How Much to Tip Your Stylist After a Visit to Your Favorite Salon?

You’re wondering how much to tip the person who just made you look and feel amazing. You’ve just visited a hair or nail salon, and you look fabulous.

Your hair no longer looks like a hot mess. Your gel fingernails are perfection. Plus an overall look that would definitely turn heads. And you might be thinking, a regular payment and a generous “thank you” are not enough to repay for this confidence-boosting look.

Figuring out what to tip can be stressful in any situation, but figuring out how much to tip your stylist is even more confusing. This is likely a person you will come to more than once, so you want them to know you appreciate them. Undertipping would be embarrassing. You’ve finally found that perfect salon near you, so, how do you figure out what to tip?

Don’t worry; it doesn’t have to cause you anxiety. (Neither does finding the perfect salon!) Once you have a few resources, you’ll be able to figure out that tip in no time, leaving you and your stylist with smiles on your faces.

Tipping In A Salon

First of all, it’s important to know that tipping at your hair or nail salon is not like tipping at a restaurant. You are going to develop a relationship with your hairstylist and visit them many times over. Today outlined how much to tip your hairstylist and manicurist:

“Start from 20 percent to be fair. Young mothers up the ante if their preschoolers are in on the haircut. If you arrive late or have a toddler with you, you should increase your tip. Other reasons to tip more: if the salon squeezes you in at the last moment, your styling includes a shoulder massage, or your manicure includes a hand massage. The bottom line: If you like your hairstylist, tip at least 20 percent. It helps build relations with the salon and is especially helpful in procuring a last-minute appointment.”

You want your stylist to value you as a customer. Tipping them well is your way of letting them know how much you appreciate them. In turn, they will treat you as well as you have treated them. You absolutely do not want to be the kind of person who treats your stylist as if their time did not matter to you. Frankly, you shouldn’t treat anyone in the service industry that way.

Make Tipping Easy with this Tip Chart

The good news about trying to determine how much to tip in a salon is that lots of other people have had the same question. In fact, it is such a common question that there are guides called a “tip chart” floating around out there. Stylists don’t want you to face this uncomfortable problem as much as you do, so they’ve been nice enough to make these simple, downloadable charts. Here are a couple for you to choose from.

This is a small chart that uses simple percentages. We will provide you with a tool below that helps you figure that out. But for now, this is pretty basic.

For those of you who are like me and can’t do percentages well, this is the chart for you. It provides you with actual dollar amounts and their correlating tip amounts. Both of these charts can be saved on your mobile device so that you always have them on hand. You won’t ever have to stand there nervously and do a bunch of math in your head while standing in front of the salon register.

If you have never heard of a tip calculator, you are missing out. Some of us don’t want to search through 3,000 photos on our phones to find the tip charts, so that’s where the calculator comes in. You can do a quick search on your mobile search engine and find it pretty quickly. Calculator.net and Onlineconversion.com both have simple tip calculators. You can also find one in the app store on your phone. The calculator allows you to plug in the cost of your bill, choose the percentage you would like to tip, and it does all the work for you. You will never again wonder how much to tip with one of those calculators.

Tipping A Hairdresser

Now you may be wondering, “What percentage should I tip my hairdresser?” Well, that depends on the service you’re receiving. The most agreed-upon tip is 20 percent. However, it fluctuates a little bit. If you are ever unsure, just stick to the 20 percent. But, here are a few other standard tip percentages:

• Corrective color: 25%
• Complimentary redo: 15-20% of the original price
• Trim: 10%
• Support staff (hair washer, colorist): $5-$10
• Child’s haircut: 15%

Remember, the more complicated the service, the more you should tip. If you are just getting a trim, tipping ten percent is perfectly fine. However, if your hairdresser just spent three hours trying to correct your hair color after you bought a box of bleach at the Dollar Store, tip them more. Often, people in the service industry rely on these tips to survive. You do not want to be the unpleasant person who tips your hairdresser five dollars after they labored over your hair for hours. Not only is it rude, but it’s also ungrateful. Nobody likes a person like that.

Do I Tip If I Am Not Satisfied?

You should absolutely tip even when you do not like your style. You do not have to tip 20 percent, but 10-15 percent is reasonable. Sometimes things happen in the salon that is out of the stylist’s control which may lead to you not liking the style. For instance, if you go to a salon for hair coloring but do not reveal that you used over-the-counter color, your hair may not look right. This isn’t the stylist’s fault, it’s yours, and you should still tip.

Other times, the stylist may not have understood exactly what you wanted, and your haircut is not exactly what you were looking for. In cases like that, 10-15 percent is also reasonable. I can’t forget my experience at Carlton Hair Salon when the hairdresser misunderstood my request, but I still gave her the tip she deserves.

Don’t forget, however, to speak to the stylist or manager when you’re not happy with the service. It’s more than likely that they will offer you a free appointment to fix your hair. They cannot offer to fix it, though, if you don’t tell them what’s wrong. So, speak up and let them know what is wrong. Communication is key when you are getting any service.

Don’t Stress, Learning How to Tip Is Simple

See? It’s not as intimidating as you thought it would be. You don’t have to freak out and worry. Just keep in mind that your stylist is providing a service for you. That service is meant to make you feel and look good. When someone makes you feel good, you want to make them feel good. Moreover, tipping well is the perfect way to foster a great relationship between you and your stylist. When you show your stylist that you care about them, they will go the extra mile for you. This will come in handy if you ever have a hair emergency and need to get to the salon right away. The people at the salon will remember that you are a fantastic customer who takes care of their stylists, and they’ll get you in as soon as possible.

If you really don’t want to tip but want that salon-fresh look, here are some beauty tips to try at home.

This is one of those situations where the Golden Rule can make all the difference: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.