Tipping is a fairly common practice in the United States and it’s expected to be done at a rate of twenty percent. But some people find the lines to be blurred when it comes to tipping on certain services i.e. laser hair removal technician, mail delivery person, body piercers and even hair stylists.
While many people feel it’s only fair to tip hair stylists, some consumers feel the tip is included in the cost of service. Folks weighed in when a post made by a stylist who was tipped in quarters went viral:
“I usually tip $10-$20 depended on how happy I am but I promise I only started to do that because I just recently heard it’s the thing to do….If you’re setting your own price, why should I tip you on top of that?”
“It’s just proper etiquette. When you get any service done you should leave a tip. Even if it’s only a couple dollars. I always tip when I get my hair and nails done. Even if it’s only $5 if that’s what I can afford at the time that’s what I give.”
I don’t really understand tipping stylists. They aren’t under payed like servers. Plus they set their own prices.
Seems like everybody wants a tip for doing their jobs. Waitresses and the like are different because often they live off tips alone. I often see tip jars on cashier counters at stores or gas stations. I know they’re making at least minimum wage. Getting your hair done costs a pretty penny often, so how much of a tip are they expecting? Damn sure not 15 to 20 percent.
You’re supposed to tip your stylist and if you can’t afford to tip her, then get your friend to sew in some hair
Some only tip on special occasions:
I am a good tipper I even tip when i pick up carry out orders BUT I don’t always tip my stylist.. I’ll give a nice tip during Christmas. Just yesterday I got my daughters hair done and paid 150 and I didn’t give a tip. When you’re getting a costly service a 20% tip is an extra $30-$40 & I won’t do it. That adds up to alot if you’re going often.
Not tipping waitresses, nail people, hair stylist etc., for no good reason is trashy.
Then there’s salons who have multiple people assist on one client. One consumer’s thoughts:
I’m not tipping my hair stylist, hairwasher, person who stood holding the scissors, person who brought water,etc. This is getting stupid.
Even stylists weigh in:
Not tipping your stylist is no better than not tipping a server. I probably did more than most servers do for your life
Stylists don’t even make minimum wage and have to split YOUR service 50/50 (sometimes 60/40 percent) with the salon OR pay booth rent (even on slow days)…..and unlike waiters, they have to pay for products and on going, never ending classes to keep up with techniques…
As a hairstylist, I would never even expect people to tip. I know some women have bills and other expenses just like I do. Sometimes women’s spend their little bit of spare money to get their hair done. I’m still getting paid what I charge.
What are your thoughts? Do you tip your stylist? How much?
41 Responses
If they know they have these expenses and they’re setting the prices, then they should make it where that is included in the price. It’s not our job to pick up the slack for that if it’s not included on what you charge originally. I tip my stylist anyways but hair is expensive, I’m not tipping you if I paid over 100 already because I know how to take care of my own hair and I could have Spent that money for my own supplies
i still think that tipping is not an obligation. ESPECIALLY if you had horrible service. If I go and get a basic hair mainenance like wash and condition and put my hair in4 plaits, then, no. I will not. But if we stayed there the whole day so she could help me achieve shirley temple’s curls with shine… then heck k yeah, i’ll make it rain.
What it costs some of you guys to do hair is my whom salary at this moment. What you all seem to pay as tips are some of what we pay as hairstylist fees. We don’t tip for everything in Southern Africa. We tip waiters certainly. I leaned tipping for room service from an American friend because my job requires a lot of travelling. We don’t tip hairstylists in this part of the world…unless you do your hair in an upmarket hair salon, usually white owned maybe… I don’t know…but its just really not done. Over and above that salaries are low for a lot of people and the cost of living is high by our standards.
I’m sorry, I don’t understand. Can the stylist not spend quarters? As far as I know, the 25 cent silver coin is still legal tender.
When I would go to a stylist I would tip because I wanted to, not because I thought it was a requirement. If i felt that I obligated to do so or the stylist said some along those lines, I would never patronize that establishment again.
Let’s not forget stylist don’t get benefits (such as health insurance or payed sick days)
but how is that the customers fault?
I tip when I can afford to. As a patron that gets my hair done, maybe 4 times a year, I am spending the money when I have it (which is not often). But I do feel like that its in the service. If I’m paying $150 for a style, I cant do extra. For braids, sometimes you have to buy your own hair too, or its 2 people working on your head, do you tip them both? So unless the hair included, I don’t tip for that service. Essentially, that is the job. In addition, some stylists use 3rd party payment like square, and charge you for using your card. So many things to take into account here. I just hope her client isn’t following her on IG. Im a Therapist, is that not providing a service too? Am I supposed to expect a tip? No.
