Hair Extension Pricing

[chameleonhair]

Sorry to pester two times in two days, but I've had a search round and not found anything that answers my question.

I'm trying to work out how much to charge for my extensions.

I have set up a spreadsheet with the price of materials worked out to the last penny on it, I have then rounded this up to make a total 'materials cost'.

I've then put £10.00 an hour on for my labour (the same as my current job) then £5.00 an hour for general overheads (cups of teas, travel, possible booth/room rent etc) and worked out a flat rate for my extensions

The point where I'm getting lost is the final price. I'll give an example.

materials cost £90.00,
Overheads x4 £20.00
labourx 4hours= £40.00

Total Flat rate = £150.00 - Profit £40.00

I'm wanting to round this number up. Whilst I'm charging £10.00 an hour for my time, realistically, when I'm doind this a part time job, half of my day will be given up to a client (I'm expecting to have a morning appointment avaialble and an afternoon one). Also, whilst I'm charging for the hour for my time and using that as my 'wage' I'll be needing a little extra each install to save towards more equipment etc. So I want to add more onto this price to make it worth my while.

I don't want to alienate any possible clients by being too expensive, but I don't want to undervalue myself at the start and then alienate my customer by realising I'm not charging enough and then have to hike up my prices!

Any advice? How did you work out your prices?

 

[clazaridis]

Hi,
I do mobile hair extensions and on my training course i was told that i should make £100 plus profit from each client. I usually add up my cost for the materials needed and add £100 on top. Sometimes i can add a little more on. The lady who trained me has been doing hair extensions around Birmingham for years and she says that the key thing to remember is all the hidden costs are in the hair......never totally understood what that meant really....I have found the cheaper hair makes a better profit as the bohyme hair i use costs so much to buy and the average around here (midlands) for a full head seems to be £300 so i struggle to make £100 on this.....

Hope this helps.
Claire

 

[Beautific]

Hi I am not a hair geek but live in Rotherham not far from you and have recently looked into having hair extensions and the prices quoted range from £200 - £250 so your £150 seems a little on the cheap side, I hope this helps

 

[clazaridis]

I would agree, My cheapest come in around £200, to get a good quality of hair you need to spend money to make money.

 

[xgxexmx]

Hi I am not a hair geek but live in Rotherham not far from you and have recently looked into having hair extensions and the prices quoted range from £200 - £250 so your £150 seems a little on the cheap side, I hope this helps

I think it depends what area you do them in. There aren't many mobile hair extensionists in my area. I usually charge between 160 and 180. That's the price people are willing to pay in my area. You could look at doing a questionnaire in your area to know what people want when they have extensions. A lot of people get put off as they don't realise how much they cost


Xxx
Posted via Mobile Device

 

[leonnib]

hi i also think 150 is very cheap and alot of people can be wary and and do get put off if its too cheap..

i make sure i have 150.00 profit with each install.
my prices start from 230.00 for indian remy which is very popular... and is still cheaper than so many in london...
but at the other end our prices go to 500.00 for virgin hair.
i charge 150.00 to install with their own hair..

offer more then one hair type which means you can target people who have money to spend on hair extensions also..

but £10 an hour is too cheap for your time

 

[-sophisticutz-]

The correct way to price yourself for ext. is to double the cost of you stock and add your average cut and blow dry price.

As an example guide.

Say for example you charge £15 a CBD which takes 3/4 hr.

Your hourly price would be £20 OR £5 per 15 mins.

Your stock cost is £90 DOUBLED is £180.

You take 4 hrs to complete 4x20=80

180+80=£260

Even using those figures that is a very competitive price for extensions. I include care products in my price, which cost me £25 + VAT but my ext. start from £350 and normally take 1 1/2hrs from start to finish.

Don't undersell yourself.

 

[Emmaejc23]

Hi

My main piece of advice would be to not get drawn into the trap of using cheap hair. I made this mistake and whilst I had many customers I lost a fortune by having to go back and replace the hair. It doesn't matter how much you stress to the customer that the hair isn't "top" quality at that price they will still complain when it starts matting (and believe me, it will).

I've now come to the conclusion that it is better to use good quality hair, charge more, have fewer customers but maintain a good reputation and have my clients recommend me to others. (I've also stopped cringing every time my phone rings ).
If clients really want extensions they will find the money!

