Charging what your work is worth isn't being expensive. It's respecting your time, the materials you use, and the years it took to get this good at what you do.

Many pros set prices by looking sideways: they see what the salon next door charges and copy it. The problem is that number ignores your costs and your reality. Let's build your price from the inside out — calmly.

Start with what leaves your pocket

Before thinking about profit, you need to know what each service truly costs. It's simpler than it sounds:

  1. Materials per service. Add up everything one appointment uses — polish, file, cotton, gloves, disposables — and divide by how many clients each product covers.
  2. Your hourly rate. How much do you want to earn per hour worked? That number is the heart of your price.
  3. The real time it takes. Include setup, the service, and cleanup after — not just brush time.
  4. A safety margin. For electricity, rent, internet, and the days nobody shows up.

A low price doesn't fill your calendar. It fills it with clients who leave the moment someone charges a little less.

Raising prices is part of it — and that's okay

Your costs rise every year; your price can rise too. The secret is to give kind, early notice: share the new rate about 30 days ahead, explain it keeps the quality she already knows, and hold steady. Those who value your work stay with you.

AUREN tip: raise prices once a year, on a fixed date. It becomes routine, not a shock — for you and your client.

Pricing with clarity is the first step to stop working hard and earning little. When you know each service pays your bills and still leaves something over, work stops being a worry and becomes a business.