Build the price from four numbers, not one
Hair cost for the install, chair time at your hourly rate, consumables, and the maintenance schedule the install commits you to. Price all four at the consultation and quote one number to the client.
The mistake is quoting hair at cost and labour at market. The client is buying an outcome; you should be earning on both the product you selected and the skill you applied.
Work in cost per gram, always
A 150g row install is a different business at $3 per gram than at $1.50 per gram. On a full install that single input difference is hundreds of dollars — money that either sits in your till or in a brand's marketing budget.
Convert every supplier quote to cost per gram per length before comparing. Packet sizes and 'set' pricing are designed to make that comparison difficult.
Charge for the consultation and the colour match
The consultation is where the install succeeds or fails: density assessment, shade match, lifestyle, budget, maintenance willingness. Charging for it filters out clients who were never going to book, and it credits toward the install for the ones who do.
Colour matching against a physical swatch in daylight — not a phone screen — prevents the most common and most expensive post-install complaint.
Price the maintenance, not just the install
Move-ups every six to ten weeks are the profitable half of the business and the part clients forget. Put the schedule and the price in writing before the first install, and book the first move-up before the client leaves the chair.
A client who understands the annual cost from day one becomes a long retention client. A client who discovers it in month three becomes a complaint.
Raise prices with evidence, not apology
When you improve the hair you install — full cuticle, aligned, batch-recorded — say so, show the wash test, and price accordingly. Clients pay for longevity they can observe.
Longevity also lowers your own cost of doing business: reusable rows over multiple move-ups mean the same hair earns you labour revenue several times.
Buyer Questions
Should I mark up the hair?
Yes. You selected it, you carry the stock risk, and you warranty the outcome. A markup on hair is standard professional practice.
How many grams for a typical install?
Most fine-to-medium installs land between 100g and 200g; thick or long hair goes higher. Assess density at consultation rather than quoting from a photo.
Does cheaper hair always mean lower quality?
No — it usually means fewer layers between you and the factory. What matters is the cuticle, the alignment and the batch record, not the number of brands in the chain.