how much do you/would you pay

Is it rude to call and ask how much a cut and color would be, just to get a ballpark figure? I really want to do this but this thread is starting to scare me because I don't want to pay $300 for it. I'm hoping for somewhere around $175 (not including tip).

I want to have my hair colored because the gray hairs are starting to show(this would be the first time for me and I'm 49).

My husband tried a new salon, it's in a nice area, not really too upscale. He paid $30 for a hair cut, I know that's alot for a mans haircut but she did a real nice job and he likes it alot which is important. They have a $20/$20 plan. I would receive $20 off my cost and he will receive $20 off his next haircut.

Thanks,
Cheryl
 
Cheryl,
It's not rude at all. Many salons will post their prices on their websites or brochures so they expect those questions. The pricing can also depend on the stylist and the number of years experience they have (i.e. "Master Stylist" etc).

Also, for anyone willing to be a guinea pig you can often go to schools and get your hair done on the cheap. Afterall, the Bumble & Bumble chicks had to learn their skills somewhere. ;)
 
Reading Allure today...it had fun facts about haircuts in their Beauty by Numbers page.....John Edwards paid $1250 in 2004 for a haircut by Joseph Torrenueva!
 
Living here with all the hillbillies in Montana has its benefits. I found an excellant colorist who does my cut and highlights, and for full highlights and a cut it's only $55. Last time I went, she ended up only charging me $50, because she ended up not needing to color the very back, and when I tried to give her a $10 tip, she absolutely refused!!!!

I would NEVER in a million years pay $300 for color, and I border on the obsessive with my hair. But that's just me, and I've never lived in an area where prices were as expensive as some of you have to pay.

IMO, I would not go back to the $300 girl. She should have AT LEAST warned you beforehand about a price change, and if you've been a long-term client, she should have given you a discount for following her to the new salon.

dani
 
kariev said:
i wanted to know what you ladies think is an appropriate price for a cut and color? I know all places vary but I just went to a new salon yesterday where my hairdresser had relocated to and a cut and some highlights ended up costing $282 (which is $100 more than her previous location) and then they had a mandatory 20% tip on top of that putting me in the $300. She did not tell me about the raise in price either. I thought it was over priced. Its not that she did a bad job but its not sensational or anything. what do you think? what is your limit for cost when it comes to cut and color? I'm actually thinking about doing the dying at home again and then just getting a cut somewhere b/c this seems to be getting too pricey.
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MANDATORY TIP??? :eek: Definitely go somewhere else. A tip should never be mandatory.

As for the price of cut and color, I pay more because I live in NYC, but I go only 3 times per year. To save some money on cuts, I recently switched from a senior stylist who charged $175 to a junior stylist who charges $90 in the same salon. I have good hair and it doesn't take a genius to work with it. But I'm not willing to play games with the highlights. I've seen too many bad color jobs to compromise. My senior colorist charges $200, and does a phenomenal job.

The way I look at it, I "wear" my hair to work every day, just as I wear my clothes. From that perspective, on a per diem basis, my hair costs less than my clothes. ;)
 
kariev said:
thanks ladies. i live in ft. lauderdale florida by the way. i'm pissed that i paid this as it was an expense that isn't going to last since it has to be redone down the line. now if it were $300 for fitness equipment i wouldn't second guess it. when she told me the price at the end i nearly fainted but didn't say anything as their were people waiting behind me to pay and i didn't want to make a fuss. i'm going to either find another salon or start dying it myself and have my mom cut my hair. My mom dyes and cuts her own hair and has done so since she was my age (27) and it looks good. i almost feel guilty about spending that b/c its such a stupid expense. any recommendations from those who color at home as to which product you use?
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Kariev,

I pay $60 for a cut and $100 for color plus Tip of 20%. so total is just under $200--this is Bethesda, Maryland. In Chicago, I paid $180 for highlights and cut plus a 20% tip. That wasn't too bad for Chicago. With that said, I followed my hair dresser to 3 salons and this is how she did it. She never immediatley raised her prices on the clients that followed her to a new salon and she gave me a heads up that for the first 6 months she'd keep her old prices with me and then they would go up to the new salon rates. as far as a mandatory 20% tip--I would not put up with that. A tip is, IMHO, dependent on service and is NOT dictated. I would talk the the hairdresser about it as well as the salon. Give the hairdresser/salon a chance to explain then if you decide to leave they will know why.

