How To Understand Salon Services Pricing? A Transparent Guide from Wild Soul Salon

If you've ever searched for salon service pricing online, you've probably noticed something frustrating: most salons either don't list their prices at all, or they give you vague ranges that don't actually help you budget. I get it. As the owner of Wild Soul Salon & Head Spa in Denver, I've spent over 17 years in this industry, and I know that "color" means something completely different to every person who walks through my door.

That's exactly why I'm writing this post. Because the truth is, there's no such thing as a universal "color service" with one fixed price. And understanding why can save you time, money, and a whole lot of disappointment.

The Biggest Misconception About Salon Service Pricing

Here's what I hear constantly: "I want color."

The problem? "Color" isn't one service. It's an umbrella term that covers dozens of different techniques, each with its own complexity, time investment, and price point.

When someone says they want color, they might actually need:

• Highlights only (foil work to add dimension)

• Base color only (single-process all-over color)

• Highlights plus base color (foils with a color applied around them to shift the natural tone)

• Balayage (hand-painted highlights)

• Color correction (fixing previous color work)

• Gray blending (strategically covering gray while maintaining natural dimension)

• A combination of multiple techniques

And here's the part most clients don't realize: getting from where your hair is now to where you want it to be might require a single process, or it might require multiple steps across several appointments. That completely changes the investment.

Real Client Transformations: What Cut and Color Services Actually Cost

Let me show you what I mean with real examples from my salon. These aren't stock photos or hypothetical scenarios. These are actual clients I've worked with, and I'm sharing exactly what they invested and why.

The Curl Revival That Changed Everything

The Situation: This client came to me with dry, frizzy, damaged curls that weren't growing. She was frustrated and ready to give up on her natural texture.

The Real Problem: When I examined her hair and scalp, I found significant product buildup and scalp issues that were preventing her curls from thriving. No amount of cutting or styling was going to fix this without addressing the foundation first.

What We Did: Curl Shape and Care service - $265

This included:

• Complete hair detoxification to remove years of buildup

• Deep conditioning treatment that could actually penetrate clean hair

• Curl-enhancing cut using my dry-cutting technique

• In-depth styling education session

Future Maintenance:

• Curl Enhacing Cut: $165

• 1-step treatment: $45

• Total Investment: $210 every 3-4 months

Why It Worked: By removing the buildup first, the treatment could fully envelop each strand with moisture. Her natural volume and curl definition came right back because we weren't fighting product residue anymore. Her scalp is now flake-free, which means her future curls will be more resilient to dryness, damage, and hair loss.

The Result: Her curls looked effortlessly defined because they finally were. This is what happens when you address the whole hair system, not just cut off the ends.

When a Haircut Becomes a Healing Ritual

The Situation: A sudden and devastating illness meant potential hair loss was on the horizon. My client wanted to ease into shorter hair rather than face dramatic loss all at once.

What We Did:

• Transformation Cut: $165

• Root-to-ends color: $125

• 1-step treatment: $45

• Total Investment: $335

Future Maintenance:

• Haircut and Style $110

• 1-step treatment: $45

• Total Investment: $165 every 6-8 weeks

Why This Was Different: This wasn't just about cutting hair. I spent time listening to her concerns, understanding her fears about what was coming, and strategizing not just for how she'd look immediately, but for managing potential hair loss and eventual regrowth.

The Result: She left feeling whole, cared for, and heard. She had a plan. She had support. And she had a beautiful cut that honored where she was in her journey while preparing her for what might come next.

This is what I mean when I talk about my "whole human process." Sometimes the most valuable thing I provide isn't technical skill—it's holding space for someone during a transformation that goes far deeper than their hair.

The Marathon Color Correction

The Situation: This client had previously colored her hair dark to cover gray. She wanted to go lighter, but her hair was fine and she had a lot of it. The challenge wasn't just lifting the color—it was doing it without excessive warmth or damage.

