Correction · 6 minute read
How much does colour correction cost and how long does it take?
A real estimated range for colour correction in Utah, why it varies, and how many hours to expect. The number is agreed before anything is mixed.
Almost nobody in this valley publishes a correction price, which is why the second most common fear we hear is that nobody will say the number until you are already in the chair.
So here is the number. Colour correction at Wicked Hair is booked as colour transformation time, $70 to $115 per hour depending on your stylist's level, and most corrections land between $210 and $700 in total.
The sequence
The sequence is the whole problem
Correction is not priced by service because it is not one service. It is a sequence, and the length of the sequence is what you are paying for.
The more layers of history on the hair, the more steps in the sequence, and every added step is time in the chair rather than a bigger jar of product.
- 01
One step, 2 to 3 hours
Even colour, one tone out. Roughly $210 to $345. A gloss or a single lift and tone.
- 02
Two steps, 3 to 5 hours
Roughly $280 to $575. Removal or lift, then rebalance and tone.
- 03
Three steps or two sittings, 6 hours plus
$500 and up. Banded box dye, dark to blonde, or vivid removal.
- 04
Hair, charged separately
Extensions, treatments and take home are quoted on top and named before we start.
Potential solutions
What actually works.
Get the free consultation first
Fifteen to twenty minutes, no charge, and it is the only honest way to price correction. You leave with a range and a number of sittings.
Choose the level that fits the work
Five levels, from Stylist to Creative Director. Straightforward work does not need the top of the ladder, and we will tell you when it does.
Split it into two sittings on purpose
Two shorter visits are often gentler on the hair and easier on the month than one long one.
Ask for the liveable version
There is nearly always a stage between where you are and the goal that looks intentional. We can stop there and continue later.
What to avoid
The things that make it worse.
- Booking a correction as a standard colour appointment to keep the cost down. The time runs out, the work gets rushed, and it costs more to redo.
- Comparing an hourly rate to somebody else's flat price. Ask what is included and how many hours they have booked you for.
- Any quote given over the phone from a description alone. Nobody can price hair they have not looked at.
- Paying for a full correction when a gloss would have done it. It happens, and a consultation is what prevents it.
How we recreate it
Step by step, in the salon.
- 01
Book the free consultation
In person, in daylight, before any appointment is held.
- 02
Get the range in writing
Hours, sittings, cost and what could change it.
- 03
Book the right length of chair
The appointment is booked for the time the work needs.
- 04
Confirm at the chair
The price is repeated and agreed before anything is mixed.
- 05
Leave with the plan
What is done, what is next, and when.
Laila's pro tip
The question that saves the most money is not what does it cost. It is how many sittings, and what does it look like in between. If a colourist cannot answer that second half, the plan is not finished yet.
Laila Grigley, Creative Director
Book with the Creative Colour teamCommon questions
Straight answers.
- Do you charge for the consultation?
- No. It is free, fifteen to twenty minutes, and it is the front door for every correction.
- Why is correction priced by the hour?
- Because the work is a sequence of steps and the number of steps depends on your hair's history. Hourly is the only way to price it without guessing high.