April 26, 2022

Whether you frequent an upscale salon or a local barber shop, you might feel uncertain about how much to tip – and it’s no wonder.

Tipping can feel arbitrary, and you might be unsure about your understanding of tipping etiquette. For instance, are there hard and fast rules around tipping, or is it up to your discretion? Is there a going rate? Do barbers and stylists expect a certain percentage? Is cash best? Do you tip salon assistants?

To clear up the confusion over how much to tip hairdressers, Amanda Hamarics, a hair stylist at Salon Blu in Raleigh, North Carolina, and Emily Hegdahl, education specialist at the Professional Beauty Association in Scottsdale, Arizona, offer up their expertise.

With years of experience behind the salon chair, here's what Hamarics and Hegdahl recommend:

Should You Tip at the Salon?

There’s no ambiguity about whether you should tip hairdressers. The answer is yes.

Tips make up an important part of a hairdresser’s income, according to Hamarics.

Hegdahl explains that many hairdressers don’t get a salary, an hourly rate or benefits like health care or paid time off. Rather, many of them receive payment based off commission, so they’ll receive a percentage of each service they provide for a client – usually somewhere between 30% to 50%.

Other hair stylists rent a chair at a salon, so they’ll need to dock the rent for that chair, plus all the overhead for the services they provide, out of the money and tips they make from their clients.

Plus, Hamarics adds, “It’s important to show your appreciation for the person who is doing you a service or helping you out.”

Original article: https://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/articles/how-much-to-tip-hairdressers