Did you say: “IF you can’t afford a tip, then wait until you can”? That’s crazy! Maybe someone gave her the money to get her hair done, maybe she saved up to get her hair done and that was all she had and she wanted to leave her a tip because she was pleased. you are NEVER obligated to tip! I think that it was a nice gesture!!! The stylist should be ASHAMED of herself!!
Exactly!!You took the words right out of my mouth!!
yes, i did say it and i stand by it. it’s still a service that’s being performed and should be tipped accordingly.
IF you truly feel that way then tip for the person who can’t.
how bout i dont & say i didn’t.
I am one who has never had an extremely positive experience at a salon. I’m always left feeling like an idiot for going in the first place. This has only gotten worse since I’ve went natural. Every experience has been almost horrible and yet I paid a whole lot of money for service that left much to be desired. And in some cases I did still tip, just because it’s a habit. But as an after thought I really wished I hadn’t. If I went to a salon and had a phenomenal experience, I probably still wouldn’t tip much, but be sure you’ll see me in there every 2 -3 weeks, and I’d have all my friends and family in there too. I’m just saying I think tipping should be at your discretion. Sometimes I can’t afford 20%, but I’ll most definitely pick up the slack when I can.
I ALWAYS tipped my stylist before going completely heat free last. She owned the shop and had bills to pay and she was married with 4 children. In fact, our daughters are only a day apart. I think not tipping is rude. If you can’t afford a tip, then wait until you can.
To me, tipping is a system based in seeing service workers as so low class that even doing a job and working for somebody is considered such a privilege that you should accept less than a liveable wage and allow customers to discriminate against you in hope that their own preconcieved pregidouses don’t get in the way of them tipping fairly.
WHEN THE HELL DID WE STOP SAYING ‘NO’ TO JOBS THAT DONT PAY A LIVEABLE WAGE?
If you accept an employer paying you less than you deserve to be paid then you don’t get to complain about me giving you more than I DESERVE TO PAY FOR THE SERVICE. Charge me what you think i should pay you. Then lets be done with it. This tipping crap, nobody says an exact percentage its just supposed to be some societally common notion even though it isn’t. Some people live on tips but will still complain that they have to live on tips. CHANGE JOBS. IF NOBODY DECIDES TO TAKE UNDERPAID LABOR THEN EMPLOYERS WON’T HAVE ANYONE TO HIRE.
If you don’t make clear the terms of a service agreement upon initiation of the service, you don’t have any RIGHT to complain about lack of fulfillment of a tip. If I walk into your place and you tell me the service is $35, expect I give you 35 then go on my way.
If you wanted more and failed to be a legit individual and just honestly ask for it (or include it in fee for services) then that’s your shadiness that you play off as relying on an unwritten societal expectation. Its 2015 and people need to cut the bullshit, and yes, i am calling hte entire practice of tipping as an unwritten requirement for some (of course also an unwritten list of which businesses) as complete and total BULLSHIT.
**please don’t think i’m bullshitting either, i’ve worked from minimum wage at age 16, to having to fight for a liveable wage working just one level under the board of directors at an incorporated small business i worked for. I now am self employed, less than a year from incorporating my enterprise because i just can’t deal with other employers bullshit (wage discrimination as well as layoffs for hte hell of it) any longer in my professional life, and i am 21, not groveling for employee positions i know i deserve to be paid more for. Oh, and i also don’t require bullshit undiscussed tips when i contract for my clearly defined services!
c’mon now sista. preach!!!!!
@ Livylovely
Your comment is spot on. My stylists never expected a tip. Would they take one assolutly.
My stylist had a clientele to die for. Booth rent $200 a week. On the day of my service I paid $120.00 she has two in front of me and myself and two waiting. We all getting retouch perms. Do the Math , you had to book 3 weeks in advance to get the date you want.
Trims were $20. Aka dusting. Lol. A temp color ($4.50 at sallys ) you paid $25.00. The reason why I started putting them on my on.
She did my hair and my two girls and my mom. For years!! Did I tip NO the only thing I tipped
Was my head to one side as I walked pass her new BMW To get in my Mercedes.
The stylist should be glad she even got a tip. I don’t tip my stylists because I have college and other expenses ! PLUS all they do is wash blow dry and twist my real hair and then bobby pin it that only takes an hour.