What We Did:

• Transformation Color (combination of balayage, foils, and custom toning): $140/hour x 3 hours = $420

• Haircut and style with extra time for drying and curling her dense hair: $165

• 1-step treatment to protect and repair: $45

• Total Investment: $630 in one 5-hour session

Future Maintenance:

• Haircut and style w/ hot tool: $165

• Face Frame Foil: $115

• 1-step treatment: $45

• Toner $55

• Total Investment: $380 every 3-4 months

Why It Cost This Much: This is exactly when you need Transformation Color pricing rather than standard foil pricing. Her hair wasn't an even canvas. Different areas needed different approaches. We used balayage in some sections, foils in others, and custom toning throughout to neutralize unwanted warmth.

Could we have done this cheaper with a standard highlight service? Technically yes. Would the result have been the same? Absolutely not.

The Reality Check: Five hours is a long appointment. But breaking this into multiple sessions would have meant more total time, more money, and more stress on her hair. Sometimes the most cost-effective approach is also the most intensive.

Gray Transition Done Right

The Situation: After the pandemic this client wanted to stop coloring her hair and embrace her natural gray alongside her natural curls. But when you've been covering gray for years, you can't just stop. The grow-out looks harsh and the gray can appear dull or yellow without the right approach.

What We Did Over 3 Visits:

• 9 hours of corrective color work: $140/hour = $1,260

• Curl-enhancing cut and style (each visit): $165 x 3 = $495

• 1-step treatment (each visit): $45 x 3 = $135

• Total Investment: $1,890 over approximately 6 months

Why This Investment Made Sense: By the third visit, her old color was almost undetectable and her hair was in phenomenal condition despite intensive processing. Now she only needs toning ($55) to keep the lighter ends balanced until they grow out completely.

The Long-Term Savings: $0 dollar future color cost. Once her gray is fully transitioned, I recommend adding "pepper" lowlights once or twice a year ($245-290) to maintain depth and contrast. This keeps her curls visible and her gray vibrant. Compare that to monthly root touch-ups forever, and you can see how this upfront investment actually saves money over time.

The Bright Blonde Curl Maintenance Strategy

The Situation: Two inches of regrowth, wanting bright blonde with minimal natural color showing, natural grow-out, and the ability to space appointments 8-12 weeks apart instead of the typical 6-week cycle.

What We Did:

• Max blonde foil with babylights: included in service

• Root shadow (to create natural grow-out): included in service

• Curl cut: included in service

• Treatment: included in service

• Service pricing Initial Service $500 from virgin

Future Maintenance:

• Curl-enhancing cut and style: $165

• 1-step treatment: $45

• Partial Foil $145

• Root shadow $65

• Total Investment: Root touch up only $420

Why This Approach Works: My babylights with shadow roots technique ensures bright, even, predictable lift with extremely natural grow-out. This saves clients from the financial burden and time cost of constant retouching while minimizing damage by allowing more time between visits.

The Hidden Value: When you can go 10-12 weeks between appointments instead of 6, you're cutting your annual color costs nearly in half while keeping your hair healthier.

Low-Maintenance Balayage for Curly Gray Coverage

The Challenge: Three inches of visible gray regrowth, wanting highlights refreshed, but also wanting to continue growing her curls long without constant salon visits.

What We Did:

• Partial foil: $245

• Root shadow (translucent gray coverage): included

• Curl-enhancing cut: $165

• 1-step treatment: $45

• Total Investment: $455 Every 3-4 months

The Technique Breakdown: Instead of traditional balayage touch-up, I used custom partial highlights with root shadow. This created a gradient toward the root (like balayage) while adding a translucent wash of color to the grays, making each gray hair look like the highlights around them.

Why This Matters: This is gray coverage that doesn't look like gray coverage. It's blended, dimensional, and low-maintenance. She can go months between appointments without an obvious line of demarcation.

The Teen Who Learned to Love Her Curls

The Situation: A young client who had never had a positive salon experience with her curls. She struggled with loving her natural texture, mostly hiding her hair in tight ponytails to avoid embarrassment from frizz and volume. She didn't believe her curls could be beautiful.

