PHOTO | AHSEEBO ROJAS

Barber Rodney White trims a customer's hair at Premier Lounge Grooming in Charlotte. The rising cost of equipment and material is leading to higher prices for hair services.

Inflation is hitting everyone at grocery stores and gas pumps, and for Black consumers, add the stylist chair.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics reported that from June 2021 to June 2022, the consumer price index for urban consumers increased 9.1% – the largest 12-month increase since November 1981.

Black customers are noticing a fresh look is more expensive now than it was a few years ago. Hazel Whyte, 19, saw rates increase for stylists working in shops and homes throughout Charlotte, and Daniel Wlue, 20, described shopping around to avoid the “crazy” prices he’s seen for a haircut.

For stylists, it’s important for clients to understand they are not changing rates arbitrarily. For many hairdressers, styling is their way of living, so inflation affects them just like everyone else. Many work for themselves, so their rates reflect what they need to stay afloat.

Chapel Hill stylist Danielle Bailey, who specializes in locs and braids, is just one example of a stylist affected by inflation. Bailey, who started in 2017 while a student at UNC Pembroke, charged an initial rate of $45 to keep services affordable for other students. Since then, she has upped her rates by $60 to keep pace with the rising cost of living and travel.

“Cost of living is real, but it’s really that gas,” Bailey said. “That is really what’s getting me because I travel. I travel to Charlotte, and that’s not cheap, especially on a car that has a new alternator and a new transmission.”

Bailey said her latest price adjustment was something she felt she had to do because her growing clientele require more products and travel than before. AAA reported that gas prices peaked at a little over $4.60 in June, and the distance between Chapel Hill and Charlotte is 140 miles. It would be a week-to-week struggle if she still lived off $60 retwists.

Xavier Smith, a barber at Premier Grooming Lounge in Charlotte, is another example. Smith has been cutting hair since he was 14, and he started with cutting his own head before completing barber school and serving others. When he first started as a certified barber, Smith charged $20 for walk-ins and $25 for appointments. They stayed the same until recently.

“I didn’t want to hit people over the head,” Smith said.

Inflation affected the cost of clippers, too, which Smith said have gone through technological changes during his time as a barber. He described working through those price changes as “rough.”

“Trimmers are almost $200, clippers are almost $300,” Smith said.

Said Willie Wilbur, a barber across from Smith: “$225 when I paid for (clippers). I got three pairs, so do the math. I went [to price] them about two weeks ago — $369 for the same clippers.”

Those are the expenses clients may not always see when it comes to providing hair services.

“As a hairstylist, to me, I feel as though behind the scenes, we dish out a lot more money than we ask for,” Bailey said. “So, it’s like a respect thing to where it’s just like, already, her prices are her prices for a reason.”

Inflation hasn’t been the only reason why hair services cost more as stylists are also considering their worth in setting rates.

As much as hairdressers respect their clients, low-balling themselves is not ideal, especially when clients appreciate and like their work. Smith realized it was an issue when clients were surprised he charged $20-$25. Smith figured he was doing something right when bookings grew to where he couldn’t fit everyone in. As a result, his price for a haircut and beard trim now starts at $30.

Smith points out barbering is much more than cutting hair. For him, it’s about making people feel good about their appearance while also doing extra tasks like keeping his equipment clean to protect clients.

For Bailey, her worth comes through the quality of service and the knowledge she gives to clients about their hair. As a result, it influenced her to raise prices as well.

“I just think that the quality that I give on people’s heads is what they pay for,” Bailey said. “But also, I try to be knowledgeable about how their hair is reacting and working and everything. …Because at that point, I’m a teacher, which I don’t mind at all.”

There are clients who accept that, either by continuing to support their stylist or just acknowledging that it’s not feasible to keep old rates.

“As a kid, or as a teenager, I would say that it was kind of tough, especially if you’re not paying for your own haircut at that certain age, your parents are going to question why,” Wlue said. “Like why it costs more to get a haircut or what not. But, as you grow older, it’s sort of reasonable. I can empathize more and understand why they’re raising their prices because it’s their way of life, it’s how they get their money, it’s how they support themselves.”

From what Wilbur and Smith experienced, some clients are not as understanding. Wilbur’s rates went up $5 in January, and a client responded by going across the aisle to Smith, not realizing he raised his prices, too.

Wilbur, a retired veteran, said he cuts hair because it’s something he likes to do and keeps him busy. He sees barbering as working for the client, and as a loyal “worker,” he doesn’t see what’s wrong with asking for a small raise, considering the service he provides in exchange.

Some people just don’t deal with stylists at all, like Taylor Dixon of Charlotte. Dixon, 20, started styling her hair in middle school and realized its benefits during the pandemic when businesses were shut down. She feels that she does her own hair well enough to realize paying someone else other than once a year isn’t necessary.

Dixon, who does friends’ hair for free, has thought about trying for certification in hair services for a side hustle. Nonetheless, she understands what goes into determining rates.

“It’s just a whole bunch of factors that are contributing to the raises in prices,” she said, “and it’s more of you (having) to be understanding as a consumer and logically break down the prices of everything before you even put yourself in that situation to question how much something is.”

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