Hair cut and colour now exceeds what I earn in a day. Absolutely fed up.

[Burntout01]

Obviously everything is going up and up. Just went to book hairdressers- I don’t go often , maybe every four months since I went grey ( used to box dye it for 30 years before that). Its my one bit of self care.
Cost has jumped from £120 to over £170 since I last had it done in September. For full head highlights for chin length bobbed hair plus wash and rough blow dry.
It’s not that I don’t believe its worth that price and I am not knocking my hairdresser, its not about that. But I am a senior NHS nurse with 30 years experience. My job has taken a lot from me and my family. I take home £150 a day. The hair appt is 2.5 hours.
I just cannot justify the expense for myself any more.

Try henna hair colour /one made for sensitive scalps ? There are some out there.

Whilst it does seem a lot of money in relation to your daily wage, you have to remember that a hairdressing salon has a lot of expensive overheads.
I was chatting to my hairdresser about the costs involved in running her business and keeping her head above water and they are huge.
Also, if you think that the haircut/colour lasts you 2-4 months then that’s not bad going really.

Shop around? That doesn’t sound unsurprising in terms of cost, but I am sure you can find different prices.

Hi OP, I voted YABU because I think if you can afford to go to the salon, you should.
I am in a similar situation to you and my treat is my hairdresser appointments.
I spend a lot of money on others (as do alot of US) & my hairdresser appointment is for me.
I haven't always been able to afford it and I really appreciate that I can now.

My haircut costs £12. It takes 10 minutes.

I got a half head foils with cut and blow dry last week. £208! I didn’t leave a tip

Whereabouts in Hertfordshire are you roughly? It’s a big county. Which district council?

Excellent point.

My salon’s prices have increased three times this year. I went every eight weeks and now every twelve weeks and I have stopped tipping.

As I’m greying, I am looking into grey blending to further decrease my salon visits. Unsurprisingly my salon is not in favour of it. As it’s all over Instagram, I think this is the way forward. There is no way I am going to spend nearly £200 every two months for years to come. I simply can’t afford it.

Go natural? Honesty, it's extremely freeing.

Judy don’t do it OP. I know nobody that goes for that sort of nonsense. We just appreciate each other for the people they are, not the people they pretend to be. If you’ve got grey hair, you’ve got grey hair. There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s a natural part of aging. Why try to cover it up?

Wow some of the prices! I pay about £80 for half a head of highlights but I don't get my hair cut at the same time (that is £70 though). I usually go every 4-6 months for highlights and 6-8 weeks for a cut.

I did go somewhere else for a cheaper cut (about £45) but they've gone out of business. Not because of the prices though - they apparently couldn't get staff because stylists like to work from home salons/mobile these days.

Same here! Paid a three-figure sum to be "bronde" - wanted my roots done and to be my natural brown with a few highlights, and have somehow ended up with my entire head looking like a brass knob!

I have ordered one of these toning masks, Smokey Bronde for me from L'Oreal, as I want to cool the tone right down. But they have caramel and golden ones too. They're supposed to be pretty good, going by the reviews and the photos.

Wella Color Fresh Mask
Loreal le color gloss

I bought an electric hair trimmer thing and now cut mine and my son's hair every couple of months. I'm grey, have been since 16, so I just embrace it! I save £11 per cut for him and £20-30 for me. I just watched YouTube for guidance!

My hairdresser charges £23 for a cut and blow. I asked if she could even out my greys but she was reluctant as it goes from almost white to steel and she thought would damage it. I use a toner I got from. Amazon which you add to conditioner. It lasts about 3 weeks and gives a more silver effect

Mine charges massively more than what I earn in a day, but she’s worth every penny. If I go cheaper, I regret it.

I get my hair cut short twice a year then grow it( simple style so can grow out, I may need an in-between trim). So max 4 cuts a year wet cut, £30. Box dye every 2 months + root touch monthly, £6. Comes to less than 200 a year. I have a sensitive scalp too. The salon dye is just as bad as box so I grin and bear it.

Oh and don't feel guilty for being pregnant or think you are making some moral sin as other posters have said, the law is on your side here and the new company will just have to cope, same as I youd joined a year ago and fell pregnant now.

Women shouldn't be made to feel theh have anything to apologize for by being pregnant.

Wrong thread!

