Tip 15–20% of the service price for a standard massage or haircut — 20% is treated as the real baseline most therapists and stylists expect, not just a ceiling.
Go up to 25% for a service that ran long, involved a complex technique (color correction, balayage, deep tissue work), or was done by a stylist or therapist you plan to keep seeing regularly.
Pay in cash when you can. Card tips are often pooled among staff or reduced by processing fees before they reach the person who served you, while cash goes to them directly.
- If more than one person worked on you — a colorist and a stylist, or an assistant who shampooed you first — consider tipping each separately, or ask the front desk how tips are split.
- Medical or insurance-billed sessions (physical therapy, some chiropractic-adjacent massage) sometimes discourage tipping entirely — ask before assuming the standard rate applies.