Tales from a hairdresser
- opinion pieceÂ
Why are visits to these salons so expensive?
1. You're receiving professional services
We all know the difference between getting a professional color service or buying a box of color at Wal-Mart. Or another example is when you get professional braids done as opposed to buying the hair & getting it done at someone's house with their kids running everywhere during the service.Â
Hairstylists went to Cosmetology school to study the subject and to prepare to receive a state license. Licensing comes with protections for both parties. For example, an unlicensed stylist caused an explosion during a service that resulted in a child losing their eye. https://youtu.be/YeGwK6MYP_U Standard liability insurance won't cover the stylist due to her lack of being licensed.Â
2. Hairstylists have large overhead costsÂ
The average booth rent in a salon suite setting is $1000 a month. This does not include the followingÂ
DaycareÂ
GasÂ
Towel serviceÂ
Products
Home bills(rent, phone, groceries,)
Car expenses
Licensing costs
Clothing costs
Phone, calender services
No one goes into business (or at least they shouldn't) with the intention of being on government assistance. The goal is to turn a profit. It is not cheap to run a business even on a small budget.Â
3. You don't have to do it yourselfÂ
Why don't you…
Milk a cow
Mow your own grass
Take your own trash to the city dumpÂ
Pump your own well water
Teach your own kids instead of getting tutor
Build your own house
Grow all your own vegetables ?
Because why do those things when you can pay a service fee for someone else to do it? We all contract out services to one person or company regularly. No one seriously wants to solve your problems for free(or at least I don't). You're paying the hairdresser for something you don't necessarily want to do yourself.Â
4. Inflation affects hairstylists just like everyone else.
After the pandemic I remember we purchased a car. Usually tags & title was under $200. Maryland jacked the prices up to around $350-$400. At that point I made a decision to not act as if low prices I was charging weren't hurting me.
My kids have growth spurts and it's not personal. It's life. Groceries went up, clothes, products etc.
___________________________
Dawn Michelle Williams is a licensed cosmetologist for the state of Maryland since the year 2000. She is the owner of Dawn Michelle's Salon in Hyattsville Maryland specializing in natural hairstyles. For information & appointments visit https://DawnMichelleSalon.comÂ
Notes from the author:
I have a "Tales from a hairdresser " YouTube exclusive podcast series https://tinyurl.com/TalesFromAhairdresserÂ
Those episodes drop 1x monthly. These blog articles dedicated to this subject drop 1x monthly every 1st of the month at 12pm EST.
During our "on" seasons for "Research Shows
….." podcast I have a segment dedicated to" Tales from a hairdresser ". Episodes air weekly Tuesdays at 3pm EST on most streaming platformsÂ
. Click the link below to listen.
