Hairdressers over charging

[OneAmberHedgehog]

Hi Ladies
I went to the hairdressers yesterday and had a full head of highlights, wash cut and blow dry with the same stylist I had previously. Last time I was charged £234 and this time she said that will be £262. I just paid and left. I decided to go back and out later to query the price as I felt ripped off. I was told the price increase was due to added time it took her. I then stated that I had the exact same last time and on the website it's £234 for what I had done so it doesn't make any sense. After going back and forth they spoke to the manager and refunded me £40. Its put me off going back now. Just wanted to see if anyone else has had these sneaky added charges? I just hate going to the hairdressers as its expensive enough now and they don't seem to be transparent with the prices.

I think it’s worth noting though they’re not “overcharging”, there isn’t a set price for their services that they’re charging more than. They’ll need to pay business rates, rent, tax, wages, materials, bills etc etc. if they are fully
booked at the prices they’re charging, they’re not overcharging!

Stopped going to the hairdressers years ago!! My hair is long ish and all about the same length. Now and again I snip it myself.

I was paying around £150, and each time the hairdresser was cutting my hair shorter than I wanted. I’d ask for a tiny trim and she was taking more than an inch - every 8 weeks. It ended up being around collar bone length with layers too - when I’d first started going it had been just past my breasts and all the same length. So that was that. Any more and it would have been a bob.

Made it a lot worse that I’d had cancer previously and my hair being back long was a huge huge thing to me. I cried all the way home the final time I went.

Bloody hell! That's a ridiculous price. There I was thinking my £80+ for a cut and colour was steep (not London, obviously) - I had no idea hairdresser prices had got that high.

I pay that for trim, half head highlights and a blow dry. It takes an hour and a half max.

I get a wet cut from a mobile hairdresser, it costs £20. If I wanted colour I think I’d go on a day trip to Romania or somewhere 😊 Prices here are just crazy.

HOW MUCH??
Christ I thought my £85 for full head highlights, toner, cut and blow dry was a lot

Well done for querying it. You pay £100 more than I do ,that's a lot of money!

I realise there is no "set price" for what they're charging. My point is if it states on the website the price then that should be how much it is. I had the same as last time and it was cheaper for what I had done and took her the same time so I don't understand the extra £30. Makes absolutely no sense. You wouldn't order a meal then be told it's an extra £10 because the chef took longer to make it.

Otherwise they’ll be extra slow so they can charge more?!

This is one thing I hate about going to the hairdressers. It never seems to be the same price twice. I went to one last year - I checked the prices online and worked it out to be £185 I paid a £60 deposit and when I got to the till she said ‘so you’ve paid £60 already so that’s just £190 left to pay’. I nearly died. The worse of it was I’d sat there for 2 hours and looked absolutely no different to when I went in - just a bit more bouffant-y.

I had found somewhere else to go but last time I went I couldn’t get the door to open. The manager then came to the door and yanked it open and said ‘we’re just having a team meeting you’ll have to wait’ before slamming it and locking it again. It was raining and it was only 5 mins before my appointment. I was left out there another 10 minutes and I can’t decide if I’m right to still have the hump over it but I cancelled my next appointment and did my roots myself.

I now tend a home salon where I know what it is going to cost. When I used to go to a salon I used to ask after the consult and before they did my hair for a full break down (printed out of costs). One of the stylist there suggested always doing that.

That’s so insanely expensive. I pay £80 for full head of foils, cut and blow dry. I go to a lady in her garage which she runs. I stopped going into town because I thought £120 was too much! I live in Devon.

I went to a hairdresser for the first time in 6 years recently. I've been cutting my own hair since before the Covid pandemic, but thought it would be nice to get it cut professionally.

I have very thin, fine hair and there's not much I can do with it other than keep it in a short bob.

I paid £75 for a hair wash, trim and blow dry. I've no idea if that's expensive or not for nowadays.