As a side note, I do feel that a superior haircut and highlight lasts a long time. I had to go 11 weeks between cuts and my hair still had pretty good shape and I have medium length hair (maybe on the short side though) and this is pretty good. Color I never go cheap--bad hair cut grows out, but bad color is expense to correct and looks horrible if you let it just grow out. With highlights, I find my hairdresser does such a great job blending the highlight into my natural color and using low lights, that it grows out very nicely and only requires me to get partial highlights every 10-12 weeks.

My two cents and good luck,

Michele
 
I would never pay $300 for a haircut/color/etc. It does depend on where you live but that is still expensive. I do agree that if you figure out the daily cost is isn't that much and you do "wear" your hair daily but I would never spend that much, personally. Lucky for me my sister has her license to cut hair. I haven't paid for a haircut in years. She does it on the side for family and friends. The only cost to me is the cost of the color. I also get all my high-end hair products thru her and save a small fortune. You have no idea how much products are marked up in the salon.
 
I'm in NY and go to two different salons. I used to get my hair cut at Frederic Fekkai, but was spending $140 for 5 minutes with the stylist (someone else washed, someone else blow dried, etc) and although it was a decent cut, it wasn't worth $140, plus tip. On a whim, I went to a place by my house thinking if it's bad, I'll grow it out and go somewhere else. My luck - stylist is great - one of the best cuts I've ever had and she only charges $55.
For color I go elsewhere because that's just too risky. I pay $140, plus tip for the color.
Tips are added on to both of those costs. I get the color done every 7 weeks and the cut every few months.
Those are typical costs here for the nicer salons, I'd say.
BTW - a tip is NEVER mandatory. I'd walk out if I was told that!
 
My husband and I always joke about how ridiculous the cost of coloring hair is. I don't color my hair, . never have. My mother in law spent $250 for a cut and high lights. I'm more of a pony tail kinda girl, . .honestly I never fix my hair unless I have to and when I do it is obvious I never fix my hair. In other words my hair is yucky. My last cut was a few weeks ago and that was just to donate my hair to Locks of Love it cost me $80 and that was only because I tipped the stylist $20 and the shampoo girl $5. Do you gals tip the shampoo girl? Anyhow I spend my money on deep tissue massages instead of hair cuts. :) Of course I work from home so I don't even have to dress up.
 
I get my hair cut at Cost Cutters for $13! I found a stylist I like and she does a great job. Plus, if it needs any tweaking, she makes any adjustments I need even if it's 2 weeks later. As far as color goes, I used to have them do my color and with a coupon, it usually cost under $40. Honestly, I didn't even like paying that amount and since my cousin turned me on to an over-the-counter color, I do mine at home. I have to share this with all of you. I have a reasonable amount of gray hair. In the past, I went to quite a few professional colorists and they could not find a brand that would thoroughly cover my gray's. I was told that I have very stubborn gray's. To find this out, I did pay some top dollar because I was desperate. Well, who knew that it didn't take $100 or more to cover up those obstinate pests. I found better coverage, actually complete coverage with a $2.99 box of Revlon Color Silk. That price I have only found at Target or Wal Mart. This week CVS has a buy one get one special at $3.99 a box so I bought 2 for $3.99. How can you beat that? The sale ends today, Saturday. It comes with a conditioner specially formulated for color-treated hair and because my hair is short, I can get quite a few uses from it. Give it a try. If you've never colored your own hair, have a hair coloring party with a friend or two. They can cover all areas of your hair that you may not be able to see. Enjoy saving $$$$!!!!!! :)

Bam
 
I live in Elverson,PA (WHERE??) about 45 minutes NW of Philadelphia. I pay 63$ for a cut and full color. I get this done about every 3 months.
 