What We Did:

• Transformation Cut: $195

• Quick Hair Detox: $35

• 1-step conditioning treatment: $45

• Total Investment: $275

Future Maintenance:

• Curl-enhancing cut and style: $165

• 1-step treatment: $45

• Total Investment: $210 every 3-4 months

What I Discovered: She had tried "everything" and nothing worked. When I examined her hair, I found significant buildup and a lot of hair care misconceptions we needed to work through. We spent considerable time unteaching bad habits and establishing a healthy at-home routine.

The Real Transformation: This wasn't about an expensive service. This was about finally having someone who understood her hair type, took the time to educate her properly, and gave her the tools to succeed at home. The dramatic curl definition you see in that after photo? That's what's possible when you remove what's weighing curls down and teach someone how to care for their natural texture.

Why the Transformation Cut Cost More: When someone has a lot of hair, complex texture, or needs extensive education, that takes more time than a basic cut. That's what you're paying for—customized attention to your specific needs.

Dimensional Color for Curls + Gray Blending Strategy

The Situation: This client was an irregular salon visitor who lacked a consistent styling routine. She never really liked her curly results from previous stylists and stayed away from color completely, assuming it would grow out terribly, be super costly, and make her a slave to constant salon visits.

What We Did:

• Curl-enhancing cut and style: $165

• Full foil: $290

• 1-step treatment: $45

• Total Investment: $500

Future Maintenance:

• Curl-enhancing cut and style: $165

• Face Frame Foil: $115

• 1-step treatment: $45

• Toner $55

• Total Investment: $380 every 3-4 months

What I Did Differently: I used my dry-cutting curl technique to enhance her natural curl pattern rather than fight against it. Then I walked her through an at-home styling regime that allows her to air dry with minimal styling effort—because not everyone has 45 minutes to spend on their hair every morning.

The Color Strategy: I used a dimensional technique specifically designed for curly hair, placing highlights to emphasize curl pattern while blending gray. The key difference? I lay the foils IN the hair instead of on top, which minimizes the appearance of grow-out. Her gray doesn't look like "roots"—it looks intentional.

The Long-Term Plan: After her initial full foil placement, her upkeep is face frame highlights ($115) and toning ($55) every 3-4 months, plus ongoing conditioning treatments ($45) to keep her hair healthy for future color processing. This means she's spending around $660-880 annually on color instead of $1,500-2,000 for traditional monthly touch-ups.

Why This Matters: She went from avoiding color entirely because of maintenance fears to having a sustainable, affordable color routine that works with her lifestyle and her curls.

What Actually Influences Cut and Color Pricing

After 17 years behind the chair, here's what I can tell you: time is only one factor in pricing. Yes, labor matters. But what you're really investing in is:

Premium Materials That Actually Work

I use professional product lines like InnerSense, Virtue, and Ouidad—not because they're trendy, but because they're formulated to protect your hair during processing and maintain results between appointments. Drugstore color and professional color are not the same thing. The quality of lightener, the pH balance of color formulas, and the integrity of treatment products all affect your hair's health and your color's longevity.

17+ Years of Specialized Expertise

Anyone can follow a formula. What you're paying for is someone who knows when to deviate from it. I can look at your hair and immediately assess its porosity, elasticity, and previous damage. I know which techniques will work with your specific texture and which will fight against it. That knowledge prevents costly mistakes and damaged hair.

Comprehensive Consultation

Before I touch your hair, we talk. Really talk. I'm not just asking what you want—I'm asking about your lifestyle, your styling abilities, your maintenance tolerance, and your scalp health. This isn't small talk. This is diagnostic work that determines whether what you want is actually achievable, and if so, what path will get you there most effectively.

In-Depth Education Component

You don't just leave my chair with styled hair. You leave knowing how to recreate it at home. I demonstrate techniques on your actual hair, we troubleshoot common problems, and I make sure you understand your product application. This is hands-on teaching during your appointment, not a quick "here's how you style it" at the end.

