QuoteReplyTopic: Personal Question Posted: September 14 2007 at 2:32pm
I was wondering what the average extensionist is making a year? I know this is a loaded and personal question... but just some round figures would be appreciated ... thanks, Bridget
That question would be very difficult to answer due to the going rates in different areas and the amount of salon overhead the extensionist has to pay. For example, I rent my own room in a salon, so automatically my overhead is more than someone just renting a chair.
I would say do some checking in your area and see what other stylists are charging. Also, figure out what the going rate is for 'regular' services in your salon since you want to make at least that much doing extensions, and hopefully more per hour, for your expertise.
In several classes that I have taken, the companies do usually make suggestions about what you should charge, but again, it differs with geographical location. I just took the SoCap class in LA last month, where many of the stylists in LA are getting $1500-2500 for Socap. Well, in my area, in Sacramento, the going rate (I've called around) for SoCap is $800-$1200.
Please forgive me if I am mistaken but I thought you used to work with Great Extensions? Do you only do SoCap or do you do multiple types of systems? A few of my hairdresser friends that used to do GL switched to SoCap USA and most of them only do SCU now. I was just curious at the trend.
That which doesn't kill you makes you stronger or drives you totally insane. :-)
Bridget
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Thanks for your reply... in my area, extensions are rare, well except for a bond in or sew in. There's one salon 40 min. west of me that offers a strand by strand method, extend tubes. I've been to one other shop 1 and a 1/2 hours from me that offered shrink tubes. Other than these couple shops, there's not a whole lot in my area. If I mentioned SoCap Extensions to 20 stylists in my area, maybe 2 would know what it was. So, it's hard to even know what to charge people. I'm an hour and 1/2 east of Cleveland.
Are you still doing a lot of the Shrink Links? I'm excited to be doing my first fusion install next month on a girl friend.
Yes I still do a lot of shrink links. Mark Barrington came out with and 'extra hold' shrink links, and it works well on my people who were having problems with slippage with the regular shrink links.
Hi Karen: You ask if I do 'Great Extensions' , I think you mean Great Lengths. No, I have not taken the Great Length course. For fusion, I decided on So.Cap, since they have good hair and decent prices that match what my clients are willing to pay.
I do all methods. For strand extensions I like the shrink links, silcone lined mircro rings, and now I added So.cap. For wefted methods, I do sew in and bonded, and also some seamless. I also do hair replacement, so I have some wig and hairpiece clients.
So, what do I do most of? Let's see, probably it's a cross between micro rings and shrink links, since I've been doing these methods a long time. I may try to switch some of these clients to SoCap though.
By the way, I just did a take down of a client that I put the Donna Bella fusion on. Those suckers stayed in very well, but yet were very easy to remove. I think the Donna Bella glue is a bit fussier than the So.Cap in that it makes a more chunky bond and it sort of burns the fingers, but I'd use it again, and I think they sell to the general public.
Yes I still do a lot of shrink links. Mark Barrington came out with and 'extra hold' shrink links, and it works well on my people who were having problems with slippage with the regular shrink links.
Hi Karen: You ask if I do 'Great Extensions' , I think you mean Great Lengths. No, I have not taken the Great Length course. For fusion, I decided on So.Cap, since they have good hair and decent prices that match what my clients are willing to pay.
I do all methods. For strand extensions I like the shrink links, silcone lined mircro rings, and now I added So.cap. For wefted methods, I do sew in and bonded, and also some seamless. I also do hair replacement, so I have some wig and hairpiece clients.
So, what do I do most of? Let's see, probably it's a cross between micro rings and shrink links, since I've been doing these methods a long time. I may try to switch some of these clients to SoCap though.
By the way, I just did a take down of a client that I put the Donna Bella fusion on. Those suckers stayed in very well, but yet were very easy to remove. I think the Donna Bella glue is a bit fussier than the So.Cap in that it makes a more chunky bond and it sort of burns the fingers, but I'd use it again, and I think they sell to the general public.
Hi MetalGirl,
Oops...my goof. Yes, I meant Great Lengths.
