If you’re reading this, I’m sure you’re extremely confused and wondering how I accidentally spent $500 on braids? Sorry to tell you but, I did in fact accidentally spent $500 on braids and how you’re feeling is exactly how I felt leaving the salon after being completely blindsided by the price.

It all started when I decided to get braids for my trip to Cancun for my girlfriend’s birthday. I had visited the salon and my braider twice in the past. The first time I got medium knotless mid back braids. The second time I got a refresh which included my hair being washed, conditioned, a treatment, and the front re-braided. So, naturally when it was time for me to get my hair braided for my trip to Cancun, I chose to go back to the same salon.

I started to book my appointment online but realized that my braider didn’t have any availability. I sent a message to the phone number that confirmed my appointment in the past. The number immediately called me. It was the shop owner, letting me know that she would ask my braider if she could do my braids at the time that I needed. She called me back confirming that my braider could braid my hair at the time and date requested and I clarified the services that I needed to prep my hair for the braids. She confirmed the services, but she did not tell me the price.

On the day of my appointment, I walked into the salon and one of the ladies asked me who I was there for. She checked me temperature on the wrist and told me to get a smock. First, I got my hair washed and blow dried. Then, I sat under the dryer for 30-45 minutes waiting for someone to do my trim. After my trim was completed, it was finally time to braid my hair.

My braider had already prepped all of the hair for my braids, so when I sat in the chair she immediately started braiding.

Throughout my time at the salon, I filmed different clips of my experience at the salon. I made sure to notify everyone that was doing my hair that I was recording a TikTok.

At the end of my service, my braider asked me if it was okay for her to take pictures of my braids. I told her that I didn’t mind taking pictures for her and asked if she would take videos so I could add them to my TikTok.

After our mini photo/video shoot, it was time to ring me up. My braider got out her calculator and had to calculate the price. She didn’t even know the price! Before telling me the price, she told me that she wanted to calculate it again to make sure that it was right. She broke down the services to me and told me the pricing. It equaled to a subtotal of $459 and after tax it was $474. I was completely flabbergasted at the price. How could my retouch, that included washing, blowdrying, treatment, and re braiding my hair, cost less than $200. But my new style equaled up to essentially $500. I was completely shocked and blown away.

At this point, I had been in the salon all day and all of my services were complete. If I ran out the door, I would have been a thief and most importantly they would have charged the card they charged the last time I came in.

I decided to put my big girl panties on and face the consequences of not asking the price beforehand. Since, three different people worked on my head I decided to tip them 15% equaling my total to $548. In hindsight, I realize that the inflation of the price was their tip and I should NOT have tipped them extra, but in the heat of the moment I was so flustered and so ready to break out of there that I quickly clicked 15% and left.

To say that I was embarrassed, was an understatement. What came next completely caught me by surprise.

I decided to post my TikTok of my visit with the title: I accidentally spent $500 on braids. The TikTok went viral and I received 1.4 million views on my TikTok page @simplyxmaya, 154,800 likes, and over 2,400 comments. Here is the viral TikTok:

Another group of people were extremely angry with the fact that I didn’t ask about pricing beforehand. A commenter (@unbotheredtb) stated, “Nope!!! I always verify the cost before they even touch it.” Her (@unbotheredtb) comment gained over 4,200 likes. While, another camp of people were extremely angry with the salon and believed that the salon’s choice not to reveal the price until the very end was predatory. A prominent TikToker by the name of @Barbiebrains responded to the TikTok by using the stitch feature to address some of the concerns she found with the salon’s unclear pricing.

@barbiebrains TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTdnCML9j/?k=1

Some people flat out said that I was lying about either paying $500 or for not knowing the price beforehand. A commenter (lemonthousewife) wrote, “I go to this Salon, you did NOT accidentally pay your price. The site tells you how much your services are prior to booking. Stop lying to go viral.” I responded to this comment further explaining that I booked online and explaining how embarrassing this experience was for me as a Black woman. I responded with this video comment:

I was especially shocked at the response of the salon. They left a shady comment and then posted my TikTok on their business Instagram with a caption attempting to invalidate my experience. The owner then went live on Instagram attacking my character by calling me a liar and deeming my TikTok a crusade to take down another Black women’s business. The charade was embarrassing and unprofessional to say the least and harassment at most, considering many of her employees and customers continued to @ me and dm me about my experience. I intentionally did not include the name of the salon in any of the medias where I described my experience, so their response was very off-putting.

In all, the experience was incredibly humbling for me. I learned to never ever ever receive any service without being extremely clear about pricing and to preferably get the pricing in writing before receiving the service.

If you want to watch my YouTube video on my channel, @simplyxmaya, where I give more information about my experience. Here it is below: