Hairstylist Fees

Mine has a minimum that I have to meet, but after my hair, my two bm's hair, and the travel fee, I meet the requirement.

Definitely not normal! What an absurdly ballsy thing for her to ask! Why should she get paid twice over--once for your services and once for the hypothetical services she didn't do for others that day? The nerve of some people...oy.

That said, it IS likely to be more expensive to have someone come to you as opposed to going to a salon. My day-of hair is $140 and the bridesmaids are $70 each. It adds up fast, particularly when combined with makeup costs.

I haven't heard of this... I believe it exists but I would personally keep looking.

@StPaul I initially thought it was fishy, but didn't want to sound rude by assuming so since I've never had to pay a stylist for a wedding. It would come out to over a grand for her, and she wouldn't even doing MY hair!

Find someone else. That's absurd.

Definitely getting quotes from others at this point.

I would find someone else.

Does this woman usually do wedding hair?

If not, I imagine that she is concerned about the impact your wedding day would have on her regular clients (since Saturday would be a busy day for a salon).

@Fitz, I don't think she does a ton of weddings, but she's done a few I've attended in the last 2-3 years and does really great work. I have another stylist in mind who does a lot of wedding hair, but haven't gotten a quote yet. I had asked this lady first because she's my grandmother's personal stylist so there was more of a connection there.

I would find someone else. My salon doesn't do that. They charge a little more because it's not in the salon and I think there is a minimum we had to meet but nothing like that. Like in the salon an updo is 60 but when they travel it's 75. Which I think is reasonable.

My hmua charges a travel fee to come to us on the day of, but it's nothing outrageous and definitely not a full day's wages.

It is normal for stylists to charge more for a wedding than their regular fees. It is also normal for them to charge a travel fee when they are leaving their salon to come to you. The "lost wages" thing is a little sketchy though. If it amounts to a little more than her regular fee plus a travel fee, that makes sense. If she expects you to fully pay for all of the clients she won't be able to see that day, in addition to paying the wedding hair fee, then no. That is over the top.

What is she charging per person OP?

It's normal to charge more for wedding hair (it needs to be perfect and last for HOURS) and more for travel. But the lost wages thing is bullshit. She isn't losing wages; she is making guaranteed ones.

Keep looking.

Soo not normal! You are her appointments for the day and because you are paying her then she does not need to be compensated for lost wages...that is very odd!

ETA: hair for weddings is usually more expensive so my hairdresser is actually making more off of my hair that she would make if I just came in and had it cut.

My hairstylist is charging a travel fee (like 60 cents per mile from the salon), and putting in a mandatory gratuity of 18% (which is less than I would have tipped so I plan on adding some extra for her). My updo is also more expensive than a regular updo because I'm sure it will take more time and she'll devote more attention than she would with any old updo.

Lost wages is bullshit. She isn't losing any wages - you're paying her for her services. Move on and find someone else.

Absolutely not! She's not losing wages, she's getting paid by you. If she chooses to be your stylist, you are her client, not the hypothetical clients that might have come to the salon for her that day. Bullshit.

I would not pick a stylist that ALSO charged loss wages. That's very extreme. Mine charges per girl and a small travel fee.

It's normal to see that, but she should be calling it her "travel fee" because that's ideally the money she could be making in her salon.

Not normal. Find someone else.

My hair and makeup, for myself and 2 bridesmaids on-site, is $475 total.

So, I'll start off by saying I very rarely do hair for weddings anymore, because working for a salon corporation, I was having to advertise for myself and I didn't have the time.

That being said, I charged accordingly so I would be making more than if I had worked that Saturday, after I covered my supplies. That's normal for stylists. It's reflected in our pricing. But, I have never heard of it being an "extra" charge on top of the set price. If you charge accordingly, you don't need to make up for loss wages. That's definitely weird.