One of the things I am liking about having retired is precisely that I can schedule things like highlights, eyebrow/eyelash tinting, etc. at regular intervals instead of catch-as-catch-can.
@TranquilMind, I agree! I’m very surprised to read these prices.
I pay $42 plus tip for a shampoo, cut, and eyebrow wax in a suburb of a major Texas city. I never get my hair styled or blow dried.
I used to go to Fantastic Sam’s for a haircut, and it was almost always just fine. The eyebrows are what keep me going back to the hairdresser! I’m more afraid of messed-up eyebrows than messed-up haircuts.
Went to my stylist a few days ago. I am new to town, so have only seen him maybe a half a dozen times. He just got a MS diagnosis, and can’t afford the MRI he needs to help them figure out the best medication routine. So he told me he is self medicating with vodka, as it eliminates his hand tremors. @-)
Oh no, INparent. I don’t think I would trust someone with hand tremors with scissors near my face and neck.
Or a drunk. 
I’m sure there are bargains to be found just as with anything else, but I don’t have any problem paying what I pay for my hair cut and color. It isn’t easy to find someone good at cutting short, curly hair, and how my hair looks and feels is important to me. I know people who pay a lot more here in my community- and they are happy with the product they get, too. I’m sure there are happy people paying a lot less. We don’t tend to engage in the reverse snobbery around here that seems to be popular on CC…
I pay $108 for a wash, cut, and blow dry. That includes the tip. It’s almost $300 when I get highlights. I would like to thank the OP for starting this, because I knew I was paying a lot. I need to find someone who costs less and isn’t an hour away. Now I know these people exist. She has been cutting my hair for about 10 years and I love her work but it’s time to break up.
I have been going to my hairdresser for 30+ years. She always fits me in. She has moved from one salon to another, but has kept my price reasonable.
Yeah… so my last hairdresser in my old state had a stroke a couple of years ago. I had been going to him for 25 years. His wife cuts as well, and she took over until he would work again. He was painfully slow, but he wanted to do it. I just couldn’t stop going to him, 25 years is a long relationship, and who would start with him as a new customer now? And he did okay, just slowly.
Now I feel reluctant to abandon this new guy… I am hoping he gets the medical treatment he needs for his MS and can continue working. I think the income is super important to him. He is one of those guys with multiple jobs. He cuts hair, but also works for a catering company. He didn’t mention the vodka until the end of the cut, and I hadn’t noticed anything – I got the impression it was a small amount. And the haircut looked really good (better than my guy in my old state did…). But I know, I know… I am going to take it one visit at a time and see how it goes. I feel like if he thought he really couldn’t do it, he would say so.
This thread has been very eye-opening. I don’t think I’ve ever gone to an actual salon for my hair so I truly have absolutely no idea what hair things cost. My mom or my roommate color my hair from a box (no bleaching or lightening, just color) and the woman who has been cutting my hair since… ever?.. charges about $20-30 (depending on whether or not she colors it) but I have to drive out to her house. Gladly. I will have to hold on to this family friend for dear life.
I’ve been told I have good hair. It’s dead-straight, thick, and silky so all I really need is a straight cut- nothing complicated. I’m hoping I have my mom’s hair- no one in her family goes gray.
I just got a cut, color and glaze for $150, not including tip. I’ve been using this person for 4 years, since I moved to a new city. This is the first time she gave me a bad cut, and I’m not happy with the color either. I go 3-4 times/year. My next visit will be just before a high school reunion – I’m really hoping she doesn’t mess up then!
Every 6 weeks I alternate cut/color-$130 with cut/color/highlights/lowlights-$170, including tip. I don’t mind paying for a good colorist/stylist.
@intparent I can understand your dilemma and appreciate your loyalty to your guy. I’ve used the same housekeeper for 18 years and she has had health issues a few times over the past few years that have necessitated her being unable to work for a few periods of 3-4 months. We just deal with it and wait for her to get better and come back because we don’t want to add to her woes when she’s in a health bind. Many of her customers aren’t so loyal so each time she’s had to rebuild her client list (which I’ve helped her with as well by finding new clients for her). She’s been reliable and a hard worker so I feel that is the least I can do to help her out.
So this discussion of loyalty to a hairdresser makes me wonder-- if you do make a change, do you tell your previous hairdresser or do you just not go back? I really liked the guy I was using for a very long time but he moved to a location across town I just couldn’t get to. So I started to use the woman who I knew through our kids’ school. I used her for a few years and she was ok, but the styles started to look dated and they had lots of layers which, with my curly hair, was sometimes hard to deal with. I had gotten some one- time cut/style things at silent auction fundraisers and tried a few different places here and there. My massage therapist then recommended her friend and stylist, who I went to, and loved. She is near my office and she does a great job. So, I just continued to go to her. Never really called my previous stylist and told her I wasn’t coming back. I just never rescheduled. I wasn’t sure what to say, other than “I’ve enjoyed your work but I think I am going to make a change” or something like that.
The slightly awkward thing is that we ran into them on a cruise about 9 years ago, and DS#1 reconnected with their S#1 there and they have now remained good friends. We spent time with them on that cruise and had a nice time. The issue of hairstyling just did not come up.
So, for those of you who have made or are thinking of making a change when you have used a stylist for a year or more, how do you handle it?
My brother-in-law’s grandfather was a barber. My BIL let his grandfather cut his hair until the day he died. The grandfather had started to lose eyesight, my BIL said he was taking his life into his own hand with every hair cut, he never knew if he was going to lose his ear or getting stabbed.
If it’s just been a year or so, I would just move on. If it ever comes up, just say you wanted a place more convenient to where you live/work.
The place where she worked was close to my house. So I probably couldn’t say that and feel good about it. Its been a long time ago now, but it was an issue I pondered when I made the change.
I wouldn’t say anything. What’s the point? I’d just move on.
Hmmm… wonder if he’s looked into an alternative form of dealing with MS tremors that I think is legal and available in your state! ;))
Might be a nice ‘tip’ to bring him some day! You know, some special home-made brownies!
I used to spend $90-$150 for a cut and color and I was never 100% happy with it. Then I spent a miserable year letting all of the gray come in fully and now I couldn’t be happier. I love my hair now! It couldn’t be easier! And it costs me about $20 every 6 weeks for a quick trim (it’s a lightly layered cute short bob) at Supercuts. I’ll never go back to the high maintenance life.