Hairstylist's Prices Called 'Insane' After She Charged One Client $1,950 for a Cut and Color

Hairstylist Jasmine Policarpo is facing criticism from some TikTokers after she reported that she charged one of her clients $1,950 for a recent cut and color change. As one commenter pointed out, "That's a down payment on a car."

Last Thursday, Policarpo posted a brief breakdown of a recent styling commission on the account @byprado_. Seemingly anticipating backlash, she starts off by saying, "I did not think my last post was going to make so many people mad with how much I charge, but I think this one's going to make you madder."

In the video, Policarpo, who works in Riverside, California, transforms a brunette into a blonde over the course of half a day. It's one of her signature services, she told Newsweek. "I enjoy showing both stylists and clients that it is possible to achieve the transformations I create if you're willing to pay and willing to sit for a while," she said.

By the end, the woman, who started out with straight brown hair, has a full head of ashy waves.

But achieving the look was neither easy nor cheap, as Policarpo's captions reveal. She charged the woman $150 an hour for a process that took 13 hours, billing her nearly $2,000 in total.

"My prices are determined on the end goal and the starting point of the hair," she told Newsweek. "Of course they cover my products and tools, but so much more than that. I am servicing these women in a way.... Most of them have never been serviced before."

Policarpo's initial prediction—that the video would incense viewers—proved accurate. Many commenters were aghast at her rates.

"The new iPhone cost less," one pointed out.

Some even went so far as to imply that she was ripping off her clients, claiming that their personal stylists could have executed the cut and color change in a fraction of the time.

"Could easily be done in 5-7 hours," one wrote.

"I got the same and even better for 300," another reported.

Other commenters criticized Policarpo for spilling bleach on the woman's dress in the process, staining her upper sleeve a reddish brown. "2,000 and you still ruined her shirt," one wrote.

In a reply to another, Policarpo explained the circumstances surrounding the accident, noting that the client wasn't upset. "The foils were heavy and she was pregnant. There was a lot of moving. But she was completely cool about it," she wrote.

"To my fellow stylists who criticize me, I would say...know your worth," she told Newsweek. "If you are creating transformation that will last, will be less damaging to the hair and that is worth the price tag...you too deserve to get paid what I charge."

Sure enough, several commenters came to Policarpo's defense, praising the quality of her work and noting that the color change was a drastic one. "okay but her hair is basically white [now] so it makes sense," one wrote.

"None of you are the one in her chair! If her guest is fine paying her prices then why are all of you losing it? This is a gorgeous hair transformation," another scolded.

The woman who was on the receiving end of it certainly thought so, according to Policarpo.

"My client Jeanette, who waited months trying to reserve a spot in my chair, was so happy! She wrote me a few days later, saying, 'You slayed my life completely, like who is that girl in the beginning?!' of the video," she told Newsweek.

The video had 1.4 million views and 169,000 likes as of Wednesday morning.

Update (06/28/2021 at 9:43 a.m.) This story was updated with comments from Jasmine Policarpo.