Most San Francisco hair salons hide their prices. The expectation is that clients book a consult, sit in the chair, and find out the cost when the receipt prints. That practice is bad for clients and bad for the trust the city’s salon scene is supposed to be built on.
Key Takeaways
- Haircuts run $100 to $250. Base color starts at $135 team, $200 with Aric.
- Single-process color starts at $200 team, $300 with Aric. Highlights and balayage start at $300.
- Color correction and extensions bill hourly after a $25 consult that credits toward the service.
- Curly cuts are $350 flat. Korean perm $200 to $450. Japanese thermal from $450. Every service includes a blowout unless noted.
Professional hair color services contribute an estimated 39% of salon industry revenue, and 75% of home-color users say salon prices feel too expensive (Modern Salon, Facts on Hair Color Users). The Castro premium tier sits in the upper third of US salon pricing, which is why publishing the menu matters. Hidden pricing is the friction most SF clients name when they leave their last salon.
Code Salon publishes its prices. Here’s what every service costs in 2026, what’s hourly, what’s flat, what requires a consult first, and what’s bundled in. Every service includes a blowout unless noted otherwise.
Haircuts
Starts at $100. Tops out around $250 for senior chairs.
The full range covers cut, wash, and blowout. Stylist tier moves the price. New-talent bookings with Keely run on the lower end while she builds her client base. Senior stylists like Vincent Potter, Aric Congdon, and Deniz Erol sit higher in the range. Every cut includes a wash and consultation alongside the blowout.
Color
Base color
Starts at $135 with the team. $200 with Aric Congdon.
Base color is a refresh on roots or an existing color, no full strand-to-strand application. The most common booking for clients maintaining an established color. Includes blowout.
Single-process color
Starts at $200 with the team. $300 with Aric.
Single-process means one color applied across the head from root to tip. All-over color shift, full coverage on previously uncolored hair, or a new tone. Includes blowout.
Highlights
Starts at $300. Foiled highlights or partial highlight work. Final price reflects how many foils, hair length, and stylist tier. Includes blowout.
Balayage
Starts at $300. Balayage requires hand-painted lightener and is more time-intensive than foiled highlights. Long, thick hair lands above the starting price. Thin or short hair sits closer to it. Lived-in color and dimensional balayage both fall under this category. Includes blowout.
Color correction
Hourly rate. Consult required first.
Color correction means fixing somebody else’s mistake or removing built-up color. Brassy blondes, banded color, box-dye removal, dramatic transformations from dark to light. The work is unpredictable in scope, which is why Code Salon charges by the hour after a consult sets the plan. A small correction can run two hours. A full overhaul can run six. Includes blowout.
Gray blending
Consult required.
Gray blending sits between full coverage and grow-out. The technique softens the line between natural gray and colored hair so the regrowth doesn’t look stark. Pricing depends on technique, hair length, and how often clients return. The consult sets the plan and the price. Includes blowout.
Curly hair
Curly cuts
$350 flat.
Curly cuts are dry-cut, often hand-shaped curl by curl. The price reflects the time and the training. A standard chain salon cut works against curls. A curly cut works with them. Includes blowout style.
Curly color
Base color starts at $135 with the team, $200 with Aric. Single-process starts at $200 with the team, $300 with Aric.
Aric specializes in curly color, including techniques that protect the curl pattern from chemical damage. Team rates apply to other stylists working with curls. Includes blowout style.
Specialty treatments
Keratin Express
$200 flat.
Lighter keratin treatment for clients who want frizz reduction without full smoothing. Faster appointment than the full version. Lasts six to eight weeks.
Full Keratin
$400 to $500 depending on hair length and density.
The serious version. Full smoothing treatment that lasts three to five months. Time in the chair runs about three hours.
Korean perm
$200 to $300 for men. Up to $450 for women.
Korean perms produce soft, modern waves rather than the tight curls of older perm techniques. Hair length and density set the final price within the range.
Japanese thermal treatment
Starts at $450.
Permanent straightening for hair that has resisted every other method. The treatment is intensive and Code Salon is one of the few SF shops doing it well. Final price scales with hair length.
Hair extensions
Hourly rate. Consult required first.
Extensions are too variable for a flat price. The consult covers method, hair quantity, color match, and maintenance plan. Application time runs from two hours for partial work to a full day for full-head installs.
Blowouts and styling
$100 flat.
