Let’s stop pretending that your problem with raising your prices is just about maths. It’s not; it’s about you. The truth is, the number on your price list is less about money and more about how you feel about yourself. People love to make it about spreadsheets and calculators, but for most hairdressers, money is so emotional. If you’re struggling with your self-worth, it will show up in your pricing… Every. Single. Time.
I’m not going to sugarcoat this: if you constantly feel guilty for charging what you’re worth, if you flinch every time a client says, “How much?”, or if you panic at the till and start chopping bits off the bill, it’s not about your service; it’s about your self-worth. If that’s where you’re at, you don’t just need a new price list, you need therapy. And fast.
The quicker you start dealing with the deep stuff – your fear of rejection, your need for approval, the little voice in your head telling you “You’re not enough” – the quicker you’ll build confidence around money. Because, without that inner belief, no pricing strategy in the world will hold.
I say this not just from personal experience, but from deep research. I’ve been teaching money mindsets on tour across Australia, the UK and online, and the same patterns show up again and again. Ultimately, we don’t charge more because we don’t feel we’re worth more.
Everyone’s shouting “Know your worth!” online, but let’s be honest, a lot of it is just people testing the waters to see how high they can charge and still get away with it. This isn’t knowing your value; it’s throwing spaghetti at a wall (which is a little dishonest, in my opinion).
If you want to raise your prices and feel good about it, you need to do the work to actually increase your value first. This means improving your service so you feel proud of every detail. Upgrade the experience: swap the same boring Biscoff biscuit for something that surprises and delights your clients. Step up your personal presentation: if you’re still turning up to work in your sliders, no make-up and your wet hair scraped on top of your head with “I’m sorry I’m late” being the first thing that comes out of your mouth, then you’re really going to struggle.
If your game goes up, your confidence goes up. And when your confidence goes up, so do your prices, naturally.
Let’s be real… if not every client is returning, and if you’re still finding some jobs stressful or unfamiliar, you’ve got work to do. None of us are perfect.
You don’t need a five-grand masterclass; you need YouTube, a mannequin head and commitment. I get it, you’re tired, the kids need dinner and you’ve got other responsibilities, but here’s the tough love – if you want a better life, the only way is through. You either give yourself more skills or you stay stuck and broke.
Raising your prices without raising your skill set? That will just fuel your imposter syndrome. Raising your skills first? That builds bloody strong confidence.
This is a big one, and I see it all the time. You’re too scared to tell the client what it costs upfront, so you wait until the end, and then panic when you see the total. So, what do you do? You knock a bit off. Every time. You discount out of guilt.
The fix for this is simple: always over-communicate the potential costs. For example, I’ll say: “If I need to reapply bleach or add extra highlights, that’s a £50 add-on. I’ll only do it if needed, and I’ll let you know before we go ahead.” That way, if I do it, I charge it – no guilt, no surprises.
If you just go ahead and don’t tell them, however? You’ll be too nervous to mention it and you’ll lose out every time because you’ll panic price drop.
