A regular sits down in your chair. You know her kids' names. Your colour costs went up again this year, and your prices have not moved in a long time. You keep meaning to raise them. Every week, you put it off one more week.
This guide is for owners of small salons, barbershops, nail studios and lash studios. Your shop may be one year old or twenty. Either way, you will learn when it is time, how much to raise, and how many clients you can lose before a raise costs you money. You will also get the exact words to say.
If you only need the words, the free Price Increase Notice Maker from KANJIN (kanjin.app) writes them for you. Type your shop name, the start date and the new prices. It gives you a printable counter sign, a short post, an email to regulars and one line your staff can say. There is no sign-up, and nothing you type is sent to us.
Key Takeaways
- Most owners wait too long. Each month at the old price is money you never get back.
- Do the math first. A small raise can cover losing one visit in ten.
- Raise each service on its own, to a round price, with a clear start date.
- Tell regulars a few weeks ahead, in four places, without saying sorry.
- Keep your reward the same. A free service is worth more to a client after a raise.
Signs it is time to raise your prices
You do not need permission to raise prices. You need a reason that is true for your shop. Here are the common ones.
Your costs went up. Colour, gel, wax, rent, card fees and wages all creep. If you set prices three years ago, you are paying today's bills with old prices.
Prices around you went up. In the US, the price index for haircuts and other personal care services rose 4.9% in the 12 months to February 2026 (US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index, released 11 March 2026, Table 2). That is a national average across many shops. It tells you clients are already seeing higher prices elsewhere.
You are booked out. If your book is full two weeks ahead, demand is higher than your time. That is the clearest sign of all.
You cannot remember your last raise. If the answer is "before the pandemic", you are overdue.
Your skills grew. You took a colour course, or you now do work that takes more time. The price should follow the work.
If two or more of these are true, start planning. You do not have to raise prices tomorrow. You do have to pick a date.
How many clients can you lose and still come out ahead?
This is the question owners fear most. So answer it with your own numbers before you decide.
Here is a worked example. A cut costs $40 today. The materials for one cut, such as shampoo, product and laundry, cost $6. So each cut leaves you $34.
Now raise the cut to $44. Each cut now leaves you $38.
Say you do 100 cuts a month. Today that leaves you 100 × $34 = $3,400.
After the raise, how many cuts do you need to keep $3,400? Divide $3,400 by $38. That is about 89.5 cuts. So you could lose about 10 cuts in 100 and still earn the same.
| Before the raise | After the raise | |
|---|---|---|
| Price of a cut | $40 | $44 |
| Materials per cut | $6 | $6 |
| Left per cut | $34 | $38 |
| Cuts a month | 100 | 90 |
| Left in the month | $3,400 | $3,420 |
The rule: you can lose (new price − old price) ÷ (new price − materials) of your visits and break even.
In the example, that is $4 ÷ $38, or about 10.5%. A 10% raise covers losing about one visit in ten.
Most regulars do not leave over a fair raise. But some will come a little less often. The math tells you how much room you have. It turns a fear into a number.
One more check is worth doing. A regular who stays brings far more than one visit. The free Customer Lifetime Value Calculator shows what a regular leaves behind in a year. Use it to see why keeping regulars matters more than any one price.
How much to raise each service
There is no right percentage for every shop. But a few habits make a raise feel fair.
Raise each service on its own. A colour that uses more product may need a bigger raise than a beard trim. A flat 10% across the board is simple, but it may be too much on some services and too little on others.
Start from cost. Look at what each service uses up in materials and time. Raise most where the gap between cost and price has shrunk the most.
Use round, clear prices. $45 is easier to read and say than $44.50. Clients remember round numbers. So do your staff.
Raise once, clearly. A raise every few months wears people out. One clear raise, with a date, is easier to accept than three small ones.
Look at your add-ons too. Toner, deep conditioning, nail art and extra length often stay at old prices for years. Small add-ons are easy to forget and easy to fix.
Write your new price list on one page before you tell anyone. You will need it for the sign and the email.
When to raise your prices
Timing matters less than notice. But a few choices make it smoother.
Give a few weeks' notice. Regulars hate surprises more than they hate prices. A sign and an email a few weeks ahead give them time to get used to it.
Pick a start date and keep it. "From 1 March" is clear. "Soon" is not. A date also stops staff from guessing.
