In America, if you asked people if they felt they had to tip their hairdresser, you would be met with a resounding ‘yes’. In Ireland though, it’s not such a clear cut case.

We asked you, our loyal followers, whether or not you tip when you go to get your hair done, and it looks as though you’re a generous bunch as 84% of you said yes. But how much?

Most respondents said anything between €2 and €5 – but after speaking to hairdressers themselves, it looks as though Dublin hairdressers are more inclined to expect a tip, and a bigger one too, than their country counterparts.  

Hairdressers from Therapie Hair Couture said that they would usually receive a tip of about €10 from regular customers or €5 from newbies; a figure which split our office down the middle in terms of whether or not we felt €10 was too much. However, this did seem to be more than what other Dublin city hairdressers would expect. Apparently the majority of customers in Peter Marks, St. Stephen’s Green tip about €5, and another well-known city hairdresser said that they also expect to be tipped about €5 – not as much as what Therapie hairdressers are used to, but still more than their country counterparts.

Diva Hair Salon in Prosperous, Co. Kildare would usually get a tip of about 10% of the overall cost – which could work out to be a little or a lot depending on what you’re getting done – but Martin from Eden Hairdressing in Co. Waterford said that he never expects a tip and finds it embarrassing when people do it. He is a firm believer that if you’re paying money for a service, then you don’t need to add anything extra to the overall cost. However, he said customers usually round up the cost to include a tip, so if they spent €78 on a new do, they would give their hairdresser an even €80.

Another hairdresser from Co. Carlow said that only regular customers tip, and usually only one or two euro. Staff from hairdressing salon in Naas said the same.

So it looks as though people who don’t live in Dublin get a better deal when it comes to getting their locks tended to. Overall, if you’re unsure about how much money to give, between €2 and €5 is a safe amount for country gals, but nothing less than a fiver for city slickers!

At last, we know!