Pricewise I aim to charge £25 per hour so for a full head I add £100 on to the cost of the hair. This also helps me decide how much to charge for things like removals and maintenance checks, i just work it out at an hourly rate. As a general rule you should aim to make a profit of 40% on retail items such as aftercare products, brushes etc but I sometimes use these as a sales incentive and perhaps sell them to the client at cost.

I hope that helps and good luck!!!!

Emma.

 

[chameleonhair]

Thank you all.

It seems everyone has a different way of pricing.

I've looked further into it, and now I've fixed a bad formula in my spreadsheet, I'm going to be making about £100.00 + on a full head of extensions. It's only right that I overcharge because there is no guarntee I'm going to be booked up at all times, and this way, I will be covered money wise for when I don't have any bookings.

I've upped my hourly rate to £15.00 for installs and £20.00 for all other times (maintenance etc) based on your advice.

As regards to quality I use the X-Tensions own brand from Hair Extensions. Clip in Hair Extensions. Human Hair Extensions. because they are cheap but not 'cheap'. I've used these on my own hair for quite a while and I have never had any complaints from installs I've been doing recently. I've even dyed this hair and not had any problems. They also do a full range of aftercare products which I will be offering my clients.

Just for info, £150.00 was not a real price for me, it was just an example! I've decided on £200.00 as the cheapest for a full head of extensions (14"), but I will also offer 1/2 (£120.00) and 3/4 heads (£150.00), and use these prices to sell to customers who are not wanting to spend a fortune.

 

[minky]

Sorry to pester two times in two days, but I've had a search round and not found anything that answers my question.

I'm trying to work out how much to charge for my extensions.

I have set up a spreadsheet with the price of materials worked out to the last penny on it, I have then rounded this up to make a total 'materials cost'.

I've then put £10.00 an hour on for my labour (the same as my current job) then £5.00 an hour for general overheads (cups of teas, travel, possible booth/room rent etc) and worked out a flat rate for my extensions

The point where I'm getting lost is the final price. I'll give an example.

materials cost £90.00,
Overheads x4 £20.00
labourx 4hours= £40.00

Total Flat rate = £150.00 - Profit £40.00

I'm wanting to round this number up. Whilst I'm charging £10.00 an hour for my time, realistically, when I'm doind this a part time job, half of my day will be given up to a client (I'm expecting to have a morning appointment avaialble and an afternoon one). Also, whilst I'm charging for the hour for my time and using that as my 'wage' I'll be needing a little extra each install to save towards more equipment etc. So I want to add more onto this price to make it worth my while.

I don't want to alienate any possible clients by being too expensive, but I don't want to undervalue myself at the start and then alienate my customer by realising I'm not charging enough and then have to hike up my prices!

Any advice? How did you work out your prices?

Hi chameleonhair , didn't you receive any equipment inside your hair extension training package ?

About the hair .... I believe that all this bad rubbish cheap hair and is damaging and ruining the professional hair extension industry and as fully trained professionals we shouldn't touch this bad quality hair at all for any type of longer lasting hair installments as the matting and tangling produced is a major problem these days

so many clients have lost faith in the actual hair itself , that they are scared to pay for hair extensions in case it all matts and tangles up ,
I believe high quality training, education , plenty of research into high quality hair and word of mouth are the very best way to build up your hair extension business.

If you paid for top quality training and are fully insured
you are way undercharging yourself for fitting , that is way too cheap and is such a waste of your hard earned money you spent out on your hair extension training course,

unless you are just needing some " after training experience " ?.. which then I can fully understand , (but still not the cheap hair )

(the hair you mention is way too cheap for it to be any good) and it will simply dry out and matt up ,

I am really surprised that your professional trainers didn't recommend a good hair suppliers /merchants to you ?

Anyway these days I only ever charge for the actual fitting service and the work involved .