Decide about booked appointments. Some owners keep the old price for any visit already booked. That is a kind gesture and easy to explain. Whatever you choose, tell your staff, so every client hears the same answer.
Avoid surprising people at a big moment. If a client booked months ago for a wedding, keep the price they were given.
What to say: the sign, the post, the email and the chair
You will say this in four places. Use the same date and the same prices in all four.
The counter sign
Keep it short. Your shop name, the date, the new prices, and one thank-you line. For example:
"From 1 March, our prices are changing. Thank you for choosing us. Ask us about any service."
Put it where clients wait or pay, a few weeks before the date.
The post
A short post for your Instagram or Facebook page. Two or three lines are enough. Say what changes and when. Thank your regulars. Do not argue with comments under it.
The email to regulars
Regulars deserve to hear it from you, not from a sign. Keep it to a few short lines:
"Hi, a quick note from us. From 1 March, some of our prices are changing. You can see the new list at the counter or on our page. Thank you for coming back to us. We look forward to seeing you soon."
The line in the chair
This is the one owners dread. Practise one sentence until it feels normal:
"Just so you know, our prices go up a little from 1 March. Today is still the old price."
Then stop talking. You do not need to explain your rent.
Should you give a reason?
You can, but you do not have to. A short, true reason can help: "Our product and rent costs went up." But a long story can sound like an apology. If you would rather not discuss your costs, that is fine.
Do not say sorry. A fair raise is not a mistake. Say it calmly, and most clients will take it calmly.
The free Price Increase Notice Maker writes all four of these for you. Pick plain or warm, pick a reason or none, and print the sign. It can also write them in Chinese, Japanese, Spanish or French. That helps if many of your clients speak one of those, or if English is not your own first language.
If you rent out chairs, or rent one
A rent raise is a price raise too. It follows the same rules: a clear amount, a date and notice.
If you rent chairs to stylists or barbers, work out what the chair earns first. Then check a quiet month from their side of the deal. The free Booth Rent vs Commission Calculator shows what one chair leaves you, and them, under rent, commission or a wage. Our guide on how much to charge for booth rent walks through it.
If you rent a chair and your rent just went up, your service prices may need to follow. Use the math above to see how much.
How to keep your regulars after the change
The weeks after a raise are when you keep or lose people. A few small things help.
Thank people out loud. Regulars who stay after a raise are saying they value you. Tell them you noticed.
Keep your reward the same. If your stamp card gives a free cut after a set number of visits, keep it. Do not quietly add stamps. After a raise, that free cut is worth more to the client. That is a reason to come back, at no extra cost to you.
Watch who stops coming. Some regulars may drift away without a word. Look for clients who have not been back in a while. A short "we miss you" message works better than a discount. Our guide on why customers stop coming back covers the usual reasons.
Do not discount your way back. A discount right after a raise confuses people. It also trains them to wait for deals.
Keep a list of your regulars. If you do not have one, start one now. Then you can email them about the raise, and later about openings and new services. Our guide on how to start a customer list shows the simple ways to do it.
Your price raise in six steps
- Write down what each service costs you in materials today.
- Work out how many visits you could lose and still earn the same.
- Set a new, round price for each service, add-ons included.
- Pick a start date a few weeks away, and tell your staff first.
- Put up the sign, post it, and email your regulars on the same day.
- Practise your one line for the chair, and keep your reward the same.
Where KANJIN fits
KANJIN (kanjin.app) is a free stamp card and back office for small shops. Clients join with their phone number at the counter. There is no app to download and no plastic card to lose.
That gives you a list of your regulars from day one. When prices change, the Email your regulars button in the back office sends your notice to them. The back office also sends Google review requests and marketing emails that bring regulars back.
Start your free stamp card. It takes a few minutes, and you can print the counter sign the same day.
Frequently asked questions
Should I tell clients why I am raising prices? You can give one short, true reason, such as higher product costs. You do not have to. A calm notice with a date works without a reason.
Should regulars pay the new price too? Usually yes, from the same date. Some owners keep the old price for visits already booked. Pick one rule and tell every client the same thing.
How much notice should I give? A few weeks is common for small shops. Put the sign up and send the email at the same time, so nobody hears it second-hand.
What if a regular complains? Listen, thank them, and repeat the date calmly. Do not argue or apologise. Most people adjust within a visit or two.
How often should I raise prices? Check once a year, when you look at your costs. Raise only when the numbers say so, and then do it clearly.