I'm a hairdresser myself and started going to a small home salon earlier this year i was gobsmacked how much it was going to cost me.
They don't know I'm a hairdresser and I've worked out the cost of the colour, plus wage and k18 etc and tbh I've kept my mouth shut as its really not that bad.

What it has made me realise is that for 10 years I've been following the pricing we used to charge in salon and not done very significant price increases in that time.
I'm now doing a complete pricing restructure as when broken down I've been earning under minimum wage as hadn't realised just how much colours/products had increased. I also offer people discount far too frequently.

I'm always fully booked and work way more than I would like which takes me away from my husband and children. I work during the day when they're at school and again in the evenings and one weekend a month.

I question if my clients are coming to me because I'm good and they're loyal to me or if I'm cheap. I don't take deposits which is something else I'm going to have to enforce. Because of the undercharging I don't have the money to pay for training courses which being independent is really important to refresh or learn new skills.

A simple price breakdown of products used on a full head foil appointment.

£2.10 for 100 foils (which varies per person and effect)
£2 per scoop of lightener (can use 4/5 scoops on full head highlights this is without developer)
£12 for toner (without developer)
£2.50 for Developer for both lightener and toner (variable depending on consistency needed for lightening process)
£0.30 for 2 pairs of gloves
£0.05 Plastic cape

There's thinks like shampoo, styling products and k18/olaplex which would add to this breakdown. Also if having more than one colour can reduce the scoops of lightener but increase the amount of colour at £12 per tube.

And this is before time, wages, software, experience, travel etc have been calculated.

A full head foil appointment including development time and rinsing can take anywhere between 2/4hours depending on hair.

I totally understand how much it is and how much things have gone up and I'm fine with paying the prices, I'm just not happy paying one price one minute and another the next and feeling uncomfortable having to question why it's another £30 unless it's a price increase as that's understandable as it's transparent. Im a beauty therapist and prices are set out for the treatments. I would never dream of adding extra money on at the end for supposed "extra time" Its very expensive this time of year and some people might not even have the extra money leaving them feeling embarrassed.

I paid 290. Not happy with result at all. suppose to be balayage but I look like zebra. decided that she well do some highlights today to look better - she messaged me hour before that she isn't well. So angry to say at least. Now I want at least 50 % refund sod it

I was going to a hairdressers for years and the last time I went I was charged over £130 for a t-section of highlights, so less than half a head. My stylist was really nice but I just couldn't afford to keep going there. I found another salon slightly out of the area and got half a head of highlights for £75.

What annoys me the most with my salon you cannot book any form of treatment, colour, roots highlights etc without having to add on a wash at minimum of 20 quid, what are they going to do??? Not wash it out 🤦🏻‍♀️

Sound like it would be better to have a mini break up north to get your hair done!
££££!!!

I actually surprised hair salons haven’t started automatically adding an “optional service charge”.

I pay £55 for full colour, cut, style and blow dry, my eldest DD pays £65 for full foils, cut style and blow dry same salon. Small, but all ways busy, local hairdresser. That price is crazy. Down the road however in a larger salon, more central to town they charged me £17 for my younger DD fringe trim! My regular is £5

Thats hideous. Dont go back

That’s is outrageous … even the £234 sounded mega expensive! I’d shop around and maybe look for someone who does home hair, at theirs or yours … save on the chair rental costs.

Recently went in for appointment when it was 20% off colouring for Black Friday. It didn't include the cut part or the toner part so the discount was minimal in the end. The toner is surely part of the colouring service? But yes they never include the toners generally on the online booking price yet it's 100% part of the appointment. Fully necessary and they don't even ask if I want a toner. Sneaky. Then they have the cheek to mention tips on the credit card machine! Ha! On yer bike.

I recently started using a mobile hairdresser - after the salon was creeping in to the £200 region for a half head. London but not a posh part of zone 3. The last time I went I actually waited for ages and the cut was wonky and had to go back. Mobile hairdresser is about £120 for half head