I advise my clients to purchase their own hair and materials from where I recommend to them ,

the cutting and styling is in with the fitting charges
so is all the pre bonding and prepping the loose Pure Virgin Hair
as an experienced hairdresser all the cutting and styling is included so clients can expect to pay around 100 to £150 for just the fitting ,

a good Salon would understandably cost more , and are very very reliable ,

the above costs would all depend on how long it takes ,
so there's the actual installment then cutting and styling afterward its not earning that much really as a good experienced hairdresser can do a few cut and colours in the time it takes to do extensions , and earn far more ,

but a wage can be earned especially if you use good quality hair and build up a good name

but I do feel that loads of new hair extensionists who don't know that much about hair quality , perhaps think .... well hair is hair , and just don't bother to educate themselves at all ,
these are the extensionists that will just get played on and sucked into "the cheap hair trap " by unscrupulous bad hair company's

and as more and more extenstionist are getting trained each year ,
a lot of them can fall for the same old cheap hair trap trick , and loads and loads of extensionists tend to just give up when a very upset and angry client returns , to berate the hair extensionist who is shocked out of pocket and very disillusioned at the rubbishy cheap hair on the market ,
so she / he then goes on a quest to find this wonderfully good hair , buys a load more rubbish has a load more unhappy clients
so as you can see it just doesn't happen , without research training and education , as there are only a handful or really good suppliers out there
so you need to have a high quality hair system in place right from the start one that is re usable over and over again ,

and if you buy from the professional hair merchants or professional reccomended suppliers, you will make a decent wage from hair extensions :hug:

I personally think all this cheap nasty hair should be banned and not allowed into the professional longer lasting pre tipped hair extension Industry ,
but.. its mostly the untrained DIY hair extensionists that will buy this type of hair , therefore allowing these factories to flood the market with such nasty rubbishy hair ,

the professionals on here will only put in high quality hair and bonds , and it's certainly not cheap lol

Education training and research is the key
you need to aim higher , and buy pure quality hair , and perhaps learn how to pre bond all your own hair first ,
did they teach you how to do this pre tipping / bonding technique on your extension training course ?

hope that made sense ok :hug: minky

 

[persianista]

Minky is absolutely right. A lot of the hair I see(I am an expert witness for courts in regards to ext disputes) is vile. Hair can be traeted and coated to look ok at fitting time. Within no time at all it's like matted rats tails. Cuticle incorrect hair can actually be painfull to the client and cause damage to the natural hair.
I work at the top end of the market only, and use European, polish and russian cuticle correct hair. My fitting price for a full head is £300. A full head takes me two and a half hours.
Out and about I see bad ext all the time, it's sad because it doesnt need to be like that. This race to be the cheapest does the industry a huge disservice.
There seems to be a recurring opinion on here that Indian remy is the best, it's not. It is the COMBINGS. Thats why the bulbs can still be visible! It is usually cuticle stripped too as there is no way if ensuring it is root point correct when it is hackled out.
This practice used to be a big industry in Italy many years ago, but is a huge industry in India now.
Not only should ext air be perfectly colour matched to the clients hair, it should be texture matched too. Coarse hair in someone with fine, English hair looks terrible, and the weight will do damage.

 

[lusciouslox]

Hi chameleonhair , didn't you receive any equipment inside your hair extension training package ?

About the hair .... I believe that all this bad rubbish cheap hair and is damaging and ruining the professional hair extension industry and as fully trained professionals we shouldn't touch this bad quality hair at all for any type of longer lasting hair installments as the matting and tangling produced is a major problem these days

so many clients have lost faith in the actual hair itself , that they are scared to pay for hair extensions in case it all matts and tangles up ,
I believe high quality training, education , plenty of research into high quality hair and word of mouth are the very best way to build up your hair extension business.

If you paid for top quality training and are fully insured
you are way undercharging yourself for fitting , that is way too cheap and is such a waste of your hard earned money you spent out on your hair extension training course,

unless you are just needing some " after training experience " ?.. which then I can fully understand , (but still not the cheap hair )

(the hair you mention is way too cheap for it to be any good) and it will simply dry out and matt up ,

I am really surprised that your professional trainers didn't recommend a good hair suppliers /merchants to you ?

Anyway these days I only ever charge for the actual fitting service and the work involved .

