What’s the deal with hidden hair pricing?

How to avoid getting duped at the register.

Picture this: you sit down at a nice restaurant and order a juicy steak. At the end of the night, when you get the bill, it’s bad news: your meal costs triple the listed price. In most industries, this would never happen. But when you head to the hair salon, it’s a whole different story. 

It’s not uncommon to feel a cold sweat when you walk up to the register, especially after spending a few hours in the chair. These days, getting your hair done is no small fee either – a trim, style and a full head of foils can set you back almost as much as a month’s rent.

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For the average customer, hair pricing can seem perplexing. Why don’t stylists just have their prices listed on the wall so there’s no confusion? It can also be awkward to have the ‘money talk’. You don’t want to offend your stylist by undervaluing their work, but you also want to make your budget clear so you don’t have to eat scrambled eggs for a week following your appointment.

Alan Liu, hairdresser and owner of the Richmond-based rental chair space SalonShare, says there are a few reasons some salons might not be upfront about their pricing. For one, a stylist may need to change their services midway through a session as new information about the client’s hair comes to light.

The thickness, colour and quality of the client’s hair will determine what needs to be done to achieve the desired result, and sometimes a stylist can’t tell until it’s too late. “The people who can read the hair with that knowledge, they have to have, say, 10 years experience. Five years might not be enough,” says Alan.

Once, he worked with a fellow stylist who offered permanent straightening. When a woman came in for the treatment, the stylist forgot to ask if she had ever had foils done – permanent straightening doesn’t work on previously-bleached hair. The woman ended up with her hair snapping off. All this to say that hair can be notoriously tricky to read. 

Another reason why the salons might not overtly display their prices is that it can cheapen the ambience of the studio. “When you walk into a high-end clothes shop, can you see the price tags?” says Alan. Leaving numbers out of the picture gives the salon an air of luxury, but it can also make it uncomfortable for visitors to ask questions. Unfortunately, Alan says that sometimes this is done on purpose.

“I was about to work at this salon [in Melbourne]. Their strategy was a little bit tricky. People complained about this salon, saying they always start with very cheap prices but end up with double the price.” He says they would list the rates for a haircut alone, which seemed like a good deal. But once the client was in the chair, the stylist would perform other services without asking or mentioning their fee. 

“You need shampoo, $10 extra. You need a blow dry, $20 extra. You need styling, $10 extra. So you end up paying more than what you expected,” he tells me. People would be upset when they found out about the hidden fees, but there was nothing they could do. 

Because most hairdressers who are hired at a salon work for a regular paycheck, there’s no real incentive to make sure guests leave happy and will end up coming back. This is perhaps why pricing is more secretive in Australia as opposed to North America, where many stylists rely on tips. 

Alan says SalonShare makes sure stylists are dedicated to their client’s satisfaction. Because the hairdressers work for themselves as freelancers, they’re motivated to build up a roster of regulars to support their business. 

For those who are looking for ways to avoid getting duped at the register, Alan recommends putting in some work. Ask your friends for hairdressers they trust, look at average prices and reviews online and go to two or three consultations before settling on a studio. On the day of your appointment, make sure you let your stylist know exactly how much you’re willing to pay. “Hairdressers can always find solutions based on your budget if the hairdresser is decent,” he says. 

In his own work, he does a 15-minute consultation with each client to figure out what they want and what is possible. He says a few weeks ago, he had a student come in looking for a half-head balayage with a price cap of $270. But when she arrived, he noticed that she hadn’t had a haircut in over a year.

“No structure, very thick,” he says. He told her he’d have to cut it and would give her a quarter head of balayage instead. Because he understood where she was coming from financially, he gave her a few extra foils on the house.

“One I’ve started, a couple more foils [don’t] cost me much anyways. She paid $270 and was very happy with the outcome.” He joked with her on her way out: “If you find a boyfriend within the month, that means you need to double pay me!”

For more on hairdresser etiquette, head here.