Are You Tipping Hairstylists Correctly?

The whole conversation on “tipflation” and what’s a fair gratuity left out an important voice: The hairstylists themselves. How do they feel about tip-fatigued customers like the woman on TikTok? 

“As far as the video goes, I don’t blame her,” said Collin Martin, a hair stylist in Englewood, Florida, and a hair industry educator.  

He said he obviously appreciates clients who tip, but he doesn’t expect it either. He’d be screwed if he did, he said. 

“To base even a portion of my income on the emotional response of another human being is… do I even have to finish the sentence?” he told HuffPost. “I have learned to never bank on it and I have been a much happier hairdresser ever since.”

Instead of relying on tips, Martin said he prefers to “just charge my worth.”

“Knowing your value is the most important part of being a hairdresser,” he added.

John Mosley, a barber and men’s grooming expert in Dallas, Texas, agreed. “I don’t see anything wrong if a client decides not to tip,” he said.

Today, Mosley’s client list includes Kendrick Lamar and Eminem, but when he began working as a barber, Mosley clients weren’t always so monied. Even so, most tipped. 

“In your local barber shop, clients kind of feel like they are supporting the business, and helping [the business] make up for what they might lose in lower prices,” Mosley said. 

J. Clark Walker, a barber and owner at Major Studios in Salt Lake City, Utah, thought the TikToker had some valid points. Still, he had a hunch that her stylist was pretty surprised that there was no tip after seven hours on her feet. “For a top-notch service, if you can afford it, I think you should always leave a little tip,” he said.

He’s had great clients that don’t tip, some that never have, and a whole bunch that just forget. “But it’s obviously very noticeable when a client tips well,” he said. “You remember great tippers, for sure.”

Tamara Necole is a stylist who specializes in wig making and weave installations. At the high-end full-service hair salon she works at in Culver City, California, her various services run from $175 to $850.

There are no hard feelings when someone doesn’t tip but she admits she does often wonder if they’re not 100% happy with her service: “If they return, I use that as an opportunity to provide them with a better experience,” she told HuffPost.