Nail salon prices going up today as 'thousands' of workers band together
The Nail Tech Org has said that "thousands" of nail technicians are coming together on Monday to collectively raise their prices in an effort to get a fair wage.
Monday 8 April 2024 00:04, UK
Nail salon prices across the UK are set to go up on Monday as "thousands" of workers band together.
Across the UK, nail technicians are coming together to collectively raise their prices from 8 April.
This is to make a fair wage the Nail Tech Org (NTO) says, as the organisation warned its member nail technicians make on average just under £7 per hour.
Lauren Pritchard, owner of The Beauty Bar in Birmingham, told Sky News the cost of opening her salon on a day-to-day basis has doubled in the last four years because of increased energy and product costs.
She says she has already lost some clients after announcing her price increase of £2-3 per service.
"It's always going to be a bit scary," she said, but increasing her prices at the same time as others makes it easier.
"It's us coming together to encourage each other rather than pitching us against each other by undercutting prices."
The National Nail Tech Price Increase day, organised by the NTO, will take place on Monday, and could see customers face price hikes.
But the NTO say this is to get a "fair wage" for workers and a move towards them being able to run "sustainable businesses".
Amy Guy, founder of the NTO, told Sky News that "thousands" of technicians were taking part in the day.
She said that she came up with the idea for the day after conducting surveys of NTO members at the beginning of the year on their income and profits, and finding members were making "just under £7 an hour after business costs".
This is below the minimum living wage of £11.44.
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She said: "We want to create a shift so the industry becomes sustainable so we can keep working for years to come.
"The job of a nail tech isn't easy, costs are rising all around us, the costs of products and tools are also rising along with utility, rent and those things.
"It's so important that as business owners we're aware of our costs. The biggest problem in the nail tech industry for a long time has been pricing, but a lot of prices aren't realistic for business owners.
"I get no one really wants to pay more for a service, but this is about making sure nail techs aren't making less than minimum wage.
"I don't think people would be happy getting their nails done, knowing the technician wasn't making minimum wage. That's what this is about."
She said the technicians who had implemented a price rise already, had received an "incredible" and supportive response.