Looking back I think a big issue for me was never finding stylists who were good at all the things I wanted them to be good at. So usually I would go somewhere a relaxer and go elsewhere for a cut. Like one salon owner who did my retouches for years I asked her to cut me some layers exactly ONE time and do my brows exactly ONE time. She jacked a sistah up big time.I liked her relaxing but would go home and restyle. Then she would offer me discounts to come in more often but I never would. I current cut my own now but was asking a natural stylist about hair cuts. She told me other than big chops she admits she is not that great at cutting hair. I really respected that honesty. I wish ole girl had told me she sucked at layers before she weed whacked my hair.
So she gave her stylist EXTRA MONEY, and almost got punched in the face for it?
Anyway, I think if the standard tip percentage was lower for beauty services, more people would give one. But 20% can end up feeling astronomical when your service is already $200.
I am a Chef and I find it disturbing that the restaurant industry has a standard of paying the lowest wages to servers and then expects society to compensate for it. Meanwhile the servers who DIDN’T wash/clean/cut/chop/ cook the food but DID bring to from one place to the other (kitchen to table) get 20% tips for simply doing their job. Most tips never reach the kitchen aka the people who made the food you just ate.
It’s the thought that counts…maybe it was all she had!
Funny how everyone is appalled at some folks not tipping anyone who provides a certain service for them, whether it be your hair stylist, nail tech, waitress, etc. What I don’t see is everyone up in arms about not tipping your healthcare providers, yet they provide services essential to your life and well-being; more so than any service a hair stylist, nail tech or waitress could ever provide. Besides there is no law in place obligating anyone to leave a tip, especially when they don’t want to. Tipping must be left up to the discretion of the tipper, regardless if great service was performed or not. Furthermore, hair stylist of all people need to get over themselves. Really. It’s just hair.
Money is money. Take it or leave it. You don’t know what financial hardship that person might be going through. The fact that she gave you a tip is a blessing in itself. Instead of wishing you had inflicted bodily harm on your client for giving you EXTRA money, be thankful. Atleast it’s not monopoly money…. 🙂
Exactly. My first thought on reading this article was “isn’t it legal tender?”. Even if you get tips in cents I am sure you can’t take it to the bank and get them to count it for free with a machine. All it will cost you is a workout which has to be a good thing. And with a bag of heavy coins no one will dare mug you lest they get clobbered with all the shrapnel.
Okay, my whole issue with this stylist is the fact that she publicly complained about the currency she received on the Internet trying to embarrass the client.
Did she pay you? Obviously….So why try to shame her if that was all she had and she probably felt it was better than giving nothing at all??? I know I would never return to such a rude and childish stylist.
And if I do go to the salon, if they did an exceptional job that day and it didn’t cost me over $100, I’ll tip them.
I tip stylists and nail people at the salon because the good ones are always booked and they make you a priority when they know you tip well. However, if you’re doing my hair or nails out of your house or if you are the owner of the establishment, then I don’t leave a tip. I also don’t think anyone should be publicly shamed into a leaving a tip for a stylist. Stylists are certainly not in the same situation as waiters and waitresses who are making a little over $2 an hour. Stop expecting a handout for your life choices AKA get another job if you feel like you cannot maintain yourself adequately without the charity of others.
Hm… I’d never heard of tipping stylists until a few years ago, when a stylist that cut my hair terribly basically demanded a tip on checkout. I forked it over because I was the last appointment of the day, everyone had left so it was just the two of us, and he was a male stylist who was being aggressive so I just wanted to get out of there. I tipped again at another salon but that was another bad haircut and again I caved to the expectation of a tip at the counter. I have a friend who is a hairdresser now, though, and she is certainly not in need of tips! I’m a student and I know they are fairly compensated (unlike waiters/ waitresses who need tips to hit minimum wage in many cases) so I haven’t tipped the last few times but I have rebooked with the same stylist so she gets the credit for my business.
Thoughts about tipping your stylist if they do your hair at their home? I recently started going to a woman to braid my hair. She braids out of her house which I don’t mind at all (with the exception of her son running around which is slightly annoying). I like her work but I’m on the fence about tipping because she’s not in a shop and therefore doesn’t have to pay booth rent.
I tip every single time I get my hair or nails done. And what I tip is based on the price of the service. If I am only getting a $6 manicure, then I’m only tipping a couple of dollars. Same goes for a $25 wash & set. For that I’ll tip $5-7.