I advise my clients to purchase their own hair and materials from where I recommend to them ,

the cutting and styling is in with the fitting charges
so is all the pre bonding and prepping the loose Pure Virgin Hair
as an experienced hairdresser all the cutting and styling is included so clients can expect to pay around 100 to £150 for just the fitting ,

a good Salon would understandably cost more , and are very very reliable ,

the above costs would all depend on how long it takes ,
so there's the actual installment then cutting and styling afterward its not earning that much really as a good experienced hairdresser can do a few cut and colours in the time it takes to do extensions , and earn far more ,

but a wage can be earned especially if you use good quality hair and build up a good name

but I do feel that loads of new hair extensionists who don't know that much about hair quality , perhaps think .... well hair is hair , and just don't bother to educate themselves at all ,
these are the extensionists that will just get played on and sucked into "the cheap hair trap " by unscrupulous bad hair company's

and as more and more extenstionist are getting trained each year ,
a lot of them can fall for the same old cheap hair trap trick , and loads and loads of extensionists tend to just give up when a very upset and angry client returns , to berate the hair extensionist who is shocked out of pocket and very disillusioned at the rubbishy cheap hair on the market ,
so she / he then goes on a quest to find this wonderfully good hair , buys a load more rubbish has a load more unhappy clients
so as you can see it just doesn't happen , without research training and education , as there are only a handful or really good suppliers out there
so you need to have a high quality hair system in place right from the start one that is re usable over and over again ,

and if you buy from the professional hair merchants or professional reccomended suppliers, you will make a decent wage from hair extensions :hug:

I personally think all this cheap nasty hair should be banned and not allowed into the professional longer lasting pre tipped hair extension Industry ,
but.. its mostly the untrained DIY hair extensionists that will buy this type of hair , therefore allowing these factories to flood the market with such nasty rubbishy hair ,

the professionals on here will only put in high quality hair and bonds , and it's certainly not cheap lol

Education training and research is the key
you need to aim higher , and buy pure quality hair , and perhaps learn how to pre bond all your own hair first ,
did they teach you how to do this pre tipping / bonding technique on your extension training course ?

hope that made sense ok :hug: minky

HERE HERE (WELL WRITTEN)
Without going off topic as i believe we are talking about price.
pricing structure depends on 2 simple things

1.The price of the products used
yes hair can be bought from different suppliers for different prices BUT all suppliers will tell your there hair is the best. Some will go to the length of lying as well.
Good supplier knows what they have and price it accordingly. A good supplier will also be used by good and reputable salons so maybe do some research and ask around.
I choose to us a product that is high in quality and pre made. This saves me time and i know i have back up support and is low risk product.

2.The input time with pre and post installation included
Time is very important. I give you an example. some people you sit and glue there hair tip and only to re do this again in every 3-6 months.
this takes hours these people should consider there time into this glue it yourself structure.
I personally would be rather working on another client and buy my hair pre tipped that doesn't fall apart.
Some people are also bonding hair in which takes hours as well.
Only to redone done later down the line.

Conclusion
find a low risk professional line.
the line needs to be reputable and easy to install.
once this is established you can do 2 things. Either charge for the hair and the add your labor (your the proffesional and you should be holding the respnsability for hair quality) or charge a retail price per extension which covers everthing.
for example :
buy a full head of hair $500 us dollars (your cost)
Then add you time you need according to your system with prep time risk time added. ADDITIONAL time + YOUR HAIR COST $500 = Then add your actual time to put them in.

OR

Buy low risk pre made hair that might cost a little more and takes least time to install.
for example
Purchase hair at $650 and its already made for you and simply put them in taking you 1 hour to install.
You can simply move onto your next client you instantly look professional with all the back up to go.
This means now you can charge per extension.
Add %100 mark up onto your cost per extensions. This should cover your time, environmental costs etc etc.

So if i was to purchase great hair pre tipped and install it in a hour and walk away with 100% i think that's a good outcome in anyone's books.
This is what we (our salons) are doing over here already.
of course some salons to choose to add 80% mark up to beat there competition. That's business i guess.

 

[kirstybaby]

Hi I am not a hair geek but live in Rotherham not far from you and have recently looked into having hair extensions and the prices quoted range from £200 - £250 so your £150 seems a little on the cheap side, I hope this helps

where did you get these quotes from am in rotherham and am looking at prices at the minute to see what i can afford and was hearing more towards 400