Hair | Expensive Hair Maintenance: Is It Because You're Black?

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The Ed.

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Ashley Weatherford, Washington DC resident and black woman, has discovered that she is being charged more for her visits to the hair salon than her white counterparts. After visiting no less than twelve salons, she finally settled on one that only charged her an extra $20 to do her 'ethnic' hair.

"The salon didn’t call it this, but it was effectively a black-hair fee — and, though I resented it, I needed to pay the piper each time." What choice did she have? The salon advertised that it specialised in natural, or “black” hair care and her stylist, Amanda (who is incidentally DC's black-hair darling) could cut, dry and flat iron Weatherford's hair in under an hour. So, if that's the case, why the extra charge?

Weatherford said, "When I first looked at the website for Amanda’s salon, the cost of a haircut was listed at $49 — palatable for a cash-strapped millennial. The bottom line of the price list has an asterisk and a vague reference to an additional "relaxed/natural hair" charge, but because my hair isn’t relaxed, I didn’t think that was speaking to me. And because I’m a little defiant, I neglected to call the salon for the “relaxed/natural hair” pricing ahead of my first appointment. I reasoned that all hair is natural, unless it isn’t.

"So when I paid $82, not including tip — a $33 premium from the advertised price — on my initial visit, I was shocked. What do you say when an acclaimed business tells you that the hair that you were born with is too difficult? That the curly and coil-y legacy, gifted to you by your parents, is a burden to the professionals trained to treat it? That you ought to be financially penalized for this?"

It's a fair point and one that black women across America are dealing with everyday. There's no doubt that some hair will take longer to cut, dry and style, but this is balanced out with the 'easy' short styles that are done in much less time. Also, what about those women who aren't black with masses of unruly, curly, wiry hair? They exist too. Are they being charged this extra premium? It's a grey and very murky area and one that needs looking at.

It shocks me that this is happening and reminds me of the salon in London that charged larger women more for waxing. Is this happening in UK salons too? Do Australian salons have the same policy?

Until then…geek on!

The Ed.
 

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We do some afro hair in our salon but charge the same price. The point about white women with masses of thick curly hair is very true, some white women can have hair that is almost afro! Especially redheads!
 
I am white and have straight and long hair, that are so thick that all hairdressers have a heart attack when I am in their chair for the first time.

When they recover I get a snotty "there will be extra charge for this ", which is always significantly higher than the highest price on the menu.
 
I am white and have straight and long hair, that are so thick that all hairdressers have a heart attack when I am in their chair for the first time.

When they recover I get a snotty "there will be extra charge for this ", which is always significantly higher than the highest price on the menu.

You should come to our salon, we only charge more for a cut if someone has extensions x

Sent from my HTC One using SalonGeek mobile app
 
Is it any different to charging more for removing a different nail covering?
I've had several people come in for removal/reapplication of "shellac" only to find that it's something completely different, requiring a much longer time to deal with.
Do I charge more? You betcha, IF it's taking up more of my time.
The client could argue that why should they be penalised for having a nail covering of their choosing, but my time has a value attached to it.
 
No Lynne, I don't think its the same as charging for nail enhancement removal. In that case, the client has chosen to purchase enhancements that require additional time for you to remove.

In the above example, clients are being charged extra just for being born with a particular hair type. I'm not aware of this flat rate charging discrepancy in the UK on the basis of ethnic hair types as I suspect it would fall foul of our race discrimination laws. Although Salons could probably advertise an extra charge for anyone with very thick, curly or long hair, on the basis the service will take longer to complete, irrespective of their ethnicity.

I have short fine hair that can be cut and blow dried in a shorter space of time but I've never been offered a discount for this. :)
 
We mainly cater for afro hair and all our prices are "from".

Prices for people with "natural" hair are listed at a different price point as it definitely takes longer to do. We are charging for our time not just a particular service.

Likewise if a European hair type client has extra long hair there is also an increased charge.

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Ultimately whichever way you look at it, if it's something that takes you more time this = an extra cost. If this is how your business operates, like anything that costs extra, these charges need to be transparent to the client.
 

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