Why Isn’t Every Hair Color Appointment the Same Price?
One question you may have before scheduling a salon appointment is, “Why isn’t every hair color service the same price?”
The truth is that no two heads of hair are exactly alike.
Hair color pricing is based on the time, products and techniques required to safely work toward your desired result. Someone with long, thick hair will usually require more color and appointment time than someone with short, fine hair.
Your starting color, previous chemical history, current hair condition and desired result can also affect the final price.
Every color appointment at Revive Hair & Beauty is customized for the person sitting in my chair.
What Determines the Price of a Hair Color Appointment?
Several factors are considered when estimating the cost of a customized color service.
These include:
- Hair length
- Hair density
- Hair texture
- Starting color
- Desired result
- Previous color history
- Amount of product required
- Techniques needed
- Appointment time
- Condition of the hair
- Corrective work
- Treatments needed to support the hair
- Whether a haircut and style are included
Two clients may request the same service name but require completely different appointments to achieve their goals.
Hair Length Affects Product and Time
Long hair typically requires more color, lightener, toner and treatment product than short hair.
It may also take additional time to section, apply, process, rinse, tone, dry and style.
Even if two clients have similar starting colors, the client with significantly longer hair may require more bowls of product and a longer appointment.
This is why some salon services include an additional product charge for extra length.
Hair Density Matters Too
Hair density refers to how much hair you have, not how thick each individual strand feels.
A client with a short haircut can still have extremely dense hair that requires more product and application time. Another client may have long but fine, low-density hair that requires less product.
The amount of hair being colored is one of the most important factors in determining how much product and time will be needed.
Your Starting Color Affects the Process
A client beginning with natural, uncolored hair may require a different process from someone with years of permanent color.
For example, creating highlights on natural brunette hair is different from trying to create those highlights through:
- Dark permanent color
- Box dye
- Previous lowlights
- Color buildup
- Uneven bands
- Old highlights
- Fashion colors
- Henna
- Multiple layers of toner
The more complicated the starting point, the more planning, time and product may be necessary.
Previous Color Can Turn a Service Into a Color Correction
If your hair contains unwanted artificial color, uneven bands, brassy sections or several different starting levels, the appointment may be considered a color correction.
Color corrections may involve:
- Strand testing
- Color removal
- Multiple lightener formulas
- Carefully correcting bands
- Protecting fragile sections
- More than one toner
- Adding or removing depth
- Several rounds of treatment
- A longer appointment
- Multiple salon visits
A color correction is priced differently from routine maintenance because it requires additional time, products and technical planning.
Major Transformations Require More Work
Changing your hair by one or two shades may require a relatively straightforward service.
Moving from dark brown or black hair to blonde is much more involved. The stylist may need to remove artificial pigment, work through red and orange underlying tones and carefully monitor the condition of the hair.
Major transformations can include:
- Brunette to blonde
- Removing dark box dye
- Correcting uneven highlights
- Platinum transformations
- Removing vivid or fashion colors
- Correcting at-home color
- Changing from solid dark color to dimensional color
Some transformations can be completed in one appointment. Others need to be divided into several sessions to protect the hair.
The Desired Result Changes the Price
The photograph you bring to your consultation may look like “just highlights,” but recreating that result could require several services.
A dimensional color may include:
- Root color
- Full or partial highlights
- Lowlights
- Face framing highlights
- Root melt
- Multiple toners
- Gloss
- Bond-building treatment
- Haircut
- Blowout and style
The final price reflects the complete process required to create the finished result, not only the name of one technique.
Hair Condition Must Be Considered
The health of your hair plays an important role in determining how the appointment should be performed.
Hair that has been repeatedly bleached, chemically treated or exposed to high heat may require:
- A strand test
- A gentler formula
- Careful sectioning
- Reduced processing
- Bond-building or molecular repair treatments
- A slower transformation plan
- A haircut or trim
- Several appointments instead of one
My goal is always to create beautiful results without unnecessarily compromising the integrity of your hair.
Sometimes taking a slower approach requires more planning, but protecting your hair is always worth it.
Professional Products Are Included in the Service Cost
Professional hair color services require more than a tube of color.
Depending on the appointment, the products used may include:
- Professional color
- Lightener
- Developer
- Multiple toner formulas
- Bond-supporting treatments
- Professional shampoo and conditioner
- Hair masks
- Heat protectant
- Styling products
- Foils, gloves and other supplies
Long, thick or highly porous hair may require several times the amount of product used for a shorter or lower-density client.
You Are Also Paying for Professional Experience
When you invest in professional hair color, you are not paying only for the product placed on your hair.
You are also paying for:
- Professional education
- Formulation knowledge
- Color theory
- Technique
- Product selection
- Careful application
- Time behind the chair
- Problem-solving
- Understanding underlying pigment
- Protecting previously lightened hair
- Customizing a long-term color plan
As a master cosmetologist with 16 years of experience, I make decisions throughout every appointment based on how the hair responds.
Those decisions can make the difference between simply applying color and creating a safe, customized result.
Why Consultations Are Important
A consultation allows me to evaluate your hair before giving you the most accurate estimate possible.
During the consultation, we may discuss:
- Your desired result
- Your complete color history
- Your current hair condition
- The amount of hair you have
- Your maintenance preferences
- Your home care routine
- Your budget
- Whether a strand test is needed
- How many appointments may be required
Pictures and messages can help me understand your goal, but an in-person evaluation may be necessary for major transformations or color corrections.
A consultation also gives us an opportunity to create a plan that fits your hair, lifestyle and budget.
Is a Hair Color Estimate a Guaranteed Final Price?
A consultation provides the best opportunity to create an accurate estimate. However, some corrective appointments may reveal unexpected color buildup or uneven lifting once the service begins.
If the plan needs to change significantly, your stylist should communicate with you before adding major services or product charges whenever possible.
Open communication about your goal and budget is important before the appointment begins.
Customized Hair Color in Columbus, Georgia
At Revive Hair & Beauty, every color service is personalized.
Your appointment is based on your starting point, hair length, density, condition, previous color and desired result.
You are not just paying for hair color. You are investing in professional products, experience, education and a customized plan designed to help you reach your goals safely.
If you would like a personalized hair color estimate, schedule a consultation at Revive Hair & Beauty.
Revive Hair & Beauty
3910 Rosemont Drive
Columbus, GA 31904
(706) 289-2092
Serving Columbus, Fort Benning, Phenix City, Harris County and surrounding communities.
Frequently Asked Questions About Hair Color Pricing
Why does long or thick hair cost more to color?
Long or dense hair typically requires more color, lightener, toner and appointment time. Additional product charges help cover what is actually needed to complete the service properly.
Why does a color correction cost more than regular color?
A color correction may require strand testing, color removal, several formulas, additional products and a much longer appointment.
Can I receive an exact quote from a photograph?
Photographs can help communicate your goal, but they do not show everything about your hair’s density, condition or hidden color history. A consultation may be needed for the most accurate estimate.
Why does going blonde cost more than going darker?
Becoming significantly lighter may require lightener, foils, several toners, treatments and multiple hours of detailed work. Previously colored dark hair may also require corrective services.
Do all clients pay the same price for highlights?
Not always. Pricing may vary based on whether you need a partial or full highlight, how much hair you have, the amount of product needed and whether additional services are required.
Why might I need more than one appointment?
Some transformations should be completed gradually to prevent excessive damage. Several controlled appointments may be safer than attempting to force the final result in one day.