I have heard very good things about SoCap. I also heard it is more affordable the GL but still good hair. So it is nice to get your feedback on the subject since you are working with it.
Thank you for providing so much great info about your methods. If you were closer to Dallas I would be bringing my HB models over to see you for some of your amazing work.
I found it fascinating that you do the most of micro rings and shrink links. I have heard great things about both methods and really am chomping at the bit to have someone from HB have those installs done. I want Brigid to try either rings (do some people call them beads?) or shrink links next. She has had a series of installs and it is interesting to hear her feedback on each one because she is walking around with the installs all the time.
WOW...you do so many different things. That is so great because it gives your clients so many options. What a great way to run your hair extension business.
Thanks for the feedback on Donna Bella. The guy I talked to said that they don't sell to the general public but then I have had a few other people besides yourself tell me that they will. I am going to check into that further.
Thanks again for all the great info.
That which doesn't kill you makes you stronger or drives you totally insane. :-)
Metalgirl: Perhaps this has been discussed before- I am not sure. I didn't do a very thorough search. I have heard a lot about SoCap also, and I have a lot of customers who like me to match hair colors of ours with SoCap colors. Can you tell me, what is the main difference between SoCap and other tips? Is it a fusion-type installation? Or rings, links? And what about SoCap makes it desirable? I am just getting very curious. I may go to cosmetology school soon, so that I may diversify our business and truly know all types of installation- plus be license and able to legally install hair extensions. I will plan to possibly expand to owning a salon in addition to our current retail business. With these plans, I'd like to try and narrow down some of the systems to offer and learn. TIA!
So Cap is fusion. My opinion, as a customer, is that it is just not worth the money. I have had two So Cap installs and would never do it again. I am not saying it is "bad". I just think that, for the price, you can get much better hair. In fact, the Bohyme that I have right now I think is at least twice the quality of the So Cap.
I also have some questions about the actual So. Cap. hair. I noticed a few weeks ago that their website says the hair is free of external cuticle. I take that to mean that it is not remy hair. The reason I read over the website again in the first place is because some of the hair I had in felt very rubbery like synthetic. Anyway, I also noticed on the website that they state that their hair is human hair and all natural fiber.
So, what is So. Cap. exactly? Is it a non-Remy synthetic/human blend? I am not sure. The positives I found with the hair were the color selection and I personally also loved the wave to the hair. That being said, I also found that it shed significantly and tangled.
Bridget
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I am also sorry to hear about the SoCap install. It is always disappointing when you invest time and money for any type of hair treatments and it doesn't turn out as you planned, hoped, desired.
I have actually heard there are three different SoCaps out there. The original SoCap, SoCap USA and SoCap Europe? Do I have that right? I did hear that SoCap was started by a family that split apart and each took a slice of the company.
That which doesn't kill you makes you stronger or drives you totally insane. :-)
sherrie215
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I had my So Cap done in Colorado. I have heard that as well, Karen. I am not sure how all the So Cap companies are related or even if they are. I just checked out their website again just now.
On the homepage, it says it is unprocessed hair. If you click on the "hair" link though and read about it, it says it is free of the cuticle, bleached, and dyed. That sure sounds like processing to me! LOL
Anyway, never again. My professional installs were no better than what I could do on my own.
Thanks for the link. I will check that out! Anyway, I don't want to completely hijack the thread, but, my overall experiences with So Cap were disappointing. I even have a couple lace wigs that I got from a vendor in China. Even those are better quality than the So Cap, in my opinion.
I am loving my Bohyme French Refined also and it is far cheaper than So Cap.
I had my So Cap done in Colorado. I have heard that as well, Karen. I am not sure how all the So Cap companies are related or even if they are. I just checked out their website again just now.
On the homepage, it says it is unprocessed hair. If you click on the "hair" link though and read about it, it says it is free of the cuticle, bleached, and dyed. That sure sounds like processing to me! LOL
Anyway, never again. My professional installs were no better than what I could do on my own.