Wash, blow-dry, finish. Most other services already include a blowout, so this is the standalone option for clients who want a styled blowout without a cut or color appointment that day.
Consults
Consults at Code Salon are $25. The fee applies to color corrections, gray blending, extensions, and any other service that needs a custom plan before booking. The thirty-minute appointment sets the plan, the price, and the time slot for the actual service.
The $25 credits toward the cost of the booked service. Clients who consult and then book the work get the consult fee back as a discount on the final invoice. Clients who consult and decide not to book lose the $25 only.
Consults can be booked online for big services through the Fresha system, the same way regular appointments are scheduled.
How tipping works in San Francisco
Industry convention sits at 18 to 22 percent of the service total. Cash is preferred when possible because credit-card tips often pass through salon payroll first and reach the stylist days later. Tipping the assistant who washes hair is also customary, usually $5 to $10 in cash handed directly.
Why these prices and not lower
The price gap between Code Salon and a chain shop funds eight to fifteen years of training per stylist plus product lines that don’t exist at chains. Davines, Oribe, and the high-end smoothing chemistry behind Japanese thermal treatment cost real money to source and store. The chair time reflects the real time the work takes, not a corporate booking algorithm that overbooks the stylist into hour-long color appointments that should run three hours.
FAQ
Does my service include a blowout?
Yes, unless the service description says otherwise. Cuts, color, highlights, balayage, color corrections, gray blending, and curly services all include a finishing blowout. Specialty treatments like keratin and thermal include the styling that’s part of the treatment process.
Is the consult fee refundable?
The $25 consult fee applies as a credit toward the booked service. Clients who consult and then book get the $25 back at checkout. Clients who consult and decide not to book do not get the fee back.
Can I book a consult online?
Yes. In-person consults for big services book through Fresha, the same system used for regular appointments.
Will my color cost more than the starting price?
Often yes. Starting prices apply to short to medium hair at the lowest stylist tier. Long hair, thick density, additional bowl colors, and senior-tier chairs all move the final price up. The consult sets the actual cost before any service begins.
What’s the cheapest way to be a Code Salon client?
Book with Keely. She came over from Little Sparrow and takes new-talent bookings, which means senior-tier care at junior-tier pricing while she builds her client base. Base color with the team starts at $135.
Why is balayage the same starting price as highlights?
Both start at $300 because the time investment at the entry level is similar. The two diverge as hair gets longer or denser. Full-head balayage on long hair runs higher than partial highlights on short hair.
Do you have a price match policy?
No. Code Salon does not match chain-salon pricing or other SF salon pricing. The team is what it is. The work is what it is. The pricing reflects both.
How do hourly services work for color correction and extensions?
The consult sets an estimate based on hair condition, history, and goal. The hourly rate runs at the senior-stylist level. Most color corrections finish in three to six hours. Most extensions installs finish in three to seven hours.
Quick price reference
| Service | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Haircut | $100 to $250 | Includes blowout |
| Base color (team) | From $135 | Root or refresh, blowout |
| Base color (Aric) | From $200 | Aric Congdon’s chair |
| Single-process color (team) | From $200 | Full coverage, blowout |
| Single-process color (Aric) | From $300 | Aric Congdon’s chair |
| Highlights | From $300 | Foil work, blowout |
| Balayage | From $300 | Hand-painted, blowout |
| Color correction | Hourly | $25 consult required |
| Gray blending | Consult-set | $25 consult required |
| Curly cut | $350 flat | Dry-cut, blowout |
| Curly base color (team) | From $135 | |
| Curly base color (Aric) | From $200 | |
| Curly single-process (team) | From $200 | |
| Curly single-process (Aric) | From $300 | |
| Keratin Express | $200 flat | 6-8 weeks frizz reduction |
| Full Keratin | $400 to $500 | 3-5 months smoothing |
| Korean perm (men) | $200 to $300 | |
| Korean perm (women) | Up to $450 | |
| Japanese thermal treatment | From $450 | Permanent straightening |
| Hair extensions | Hourly | $25 consult required |
| Blowout / styling (standalone) | $100 flat | Most services already include |
| Consult fee | $25 | Credits toward booked service |
Booking
Book on Fresha for cuts, color, highlights, balayage, perms, keratin, curly services, and consults for big services. Phone Code Salon at (347) 925-8225 for questions about an existing booking. Contact info.
Code Salon. 561 Castro Street, second floor, San Francisco, CA 94114. Open daily 8 AM to 8 PM.