Thursday, April 22, 2010

My Haircolour cost WHAT?

I was on Yelp the other day and noticed that there was lovely young lady giving rave kudos to her stylist but could not justify why her highlights cost 145 dollars ( pretty standard btw in mid to higher end salons in Toronto) I decided to demystify how salons charge for services.

There are several factors to take into consideration. As a client you definitely want to research what you want before hand. The quality you expect from the stylist, and your budget. With colour for instance. You have to consider...the service

Most salons operate on a scale of Junior to Master stylist/colourist. Let me explain further what you can expect from these people.

Junior's have less then 2 years experience in most cases. They are the interns. They have gone though all the necessary training to be a hairdresser. They just lack the experience with real clients. They can be very skilled, but sometimes have trouble communicating or interpreting what the client wants. It is totally normal to have them ask for guidance from a more senior stylist. If you do decide to go this route. It is safe to say don't have super high expectations. They are still learning and that is reflected in the rate you pay. So you may not want to get more then a trim, basic cut, or basic highlights/colour from them. If you are adventurous, let them go wild you may be very pleasantly surprised!

Intermediate, and Senior Stylists/Colourists have 5+ years on the floor experience and have taken master classes and are much better at colour correction and creative colour/cut techniques. Some may even work as trainers for a manufacturer, doing trade shows, private in salon classes or winning competitions. You will pay a premium for this experience.

You should also feel more confident that less will go wrong. Beware the "Primadonna hairstylists." You should go for a consultation for big changes. Bring pictures of what you like, communicate your expectations, ask how much it will cost BEFORE. Ask about maintenance and after care. If your stylist cannot answer your questions, or you feel uneasy that they do not "get" what you want, or they are vague with costs, thank them for their time and leave. Remember paying more does NOT mean you are getting better service. Do your research.

Most salons will have a price list or menu one can look at to get a general idea of STARTING rates for each service and stylist. It is the minimum charge. You pay for that slot of time for that service and that is the minimum it costs. Price can go up from the following things... complicated service (corrections) overly long or overly thicker then average hair. You are paying for the extra time and product this hair takes to do over the average.

Other things that can inflate price is location of salon. Trendy, boutique, or franchise salons can have a higher price structure. Owners may charge way more. Almost any stylist working in a salon with more then 15 to 40 years is going to be charging Master prices. There are also hidden costs. The colour product ( can reach into 25 dollars or more just for the dye per application) the salons commission, chair rental and taxes ( HST and GST now in Ontario) this all factors in on the final price. Also, it is totally normal for a salon to NOT include a blowdry in a colour service. That is a separate service that needs to be booked in or they offer complimentary blow off with a assistant. Again not always the case either. Ask your stylist about their polices.

I find that all problems in the salon are from miss-communication. We don't ask enough questions and assume that we are in good hands. We assume the price will be the same as before or somewhere else. We have unrealistic expectations of what we can have and we overestimate the skills of the stylists in some cases. I always likened this to how we trust and assume doctors always know best or know what they are doing or have homogeneous knowledge. This is also not always the case. The more prepared one is less sticker shock occurs.

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