I once met this hair extension "expert" hairdresser who had been doing GL since almost day one. He did absolutely beautiful work and I actually went to his studio and watched him many years ago. I asked him the secret to spectacular hair extensions and he said.....the expertise or lack of expertise of the person putting in the extensions.
This made so much sense to me, especially when I became the unwitting victim about 2 1/2 years ago of a "hair colorist" who really was just a hairdresser who dabbled in color. My hair turned orange and my scalp burned for days and peeled. She would not return my emails or calls. It took about 2 years to get my hair back to where it looks good again. When I told my friend Robert Hallowell about it he said.....the results of great hair color lies in the hands of the person doing the color and many hairdressers say that are experts but really are not.
I think the same is true with extensionists. Some like our very own MetalGirl and others here have make the committment to take classes (on their own time & out of their own pockets) to learn as much as they can. Then they do tons of research and work hard to be really great at their craft. I have a lot of respect for that. Those classes are NOT cheap either.
Then there are people who do not really put the time and commitment in to become "experts" and unfortunately they may not do the best job for their customers.
Unfortunately whatever "system" they use may get a bad rep when it is really the person doing the installs and their lack of experience or training or committment to doing a great job and not necessarily the hair system.
Whatever the reason, again, I am so sorry you had a bad experience. I know the pain and suffering having your hair treated badly can cause. I developed a new empathy for anyone having a bad hair color experience after my own hair turned orange and it cost me $150 to boot.
Thanks for sharing your story with us. It helps all of us.
Edited by Karen Shelton - September 16 2007 at 10:40pm
That which doesn't kill you makes you stronger or drives you totally insane. :-)
Ah, you are welcome and I completely agree. I have a lot of respect for the people that really research what they are doing and are not just out to make a quick buck.
hollandbluejay
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Definately call around your area to see what salons are charging. The rates are SO different based on location. I started my prices well under what everyone else was charging, but once I became established and people knew I did a good job, I raised my prices a bit. I was originally tipping all of the hair myself!! 3 to 4 hours of extra work the day before! The plus was they never shed, but my time became too valuable to keep doing this so now I am ordering pretipped which costs almost twice as much, so that's where the price increase comes in, but my personal profit has stayed the same. I do a lot of russian installs and I can't find a vendor that sells pre-tipped russian except for Ara's hair International, has anyone ordered from here before? It is a good price if it's truly european/russian hair and is pre-tipped!
malibu
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Holland, I haven't heard of Ara's hair. Can you post the link? You're paying close to twice as much for the hair to be pre-tipped? I would think if you have a better source your customers would have a better price or you would at least make more of a profit. I'm sure you know this already.
Definately call around your area to see what salons are charging. The rates are SO different based on location. I started my prices well under what everyone else was charging, but once I became established and people knew I did a good job, I raised my prices a bit. I was originally tipping all of the hair myself!! 3 to 4 hours of extra work the day before! The plus was they never shed, but my time became too valuable to keep doing this so now I am ordering pretipped which costs almost twice as much, so that's where the price increase comes in, but my personal profit has stayed the same. I do a lot of russian installs and I can't find a vendor that sells pre-tipped russian except for Ara's hair International, has anyone ordered from here before? It is a good price if it's truly european/russian hair and is pre-tipped!
Hi Holland...so much great info. Thank you so much.
When you pre-tipped did you also seal the strands? I talked to the guy we bought the last kit from and he said that sealing is always a good idea. We didn't seal but so far no shedding.
I can't believe you pre-tipped yourself. That is so time consuming and tedious.
I would also be very interested in Ara's hair link. I have talked to so many people that wholesale hair and they have all told me that it is so hard to validate where hair is really coming from these days.
Which is a good question for the forum. Is there any US requirements about this sort of thing? There are such tight restrictions about labeling on so many things that come into this country. Do they have any way of making vendors prove where the hair is actually coming from?
Thanks again for all the great info. I would be very interested in whatever else you might care to share.
That which doesn't kill you makes you stronger or drives you totally insane. :-)
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... thanks, Bridget
metalgirl wrote:
