Quick answer: for visagism consultation pricing, calculate your cost per hour (monthly fixed costs divided by productive hours), add the costs of the service, taxes and margin, and multiply by the total time — preparation, the session and producing the report. Clients do not pay by the hour: they pay for clarity. Well-defined deliverables are what support the price.
"How much should I charge?" is the question I heard most from students after their visagism training. And the most common answer in practice is the worst: "the same as my colleague". Getting visagism consultation pricing right starts with your own numbers — and continues with how you present what the client takes home.
In this guide you will see how to calculate the price, build packages, define deliverables and present your fee.
Why is a consultation priced differently from a haircut?
With a haircut, the client sees an immediate result and compares it with other salons. With a visagism consultation, they buy clarity: understanding why a cut, a colour or an accessory works for them, and being able to repeat those choices for years. That involves:
- a conversation about personality, routine and goals;
- analysis of face, proportions and colouring;
- a reading of style and temperament;
- a reasoned proposal;
- supporting material (the report);
- sometimes, carrying out the cut and colour.
It is hours of work, split between before, during and after the session. If you only charge for the time the client is in the chair, you are working for free the rest of the time.
How do you calculate the price? Step by step
1. List your monthly fixed costs
Rent or your share of the salon, bills, internet, software, accountant, marketing, courses, equipment depreciation and your own salary (how much you need to take home each month).
2. Work out your productive hours
Of the hours you work, how many are paid client time? Take a 160-hour month: if 40% goes on admin, marketing and study, about 96 productive hours remain.
3. Calculate your cost per hour
Cost per hour = monthly fixed costs ÷ productive hours.
4. Add the variable cost of the service
Materials, printing the report, products used, travel, payment platform fees.
5. Add taxes and margin
Apply your tax rate and your desired profit margin. If you are still working informally, it is worth looking into registering your business; in Brazil, for example, many beauty professionals start as a MEI (micro-entrepreneur), explained on the government’s Portal do Empreendedor.
6. Multiply by the total time
| Stage | Typical time |
|---|---|
| Pre-session (form, photos, research) | 30 to 60 minutes |
| Session (conversation, analysis, proposal) | 1.5 to 3 hours |
| Producing the report | 1 to 3 hours |
| Follow-up or adjustments | 30 to 60 minutes |
Added up, a complete consultation can take 4 to 7 hours of your time. That total is what goes into the calculation.
A worked example (illustrative numbers)
The figures below are only an example to show the maths — replace them with yours, in your own currency.
- Monthly fixed costs, including your salary: 9,600
- Productive hours per month: 96 hours
- Cost per hour: 9,600 ÷ 96 = 100
- Total time for a complete consultation: 5 hours → 500
- Variable cost (printing, materials, payment fee): 60
- Subtotal: 560
- Taxes and margin (for example, 30% of the final price): 560 ÷ 0.70 = 800
In this example, anything below 560 means paying to work. The final price can still be adjusted for positioning, experience and demand — but now based on real numbers.
How do you sell the consultation day to day?
The best channel is usually the salon chair itself. When a client says "I don’t know what to do with my hair", that is the moment to offer a consultation. Other routes that work:
- Educational content on social media, explaining visual language and face shape;
- Partnerships with photographers, fashion stylists and dermatologists;
- Corporate consultations, focused on the professional image of teams;
- Testimonials from clients, with permission, describing what changed.
Packages: how to structure your offer
Options help clients choose and make selling easier. A three-tier model:
| Package | What it includes | For whom |
|---|---|---|
| Essential | Conversation, face analysis, cut and colour recommendation, digital summary | People who want to change their hair safely |
| Complete | Essential + colour analysis, make-up, accessories and a detailed report | People who want a coherent image |
| Premium | Complete + the haircut, a follow-up session and a review after 60 days | People who want a guided transformation |
The middle package is usually the best seller. It should be your focus when presenting.
Deliverables that justify the price
What the client takes home is what they show their friends — and what generates referrals. A good visagism report includes:
- A summary of the conversation: values, goals and image keywords;
- Face analysis: shape, proportions, distinctive features — with the client’s own photos;
- A reading of style and temperament;
- Cut recommendations, with lengths, lines and what to avoid;
- A colour palette for hair, make-up and clothes;
- Accessories: glasses, earrings, bags;
- The reason behind each choice — visagism’s differentiator;
- Maintenance guidance and how to ask for the cut at another salon.
To revisit the foundations behind each item, see what is visagism and how it works and visual language: seriousness, credibility and lightness.
How do you present the price without fear?
- Present the fee after explaining the process, never in the first sentence;
- Talk about results and clarity, not hours;
- Show a sample report (with a client’s permission or a fictional version);
- Offer payment options, such as instalments;
- Do not discount at the first "that’s expensive": ask what the person expected and, if appropriate, offer the simpler package.
Online consultations have value too
Online sessions remove travel and widen your reach. The price can be slightly lower because it does not include carrying out the cut, but the analysis and report are the same.
Common pricing mistakes
- Charging what competitors charge without knowing your own costs;
- Forgetting preparation and report-production time;
- Not raising prices every 12 months;
- Giving a consultation away "free" with the haircut;
- Promising deliverables you cannot produce on time;
- Not putting in writing what each package includes.
When should you raise your prices?
Review your numbers at least 1 time a year, or whenever your costs change. Give clients 30 days’ notice and keep the old price for packages already booked — transparency preserves trust. Signs your price is too low: a permanently full diary with weeks of waiting, constant fatigue and no margin left at the end of the month.
Frequently asked questions
Add up your monthly fixed costs, divide by your productive hours to find your cost per hour, then add the variable cost of the service, taxes and your desired margin. Multiply by the total hours of the consultation, including preparation, the session and producing the materials.
It may or may not. Many professionals offer the consultation on its own and the cut as a separate service, or a package combining both. What matters is making clear in the quote what is included.
It is the material delivered to the client after the consultation, with the analysis of face, personality and style, recommendations for cut, colour, make-up and accessories and the reason behind each choice. It can be digital or printed.
Market prices are a reference, not a starting point. If you do not know your costs, you may charge less than you need to sustain your business. Calculate first, compare later.
Training that supports your price
A consultation’s price is supported by technical confidence. If you want to offer visagism consultations with a method — conversation, face reading, visual language, temperaments and deliverables — the Visagism & Personal Image Course was designed for beauty professionals who want to turn a service into a consultation.
Want to see what a consultation looks like from the client’s side? Discover the Visagism Consultation.
Nelma Faleiro holds a degree in Visagism and Hair Therapy Technology from Anhembi Morumbi University, where she taught for 10 years, and received the SINVISA 2025 Trophy at the 3rd International Visagism Seminar.
