Why do stylists charge different prices in the same salon?

Two stylists in the same salon can charge different prices for the same haircut, and that is not an error on the price list. Stylists charge different prices because of experience, speed, how booked out the diary is, and which specialist skills they hold. A cut and finish with us runs £42 to £55, and where you land in that band comes down to who is holding the scissors.

The short version

Price bands reflect how experienced the stylist is, not the standard of your service.

A cut and finish here is £42 to £55 depending on the stylist.

Colour is priced by product and time, so it barely moves between stylists.

Busier stylists sit at the top of the band because their diary fills first.

Every stylist here works to the same checks, standards and patch test rules.

Why do stylists charge different prices?

The main one is time in the chair. A stylist with ten years behind them will section, cut and finish faster than someone two years in, and they read a head of hair quicker. Same result, less chair time, and chair time is what a salon actually sells.

The second is demand. When a stylist is booked six weeks out and turning people away, the price moves up so the diary stays reachable. It is the only lever we have that stops a full column turning into a three month wait.

The third is specialist skill. Extensions, colour correction and heavy blonde work take extra training that the salon and the stylist both pay for. Someone who has done that training prices for it.

There is a fourth reason nobody says out loud. A price band gives a newer stylist somewhere to grow into. Once they are quick, fully booked and rebooking clients at the bottom of the band, they have earned the move up.

Is the more expensive stylist better?

No, and I say that as the person who sets the prices. Every stylist here is trained to the same standard and their work gets checked. What the extra buys you is speed and years, and neither of those changes the finish on your hair.

Plenty of things do not move with the price at all. The colour we use, the products on the backwash, the consultation time booked before we touch anything, and the aftercare advice you leave with are the same whoever you sit with.

There is a decent argument for booking the newer stylist. More room in the diary, a bit longer over the consultation, and an appointment this week rather than next month. Tasha, Sabrina and Sheree all have regulars who would not sit with anyone else, and price is rarely the reason they picked.

What that looks like on our price list

A cut and finish is £42 to £55. A blow dry is £28 to £35, a curly blow dry £30 to £38, a restyle £60 and hair up £35 to £50. The spread on the cut is the stylist band. Restyles and hair up sit at flat prices because they are priced on the time they take rather than who takes it.

Extensions are charged by the hour, so the stylist rate shows up directly. Nano is £55 an hour, tape is £60 to £70 an hour and weft is £70 to £80 an hour. Everything is on our price list if you want to work out a number before you ring.

Why colour barely moves between stylists

Colour is priced on product and processing time, and neither of those changes based on who mixes it. A full balayage is £70 to £85, half is £55 to £65 and partial is £40 to £60. Full foils are £70 to £85, half foils £55 to £65, and single foils start at £5. A full tint is £50 to £55, a root tint £40 to £47, and a tint surround £20.

Toner is £35 to £40 on its own, or £20 added onto another service. That one catches people out on a price list, so ask when you book whether your colour includes it.

One rule that never moves with price is the allergy alert test. Everyone having colour gets patch tested at least 48 hours before, every time, because dye reactions present as contact dermatitis and can appear out of nowhere in someone who has coloured happily for years. NHS guidance on contact dermatitis sets out what that reaction actually looks like. No stylist here skips the test for anyone, at any price.

How to pick which stylist to book

If you want a big change, a colour correction or extensions, book the stylist who specialises in it and pay the top of the band. That work goes wrong expensively when it goes wrong, and the training is the whole point of the price.

If you want a maintenance cut, a blow dry or a root tint, book on availability. Any of us will do it properly, and you save yourself both money and a wait.

Still not sure? Ring and tell us what you want doing and roughly what you want to spend, and we will tell you honestly who to sit with. Klarna is there if you would rather split a bigger colour appointment over a few payments.

Call 01582 730381 or book online. We are at Shop 660, Jansel House, Hitchin Rd, Stopsley, Luton LU2 7XH, open Tuesday and Wednesday 10 to 8, Thursday 10 to 6, Friday 10 to 3, and Saturday 10 to 4:30. Closed Sunday and Monday.