Scalp Health Considerations

Your scalp is the soil your hair grows from. If it's inflamed, dry, oily, or congested with buildup, your hair won't thrive no matter what I do to it. I assess scalp health as part of every service and address issues before they undermine your results. Sometimes this means adding a detox treatment. Sometimes it means changing your home care routine. Always, it means better outcomes.

How Wild Soul Salon Differs from Traditional Salons

Here's the fundamental difference: I tackle the needs of the whole hair system from scalp to ends.

Most clients show up wanting a cut or color. But when I examine their hair, I often discover that to achieve what they're envisioning, I first need to repair, condition, or treat their hair or scalp. I take time to answer questions and provide feedback to their concerns. Some people come with a lot of needs, and those needs deserve attention.

Real-World Examples:

When "Just Color" Isn't Actually Possible:

• You want to go blonde, but your hair is damaged and won't lift safely

• You want curls to look defined, but product buildup is weighing them down

• You want gray coverage, but scalp inflammation means color won't take evenly

• You want balayage, but your current color needs to be corrected first

• When your base color doesnt match thte base color next to the highlights in the photo

The Traditional Salon Approach: Do what you asked for anyway, or turn you away.

The Wild Soul Approach: Tell you the truth about what your hair needs, create a plan to get you where you want to be, and execute it in a way that maintains your hair's integrity.

What Takes More Time (And Why It Matters):

I typically spend significantly more time on consultation and education than other salons. Does this mean appointments run longer? Sometimes. But more often, it means I'm more efficient with the hands-on work because I've properly assessed what needs to happen.

The education component alone can add 20-30 minutes to an appointment. But that investment means you can maintain your hair better at home, extend time between appointments, and actually achieve the results we create together.

The Curly Hair Pricing Gap: What Other Salons Get Wrong

Let me be blunt: most salons are underpricing curly hair cuts while underdelivering on results. Or they're overcharging without providing the specialized skill that curly hair requires.

What Gets Left Out:

Lifestyle Considerations:

• How much time do you actually have to style your hair?

• Do you prefer wash-and-go or more involved styling?

• What's your climate like? (Denver's dry air affects curls differently than humid climates)

• Are you active? Do you work out daily?

• What's your work environment? (Professional office vs. creative field affects styling choices)

Scalp Needs Specific to Curly Hair:

• Curly hair grows from curved follicles, which means oil doesn't travel down the hair shaft as easily

• This leads to dry ends and potentially oily scalps

• Product buildup is more common because curly hair requires more product

• Scalp inflammation affects curl pattern and can cause hair loss

Why This Matters for Pricing:

A $50 curly cut that doesn't consider your lifestyle will have you back in the salon frustrated in a month. A $165-195 curly cut that's customized to how you actually live your life and includes 30 minutes of styling education will serve you for 4-6 months.

Which is actually more expensive?

Is Your Hair Ready for a Big Color Change? Questions to Ask Yourself

Before you book any major color service, work through these questions honestly:

Hair Health Assessment:

• Is my hair healthy enough for a big color change? If your hair is already compromised, pushing it further could mean breakage and a longer, more expensive journey to your goal.

• Has my hair taken well to blonding services before? If your hair historically doesn't lift well or gets damaged, we need to adjust expectations or approach.

• Have I been told my hair is damaged? If yes, we need to address that before adding more processing.

• Do I take good care of my hair at home? Your home care routine directly affects how well color holds and how healthy your hair stays between appointments.

• How willing am I to commit to the up keep of a new cut or color option? Habits have to adjust when changes happens. With change comes the need to shift, product, effort, time, visit frequency or commitment to styling.Practical Considerations:

• Does my hair take salon hairdressers more than 30 minutes to blow dry? This indicates density and length that will affect service time and pricing.

• Has the density or length of my hair been called "a lot of hair"? More hair means more product, more labor, and more time.

Commitment Level:

• Am I prepared for multiple sessions if needed? Some transformations can't happen safely in one appointment.