W.O.W.

Wow, I am blown away by the prices you're mentioning. I can see depending on vicinity, etc. but still I wouldn't be able to justify it.

I've had prematurely grey in my 20s! and had to start dying my hair:confused:. I live in upstate NY and go to a great hair stylist that I've followed around for 25 years believe it or not (she was a baby :D).

I pay $52 for a cut and retouch which is most the time. I can see the charge for highlighting, but I bet you that runs about $75-80. A couple of years ago, I started doing touch-up kits for $6 every other month. Not too shabby!

I was wondering how much do you all tip for these services, 10, 15, 20%?
Any professionals want to chime in?
 
I'm a hairstylist in Philly. I think that mandatory tipping is nuts. Usually a 20% tip is good for the stylist, and then $3-5 to the shampoo person/assistant. If the assistant applied color or did a blow-dry,then tip more. Also, tip the assistant directly. Some stylists do not properly tip their assistants, or will even take the tip you designated for the assistant.

Prices vary so much according to geography. Still, I think that $300 in Ft. Lauderdale seems really high. Also, following a stylist to another salon should have resulted in a one-time discount, and then informing you that the prices were higher at the new location.

Definitely feel free to call the salon to ask about pricing. Many salons will charge extra for super thick hair, very long hair, using the flat-iron, etc. If you are getting a "color-correction" it's very difficult to give a price estimate. The $300 figure is what my salon would likely charge for color correction, like removing years of black box-dye from long hair and toning to a more flattering shade.

There are ways to have great hair without paying so much, or by not paying so often.

* Get a hair style which can be maintained with a haircut only every 3 months.
* Use decent products and don't overwash your hair so that the color doesn't strip and that your ends don't fray.
* Don't overuse heat tools.
* If you color, get a color in the realm of what you are naturally.
* If you aren't covering gray, or going significantly lighter, get a demi-permanent color and developer from Sally's Beauty Supply--not a box color from the grocery store. Box color is usually more harsh, and has lots of weird underlying color-additives and/or metallic salts which will damage hair. Also, if you ever make a mistake with the box-color, it is very difficult to remove and will cost you much more in the long run.
* If you are getting highlights, if they are done in a natural manner, and not on the absolute top layers of your hair, you don't need to get them done as often. I get only "random" highlights done 2X per year. They are subtle, and because of the placement, I don't have funky roots showing.
 
I annually treat myself to a cut/hi-lo lights/eyebrow wax. It's $50 at my local salon & she does a marvelous job!!!! Since she's so reasonably priced, I normally give her a $20-25 tip!!!!

Otherwise, I color at home & get my hair trimmed every 4 months or so. I keep my style very simple b/c I like to workout in AM at crack of dawn & go to work immediately afterwards (no blow drying or iron).
 
Tamrahan said:
I pay $27.50 for the cut not counting the tip. I give $5.00 for the tip.
I just got my hair colored last month for the 1st time (with this gal) and she charged me $80.00 not counting the tip. I gave $10.00 for the tip. so that amounts to a total of $122.50.

I always ask how much they charge for something ever since Clinton's $400.00 hair cut. ;)

My hair dresser does a good job. the only beef I have with her is she kind of 'argues' with me on stuff like I'll say "my bangs need to be shorter" and she'll say 'I don't want to cut them too short because your hair is so curly."

I finally found the color I wanted and took a picture in to show her and she talked me into doing red with highlights. So the next day I went back for the colering appt and I told her I don't think red is for me I want the color in the picture I showed her and again she talked me into red. So I ended up getting the red, which is ok but I'd rather have what I had chosen. I just don't understand why she doesn't want to do want I want.

