Beauty Q&A: How Much Should You Tip Your Hairstylist?

Your hair appointment shouldn’t be shrouded in fear of tipping the wrong amount. Cutting your hair too short? Maybe. Making a huge mistake by getting bangs in the middle of summer? Definitely. Dealing with the pressure of wanting to leave the salon looking like your best damn self (even though the whole thing is kind of out your hands) is enough to deal with without factoring in tipping-related stress. So if you’ve been preemptively wondering how much extra cash you should bring with you to your appointment, quit Googling and stopping asking your friends because everyone’s going to have a different opinion. To answer this ever-so-popular question once and for all, we reached out to NYC-based hairstylist Zeta Korqa.

“Twenty percent of the cost of your service is a good rule of thumb for tipping,” says Korqa. Simply plug the price of your haircut right into your phone’s calculator and multiply it by .20 to get the dollar amount you should give your stylist. For example, a $50 haircut will lend itself to a $10 tip; a $100 haircut $20, and a $200 haircut $40. “Hairstyling is a work of art,” Korqa adds. “A stylist’s price depends on their education, skill, number of years in their careers, continued education and keeping their tools and products up to date. Keep in mind when paying for a service and tipping a hairstylist, you are paying for their history, not just the service itself.”

And what about the washer or assistant who had a hand in the whole thing? “Tipping the washer or assistant is ultimately up to you, but $5 or $10 is always helpful and appreciated,” says Korqa. “Even though it may seem that the assistant or hair washer isn’t doing much in the scheme of things, their wages aren’t super high and they’re helping out the hairstylist a lot.” If you know that they played a big role in making your hair fabulous (say, washing it or blowing it dry) consider tipping, so they know their work was appreciated.

Read More:

How to Apply Eyeliner to Downturned Eyes, According to a Makeup Artist

Beauty Q&A: What Is Lip Blushing?

Beauty Q&A: Can You Use Hairspray as Setting Spray?