I’m going back to my natural colour. I was charged £240 six weeks ago. A jump from £170. They’re hairdressers. Not brain surgeons. So I won’t go anymore.

I’m a hairstylist in Iowa, USA

I wanted to comment because many clients just don’t understand the background of what we have to just open our doors and run the business.

Product cost, rents, insurance, everything has tripled since 2020 & we are all just trying to stay afloat in today’s world.

There is a price point for every client just like there is a stylist at every price point!

To just open my doors every day I need to make $1000/day
^ that only covers rent, utilities, payroll for the day, products needed for clients

We are only asking that clients understand that we are just trying to make a living wage just like you!!!

We don’t get retirement, sick days, vacation pay! Unless that stylists works for a corporation or a company that can do it most stylists are independent.

Do you pay to just go to work??
Besides gas and food for lunch…
Nope most don’t.

There’s 3 ways you can look at this
If given an option which 2 would you choose.

Cheap, Fast, Good

Cheap & Fast = won’t be good
Cheap & Good = won’t be fast
Fast & Good = won’t be cheap

It’s all about perceived value
What does the stylists do to make what you pay valuable??!!

For me my client experience is no.1 priority because I know I’m NOT the cheapest but I’m NOT the most expensive either.

We hate that we have to adjust our pricing because everything is so damn expensive!!! But we are just trying to survive! If you find someone who still charges 1990-2000’s pricing you’re are lucky & that’s stylist is probably not even able to pay a living wage to herself.

Our beauty industry has changed a lot many are leaving the industry again because it’s to hard and then clients like in this thread just don’t understand and then make comments like these that when many leave in the next year or 2 most will either pay the ones who are left or like some have stated start doing their own hair in a DIY fashion.

Just be honest with everyone that you don’t see value and you don’t have the funds and that’s ok but let’s treat people who make you look amazing for 6, 8, 10, 12+ weeks with a little more respect. Can we ??!!

Now if your stylists isn’t giving you the best experience find someone who will that you can see the value of what it $$ to go to someone who their no.1 priority is the client experience behind the hair goals.

💛💛💛

@Burntout01 Try Khadi as an alternative to box dye. It is a herbal mix, with options beyond the henna red. Doesn’t last as long as box dye but looks really natural and if you use a lighter colour just colours the greys to make highlights.

I think that’s an unacceptable % increase in such a short space of time .
The way round this could be to book someone more junior , so if your stylist is a senior there could be a qualified but more junior stylist?
That would cost less ?
Also what my daughter does is always look out on the local social media and on the hairdressers social media too .
They often have training days where you pay only for the cost of the colour or a heavily discounted price .
I get a cut and colour and that’s increased too ( but not as much )so I do try to leave it as lomg as possible between appointments

Grey hair really suits a lot of women. I stopped dying mine nearly 2 years ago (I'm 43), although I've been going grey since my early 20s. It's almost white at the front and gets gradually darker towards the back (only bit i don't like is that it's a weird mix of dark grey/brown at the back - I was originally blonde - but I can't really see it so I ignore it). There are now white streaks peppering my whole head though 😅

I get sooooo many compliments on my hair now. I rarely got this many when it was dyed.

I accept that being naturally blonde it wasn't quite as noticeable when it started coming through, but I genuinely love it now and wouldn't consider dying it again. My hairdresser told me she wouldn't even consider doing it now 😂

So whilst I totally get your original post and frustration (that's a big increase on an already expensive service!). Maybe worth considering? X

I can't remember what it used to cost when I got my hair dyed years ago when I was younger - about £70 in the Home Counties.

I think I am just going to live with being grey now. It's now far too expensive as you say. Who on earth can afford it now?.

My eldest DD wants her hair dyed for the first time for Christmas as her present. Cheapest price we got was £130. It's definitely something that should now have to be for a special occasion 😞😳😵‍💫

Salon cut & colour isn’t a necessity, it’s one of life’s little luxuries.

£150 per day is a pretty good daily wage but £450 per week puts you at about £23k per year, just above the full-time annual salary at minimum wage.

I’m pretty shocked by all the posters saying ‘well, if you can’t afford it, tough. Either d-i-y or go grey.’ Economically that may be sound, but I don’t like the idea that people at the lower end of the income spectrum have no right to want to have nice things. Or that only well-off folks have the right to take care of their appearance.

We’re not talking about having a yacht or a private island, it’s a bloody haircut ffs! 🤦‍♀️