Last year I went from near waist length hair to a pixie. I wish she would have talked me out of that, lol.


eta I'm in Des Moines Iowa area.
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Tammy - I have had stylists like this in the past too! They always try to talk you out of what you want or they do something completely different then you asked for. Not that long ago, I told a stylist I wanted very subtle highlights, no chunks and she went right on to put huge chunks everywhere. I refuse to go back to someone who will not listen to me. It's my hair, not theirs. I'm really bossy now especially regarding my hair cut. I'm still growing out a "Rachel" do that I did NOT ask for when I went to get my ANGLED BOB trimmed.

As to the original question, I have been paying $40 for my cut and $80 for Highlights. About $144 after the tip. My hair grows so fast though and I can't afford that every 4 weeks, so I just went with a $9 box of color this past time. ;) I don't think I'll be going back to the salon for color anytime soon.
 
GMonkey said:
I'm a hairstylist in Philly. I think that mandatory tipping is nuts. Usually a 20% tip is good for the stylist, and then $3-5 to the shampoo person/assistant. If the assistant applied color or did a blow-dry,then tip more. Also, tip the assistant directly. Some stylists do not properly tip their assistants, or will even take the tip you designated for the assistant.

Prices vary so much according to geography. Still, I think that $300 in Ft. Lauderdale seems really high. Also, following a stylist to another salon should have resulted in a one-time discount, and then informing you that the prices were higher at the new location.

Definitely feel free to call the salon to ask about pricing. Many salons will charge extra for super thick hair, very long hair, using the flat-iron, etc. If you are getting a "color-correction" it's very difficult to give a price estimate. The $300 figure is what my salon would likely charge for color correction, like removing years of black box-dye from long hair and toning to a more flattering shade.

There are ways to have great hair without paying so much, or by not paying so often.

* Get a hair style which can be maintained with a haircut only every 3 months.
* Use decent products and don't overwash your hair so that the color doesn't strip and that your ends don't fray.
* Don't overuse heat tools.
* If you color, get a color in the realm of what you are naturally.
* If you aren't covering gray, or going significantly lighter, get a demi-permanent color and developer from Sally's Beauty Supply--not a box color from the grocery store. Box color is usually more harsh, and has lots of weird underlying color-additives and/or metallic salts which will damage hair. Also, if you ever make a mistake with the box-color, it is very difficult to remove and will cost you much more in the long run.
* If you are getting highlights, if they are done in a natural manner, and not on the absolute top layers of your hair, you don't need to get them done as often. I get only "random" highlights done 2X per year. They are subtle, and because of the placement, I don't have funky roots showing.
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Do you tip the owner??? I always heard you do not. Is this correct? thanks
 
Wow, I just had my very first professional color and highlight. The cut and color with highlights (they were very subtle like I asked for so they were more like lowlights) came to $88. I tipped her $15, so it was just over $100. I just went in and had it done having no idea what it would cost. Thanks goodness it didn't come to $300. I would have freaked!!!
 
Well, I did it!! I had my hair cut and highlighted this was the first time I ever had highlights or color or anything other than a perm.

The total came to $66 with my $20 discount because my husband referred me, so with the $20 tip it was $86 which I thought was really reasonable considering I thought it would cost $150 or more!

She did a really great job and listened to what I had said, the highlights are subtle and look really natural. I wanted it to color some gray hairs that I had especially around the temple.

This was only the second time we've been to this salon, my husband had his hair cut there about 2 weeks ago and is really happy. We will definately be
going back!!

...Cheryl
 
I think $300.00 for a cut and SOME highlights is a lot of money.....I live in NYC and I am aware that the prices are crazy in most salons. Therefore, I go to a great suburban salon where a cut is $60.00 and some highlights are about $75....a full head of highlights would cost probably double. But that is still much less than $300.00. Unless you think your hair looks absolutely drop dead gorgeous.....I say find another salon.
 
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