When I went to salons most of the time my hair was done by the owner. No I did not tip. The owner is receiving booth rent not paying it. A lot of time they charge extra for a trim after a retouch, (I mean small trim, not a major haircut). My friends had stylists that charge extra for a dc after a retouch. How are you going to nickel and dime people then get mad about a tip. SMH. Now and then I would go to JCPenney’s for a real deal hair cut or for a retouch and in those cases I did tip. Funny how those stylists didn’t charge extra to trim after a retouch.
I believe in tipping anyone that provides a service for you. I tip my hairstylist, nail tech, makeup artist, etc. If I have an extra $5, sure leave a tip, and the amount I give depends on the quality of service I get just like at the restaurant. If I visit them regular I may not tip regularly but may get them a gift. Really it’s the thought that counts.
https://www.realdominoj.com/
I’m with you on that; I understand tipping to anyone who provides a service to you, especially if the quality was good. I was a hairdresser myself, so I was always in the habit of tipping. In the salon that I worked in, we were paid like anyone else…every week, at a pay rate. In salons that are a franchise like JC Penney, their rates are decided by the company and its a smaller clientele, so hairdressers there are not payed a lot. So, not everyone owns a salon, and even the ones that do, have to pay rent or a mortgage (depends on where their place of business is), they have to pay utilities & even pay for products & supplies, upgrades, etc. That is why they charge other stylist booth rent; sometimes they don’t break even or just break even if they do. When you go to a good restaurant, most of the time they charge a 20% gratuity…if you don’t want to pay it, then you don’t eat there, you eat at McDonald’s!
Most restaurants charge gratuity on large parties (8 or more) because it can get a bit hectic and maybe a little bit demanding. So this is different
That’s just it. A lot more people are choosing not to go to salons.
Wow. I thought everyone tipped their stylist or nail person. I live in NYC. Maybe because I always saw my mom do it as a kid.
I always tip my stylist. Like anyone in a service industry, they only make money when there’s business. Their prices encompass their time, products, skill level and shop expenses with some profit margin. I want to support not only a good business, but good people. I get in and out in about 2 hours so it’s worth it for me to show my appreciation for fast service. And if they don’t expect tip and get an extra $10, why not?
I haven’t visited a hair salon in over 10 years, I’m only 3 years natural. I tipped years ago, however I stopped going because my time is limited. I can’t spend the entire day watching people getting their hair done while reading old magazines..i would love to visit a salon once in a while and tip for their service. Now Starbucks/smoothie king and circle k food stores you guys are not getting a tip unless I found some change while approaching the store. Tipping wage earners is getting out of hand. Don’t be fooled into giving when it’s not earned!!!
It took me years to start tipping servers i just didnt know they were making less than minimum wage when I found out i start tipping but quite honestly if the service is bad i still wont tip.
then i started hearing that you are suppose to tip your stylist and nail person and i was like wth!!. So ive been guilted into doing both but i REALLY dont want to. I tip my nail person a dollar or 2 on top out of guilt, i tipped my stylist occasionally but mainly i couldnt afford it. i live in LA. I could barely afford her, she charged $90 for a wash and press and trim (the trim was $15) a tip would bring it to $100 thats just too much for me. I did this for about 6 months and after she kept cutting my hair and the price i was done. i havent been to a stylist since because ive been scared and i want to get my hair pressed so badly 🙁
Service professions outside of waiters/tresses. i dont understand the concept behind tipping. never have never will. why am I tipping people money on top of them getting paid when this is their JOB. you get a wage to do exactly what you are doing for me? why am i giving you extra on top?
anyway i could sort of live with tipping nails and hair, but now im seeing tip jars EVERYWHERE as well as someone said. they are on the counters from coffee shops to 7 elevens. why am i tipping you for ringing some stuff up? tbh i dont even get why im expected to tip you for making my coffee. this is your JOB, thats the job description.
But overall tipping has gotten out of hand period
The girl how does my hair i don’t tip her, we’re really good friends so I talk to her alot and according to her she doesn’t expect tips. One because she knows tht she can simply up the price by 5 dollars in order to get a little extra, secondly because she knows that alot of times thts a special treat for a lady tht they afford themselves. And also she make an ass load. She pays 100 dollars a week for booth rent, she does so many heads in a single day, and the owner of the salon allows she to stay at the salon as long as she wants and she locks up when she’s done. Long story short I’ve seen her make my weekly pay in one day.
I had never even heard of tipping your stylist until I came to Florida. I won’t do it. …according to an article I read on bglh, stylists are losing business altogether, the least of their concern is a tip.