getting your hair done is expensive!!! Why?

OMG...ME TOO!

You get what you pay for.
Me, I like my stylist and to me goin to the beauty salon is also a social event, talkin with the ladies there.

As far as suing goes, just watch those "judge" shows on TV. I have seen several hair stylists being sued from everything from too short (girl made money using her looks) to bad extensions, to a supposedly ruined wedding due to bad hairstyle. I would think that this is a good indicator of what is going on in the court rooms all over the country. We are lawsuit crazy in this country. I would have insurance too. Teachers and nurses have to have it.

Suing over a hairstyle! With so many much more serious problems that is just absurd!

No haircut could be that bad to actually sue someone over.

And doesn't the person going to the hairdresser have some responsibility to check out a salon before they go there!

No wonder America is considered a lawsuit crazy country with too many lawyers and too many trivial lawsuits!

Hi Lyris;

I attended a business seminar a few years ago and the lawyer teaching one of the classes said he had researched how many hair salons had been sued, I don't think this included small claims, I'm not sure. He only came up with one in twenty years, in the whole State of Michigan, and that was for a slip and fall.

That was a while a go, I don't know what the current stats are. I do know that professional liability (this does not include premises injury...i.e.; slip and fall) is relatively cheap mine is only $80 per year. This tells me that there's not a whole lot of stylists' being sued, or you can bet that the insurance would be much higher.

On a personal note, 19 years of doing hair and never sued....Thank God. I have made my share of mistakes. I've always taken responsibility for them. Honesty really works especially if you fix it and always try to send them out happy.

Once, I had an old color teacher say; "The best Stylist isn't a Stylist who never makes mistakes. The best Stylist is a Stylist who can fix their mistakes."

I love the work and I'm a tweeker.
I try not to make mistakes I can't fix.

Well...sometimes people eat at restaurants other than McDonalds. McDonald's has their place. So does the retaurant at the Ritz Carleton. And so does every place else in between. I know a very old and famous Italian restaurant near me. The Caesar salad is almost 15 dollars. Some people say it isn't worth it. Others say it is their favorite in the world.

Ultimately *YOU* have the power to decide what "lengths" (pardon the pun) you want to go for your hair.

Sorry , I realized that I might have sounded rude. I guess what I'm trying to say is sometimes you THINK the more money you spend the better result you will get. I had a friend who spent $80.00 to have bangs cut into her hair. The bangs looked horrible on her. But the salon was well known in the area and she was paying for the name. She even agreed that she had wasted her money. Spending more money and getting a better result/better product is just an elitist view. Very snobby!!!

People will pay what they feel a product or service is worth. If the stylist charges $125 for a combination of services and the customer is happy with the result and feel she received value for money, it was worth it. If a lady pays $25 and gets a lousy haircut, either poorly cut, too short or just not what she wanted, it was not worth the money. I just gave a friend a trim whose hair was to her knees and hadn't been trimmed in over a couple years. She would not frequent a salon at all. Not because of the cost, but because she does not trust them NOT to go and cut off too much. Funny thing was that I warned her because of the condition, I would have to take off more than a few inches, about eight. She said go ahead I expected that. After I finished she looked in the mirror, then went over to a chair to sit down. She said it wasn't short enough because she was still able to sit on it. I told I would have to trim off another three inches to get it to where it wouldn't be touching the seat, but that I would rather not as the ends were all neatly trimmed and I had already taken off 8 inches. She said OK, she could live with it. She said next time she wouldn't wait over two years for a trim, if I agreed to do it for her in a few months. She is a friend who I wouldn't take a penny from. The trust established between friends is more important. She received for free what she would have a difficult finding if she had to pay for the service.

I cannot believe there is actually a discussion on how much stylist make. Most of the replies remind me of discussions on how much preachers make.
FIRST OF ALL,WHAT IS WRONG WITH A HAIRSTYLIST MAKING ALOT OF MONEY??? Do you question other professionals why they make so much?? It is the American Dream to work hard and make money. And believe me I have sore shoulders and heal spurs to prove it.

I am a professional Hairstylist and colorist and I make around 40,000 a year, but do you know that I spend several thousand a year on continuing education? I travel alot for it and its not cheap. My appointment book stays full because I do work so hard on keeping up with the latest. Not only in styles but more so on the latest in technology in the chemical aspect of hairstyling.

I also have rent, supplies (which I use the best and its not $10 bleach) shop insurance, malpractice insurance, workerscomp insurance, personal medical insurance, phones, electricity, water, advertising, accountant, atmosphere expenses ( music, soft drinks free for clients, children entertainment etc.) and TAXES (city tax,county tax, cosmotology license tax, barber licence tax, state sales tax, personal property tax for city and county, personal income tax)........whew!!!

Before you ever complain about the prices of haircuts etc, think about what goes on behind the scenes and thank your hairstylist for keeping them low.

P.S. Womens haircuts are alot harder than mens. Mens can be completed in 10 minutes. Where womens (even the staight trim on the ends) take much longer and require alot more experience.

Thank you for letting me get that off my chest. :)

demodoll wrote: I haven't come across ANY poor stylists in quite some time and I have lived all over the country. Even in small towns and rural areas where they can't charge quite as much, the "good" stylists, the ones who have years of experience and a bunch of loyal customers, make close to or over six figures easily. So I have to say that doing hair is a good way to make a living. I think you have to be good at it, creative, good with people, and a good business person to make a good living though. The ones who are good will be the ones who make it in the business and are the ones who are worth what they charge. If you think about it, they have to be pretty smart to juggle all that they are doing. Also, they do have to be educated and they have to maintain a certain number of continuing education credits to maintain their licenses. No "snoozing" for them since the hair business is constantly changing and they must stay up to date on the latest styles and products. If you can't afford to pay the going rate for highlights in your area, don't get them. It definitely isn't worth it to screw up your hair by trying to do it yourself. And with the cut or a perm, the same thing applies. If you can't afford to pay for a hairstyle that requires a lot of upkeep, opt for something simpler that requires longer length of time between cuts and no chemical processes. We live in a time when looks mean a lot, probably more than they should, but it would be difficult to change that mindset. A good hairstylist is worth their weight in gold in this society!

What`s your definition of "poor?"

Here in the cornbelt, one friend who is a stylist makes $12,000. a year. Her friend makes $10,000. a year. Although it`s certainly true that the cost of living is much less here than in New York City, their salaries are barely enough to keep food on the table.

I think perhaps that you`re referring to top-end stylists. And undoubtedly, some of them are making a better living! However, in this area, it`s extremely difficult to make much of a living from a stylist`s salary.

Jennifer