Hairdresser sparks discussion and praise after announcing he will lower prices –

Maurice C. Simmons, a South Carolina hairdresser, gained recognition and sparked conversation after saying in a viral video that he was inspired to fulfill a former client who could not afford to get his hair cut on the barber’s to lower his prices.

Many social media users commented that the prices of private hygiene haven’t decreased through the pandemic.

Some people pointed to the hairdresser’s idea to return to a lower price range as a model for other hairdressers and beauticians. Others said additionally they need support from their communities to remain open.

In the video, Simmons noted that he didn’t necessarily make more cash by raising prices, he just gave fewer people haircuts.

In other videos on his Tik-Tok account, he recommends that the worth of a mean, basic haircut needs to be between $25 and $50, depending on the skill level of the hairdresser.

According to , much attention has also been paid to the experiences of Black women in salons and the decline in quality and attention given to their clientele, which many ladies say has increased with the fee of favor.

As Tricia Romano wrote in an article for the platform, the pandemic combined with the mass exodus of beauticians from the industry, has enabled stylists and hairdressers to reset their earning potential.

“Before life opened up again, a decline in stylist numbers was met with an overabundance of clients ready to grow their hair out after a year of home cuts and subpar box dyes. And suddenly the laws of supply and demand hit the hairdressing industry in a way it had never seen before. Instead of being all things to all people, an increasing number are now specializing in specific services and charging a premium for them,” Romano wrote.

Indeed, before the pandemic, the common annual salary for a hairdresser was about $26,000 a yr, in response to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In 2022, that salary skyrocketed to $33,400.

The increase, Romano said, could be attributed to employees sharing salaries on social media.

According to , The primary expense of such a enterprises is labor costswhich increased with the final tightening of the labor market, which resulted in a rise in wages.

Agron Nicaj, an American economist on the Japanese bank MUFG Bank, told the outlet that overall, the prices of care services aren’t falling.

“When there is strong price pressure in the services sector, it is likely to last longer,” Nicaj said.

Magda Ryczko, owner and operator of Hairrari, a gender-inclusive chain of hair salons headquartered in New York, shares Nicaj’s sentiments.

“It’s not really high-end, it’s not really low-end; I like to keep my brand in the middle,” Ryczko said. “I feel like once we raise (prices), I don’t think they’ll go down again. You also take that risk as a company when you raise prices because you might lose customers.”

Ryczko continued, saying price increases for store customers are a balancing act.

“I just want people to not have problems, so I think any way I can maximize the wages I can pay so people can be happy and stay with me for a long time, I think that’s really important.”