• Can I commit to the maintenance schedule this color requires? Be realistic about your time and budget for upkeep.

These aren't gatekeeping questions. They're practical assessments that help both of us determine if what you want is achievable, and if so, what it will actually cost in time, money, and maintenance.

Common Service Pricing Menu

Cut & Color Hair Services

I believe in pricing transparency because I want you to make informed decisions about your hair. Here's my complete menu:

Curly Hair Services

Curl Awakening Experiences: These comprehensive services include in-depth curl care education, 2-step treatment process, hair buildup detox, scalp analysis, and customized cutting:

Recommended Entry Points for New Clients

Not sure where to start? Here's what I recommend:

For Curly Hair Clients:

Start with: Curl Care and Shape Experience ($265)

This gives you the full Wild Soul experience: detox, treatment, curl-enhancing cut, and comprehensive education. You'll leave knowing exactly how to care for your curls at home, and you'll understand whether our approach is right for your long-term hair goals.

For Major Color Changes or First-Time Visitors:

Start with: Transformation Color Consultation

If you're looking to make a significant change or you've never visited before, book a transformation color service. This allows time for proper assessment, multiple techniques if needed, and ensures we can achieve your vision in a way that maintains your hair's integrity.

The goal isn't to push the most expensive service. The goal is to give you an experience that accurately represents how I work so you can decide if this approach is worth the investment for you.

How to Budget for Ongoing Hair Maintenance

Let's talk real numbers for annual investment:

Cuts Only (No Color):

• Curly hair cuts every 3-4 months: $165-195 x 3-4 visits = $495-780/year

• Non-curly cuts every 6-8 weeks: $110-140 x 6-8 visits = $660-1,120/year

Color Maintenance:

Balayage/Highlights:

• Full foil 2x/year: $290 x 2 = $580

• Toning between sessions: $55 x 2-3 = $110-165

• Annual cuts: $495-780

• Total: $1,185-1,525/year

Gray Blending:

• Face frame touch-ups every 3-4 months: $115 x 3-4 = $345-460

• Full refresh 1-2x/year: $245-290 x 1-2 = $245-580

• Annual cuts: $495-780

• Total: $1,085-1,820/year

High-Maintenance Blonde:

• Root shadow & highlights every 8-12 weeks: $290-420 x 4-6 = $1,160-2,520

• Treatment with each visit: $45 x 4-6 = $180-270

• Annual cuts: $495-780

• Total: $1,835-3,570/year

Cost-Saving Strategies:

The education I provide during appointments helps you extend time between visits. When you know how to properly care for your color and style your cut, you're not dependent on me for basic maintenance.

Additionally, strategic color placement—like my shadow root technique or curl-specific highlight placement—means less frequent touch-ups without obvious grow-out.

The Bottom Line: What Cut and Color Services Should Cost

There's no single answer to "how much does color cost?" because there's no single color service.

What I can tell you is this: quality hair services from experienced specialists should feel like an investment, not an expense. You're not just paying for time in a chair. You're paying for:

• Years of specialized training

• High-quality materials that protect your hair

• Comprehensive consultation and education

• Customized techniques for your specific hair

• Scalp and hair health assessments

• Ongoing support for home maintenance

• A practitioner who will tell you the truth about what your hair needs

If you're getting a full highlight service for $85, I can almost guarantee corners are being cut somewhere—whether that's product quality, consultation time, technique precision, or stylist experience.

But if you're paying $400+ for a service without understanding why, without feeling heard during consultation, or without leaving with the knowledge to maintain it yourself, that's also a problem.

Ready to Learn More About Your Hair Investment?

Every head of hair is different, which is why I offer comprehensive consultations before major services. If you're curious about what your specific hair goals would cost and why, I'd love to have that conversation.

Book a virtual consultation at Wild Soul Salon & Head Spa in Denver, and let's create a plan that honors both your vision and your hair's health.

Because you deserve transparency. You deserve education. And you deserve hair that makes you feel like yourself—only better.

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