser doesn't show a price list either on line or in the shop and as others have said, charges different prices every time. There isn't ever a displayed price so you can't check what you are paying against a displayed price list. I paid £100 recently for roots and full highlights but without a cut. It is cash only so now when I book the appointment I ask the price in advance. I was once charged £40 for a cut I didn't have. I thought the price was expensive, I expressed mild surprise but was told it was a price increase. Fortunately when I next came in another stylist told me they had realized I had been overcharged and were deducting the amount this time. But if they had displayed prices I could more easily have checked and queried.🤔

@Calliecarpa @Bjorkdidit I sort of want it to be one or the other - if I am paying more than £200 then I expect a really luxury spa like experience, to be honest. In one salon I’ve been to in the past it is like that - a really lovely experience like @Soddingcat describes, beautiful salon with hot chocolate and massage chairs and amazing service and products - and then it feels justifiable and I don’t mind paying for it. But if it’s a big standard straight cut/ trim, or a really basic service, I am happy with that also, as long as I’m not then charged some inflated price. The problem, I think, is that hairdressers see what some salons charge and decide they can just up their prices to that, without providing anything like the same level of service. I think lack of transparency around pricing and levels of service is also a major problem across the board.

Really?! They always get those thinning scissors out and I end up with about half of the weight of my hair on the floor!

Theres a thread on this at the mo, asking hairdressers why they do this!!

I've never ever pinned them down on a price op- I ask before and am always told they won’t know until the end- I say but I’d like a cut, layers, colour and for it to be straightened and they always trip over their words telling me they can’t but it’ll be about (tells me price that is generally ten or fifteen euro less but also remind me they can’t actually tell me!!)

If there's no hot tub and if anyone talks to me or touches me, it's not a spa as far as I'm concerned.

I found a hairdresser who doesn't use them. I made it very clear I have a blunt cut and no layer in my hair anywhere. It took my entire adult life to find this man and I'm never ever leaving him. Despite it being £75.a cut!

It's a rare place that does that kind of differentiation in my experience, prices seem to be by the experience of the stylist (so junior, senior, director etc).
But I get the reluctance to protest at the time. I was once talked in to getting mine coloured by a new to me senior stylist, I knew it was going to be expensive but she sold it to me (I normally colour it at home). So I go back for my appointment only to find a much more junior stylist who was basically going to do the same all over dye I do myself. When I explained to her that I thought I was getting different tones (as I discussed with the other woman) she said that's not what she had been told and there wasn't time to do that. So stupidly I went ahead and paid far far far too much money. I protested with my feet and never booked there again (pathetic I know).

Ooh yes this. It is a necessity not a pleasure. I'm going later and already not looking forward to the blow dry which I will have to wash out to make it feel normal again.

While my stylist does an incredible cut each time, I bloody hate the shampoo smell and the blow dry.

Where can you get those prices?

I'm up north and when I went to my friendly local (not even on the high street but on the edge of town) it was £49 for a cut and blow dry. And they didn’t even do such a great job 🫣

I do this - get my hair cut infrequently. I think it probably is a restyle/cut, because you're completely changing your look, not just maintaining a look which has recently been done, that seems fair to me, I wouldn't expect to pay the cost for a trim since I go so infrequently.

I tend to go to places which are called things like HairExpress and trade based on price/speed rather than any kind of reputation and you can walk in without an appointment, or yes the "old lady salons" can work well as well, though you do usually need to make an appointment there.

Another option is someone who will come to your house - they often have a client list of mums and kids, and then elderly people who struggle to wash and style their own hair. Their costs can be lower because they don't have the overheads of the salon.

Try a unisex barber too - they are good at explaining stuff for the clueless without trying to market you endless products.

And if you don't like blow drying, you can ask them not to dry it.

I usually tell them they can go as short as they like and I want a low maintenance hairstyle because I don't have time or interest in spending time on my hair - that's where a unisex one is often good, because I find with some salons which are aimed at a customer who loves the whole "pampering" thing, obviously also a lot of stylists have gone into that line of work because they are interested in hair and beauty and sometimes (not always) it's like the idea of a woman who isn't interested in doing her own hair doesn't compute. That can be a bit of a frustrating experience and lead to a haircut where it takes more effort to make it look nice, whereas I REALLY do mean that what I want is a hairstyle where all I need to do is wash, air or towel dry (and preferably not every day) and brush. I have found what works best for this is to use the excuse of having really little kids, which is why the hairdressers who come to your house might be a good option since they do a lot of that kind of cut.

@Ilovelowry you could ask your stylist if they have a less scented shampoo as well - say you're sensitive to perfumes.

I also am shocked at hairdressers prices. Made a commitment to hair health last year which included 6-8 week trims. But my local hairdressers doesn't do trims. They only do restyles. These cost £80. It's an expensive habit. The only places that don't charge this sort of price (£65+) are supercuts but I've had my hair done a few times there and I've never been happy with it. It's getting so expensive to spend £80 on my hair every 2 months! I don't even dye it or anything (letting my bleach grow out). DM moved down to live near us recently and she cannot understand the cost of haircuts in our area (south east), as she used to pay half what she does now for her hair.

Village salon.
V thick shoulder length curly hair
Cut, 3 shades of highlights, and DD's straight hair and fringe trimmed. £80.
Tea, biscuits, natter - free

Hairdressers have finally woken up to the fact that we do deserve to be paid well hence the increased charges, we have historically been looked down on, and thought of as not very bright
The overheads are astronomical and the profit margins are not huge for most…

There are always cheaper options for people who want cheaper though.

I always wonder why folk are happy to pay huge sums to plumbers and electricians, but not for hairdressers ? Again , people on here seem happy to pay peanuts to mainly women

good stylists take years to learn their craft and im thrilled to bits that we can charge our worth

Just to be clear, I don’t want to upset any hairdressers and certainly don’t think they should be paid peanuts! I just think some transparency over prices would be useful.

Clearly I need to find myself a salon I’m comfortable with, go more regularly so it’s not a restyle every time and communicate better on what I want and get a clear quote upfront.

I don’t know anyone who looks down on hairdressers and the difference between them and a trades person such as a plumber or electrician, is that you pay a charge for them to come to your house and plumbing and electrical stuff is not something you expect regularly.

My hairdresser is a man and is expensive. I know his overheads are high, as they are for most people with premises, but I know he makes a reasonable profit and good for him!

I had a terrible experience recently. I used a local salon for a few years and was really happy with them, always the same staff and reasonable prices.Trim and colour about 55.00. I booked an appointment and went and they said we have a new stylist would you like to go to her? I said yes and had the usual things done and was happy when it was done..until I got the bill. OMG 160.00 from the usual 55.00. Turns out she was self employed on her chair or something and she set her own prices. I was shocked and very embarrassed. I obviously had to pay but I would never ever have agreed to that kind of money. I will not go back now. Trying to find that kind of money really hurt my finances at that time.

And also you wouldn’t be happy if you hired an electrician to put a new socket in and just before they left they said ‘that took longer than expected so it counts as a rewire’ and gave you a massive bill

Or if they installed designer sockets after you'd specified plain white ones and billed you for the extra cost without seeking your approval.

You hairdresser doesn't just do restyles. They do haircuts. It doesn't matter whether you cut off 5mm or 50cm, they still have to go through exactly the same process of sectioning your hair, cutting it off, cross checking etc. There is simply no such thing as "just a trim" unless it's a mum doing it with a pair of kitchen scissors.
You are in the south east. Your hairdresser needs to pay for premises, insurance, tax, pension, support staff (juniors, receptionist), product. Everything is going up in cost. If they clear gross salary of 40k by the end of the year, they'll be lucky. And I don't believe hairdressers should be earning a minimum wage given their skills and training. I'm not enjoying paying £70 for my haircut but I understand why it is charged.

And that should have been made clear to you at the time, not just when you came to pay. I would have challenged that in those circumstances. If you've decided you're not going back at that price you've nothing to lose challenging it.