Does Great Clips Offer Highlights? Prices and Alternatives

Documented price lines, service by service

These 7 lines come from published sources and are grouped by what they actually are. Averaging a penalty charge in with service prices is how misleading "average" figures come about, so they are listed on a separate line.

A single location's menu proves nothing about the chain. Check with the location you intend to book.

National price context for these services

Use this as a sanity check. If a quote sits well outside the national band below, ask what is included before writing it off — scope differences explain most outliers.

These bands describe the national market, not this page's subject. Use them to judge whether a quote is reasonable, not as a price you can book.

Regional price bands for this service

Before deciding a quote is high, check it against your own market rather than the national number. A $202 quote is costly in a tier-4 market and unremarkable in tier 1.

Your own market may sit between tiers. The point is the 2.5x spread, not the precise figure in any one row.

Six things that decide what you pay

All of these can be declined in the sense that you can turn down it — but only if you know it is coming before you are in the chair.

• Add-on conditioning+$10–$30

  Offered at the bowl and easy to accept without hearing the price.

• Stylist seniority+$8–$25

  Designer or senior tiers sit above the base rate.

• Cut versus cut-and-style+$12–$35

  A finished blow-dry is a separate line on most chain menus.

• Location cost band+10–40%

  Identical franchise menus differ between metros.

• Shampoo service+$5–$15

  Often optional and charged on top of the cut.

Related cost breakdowns: Full Highlights Cost, Partial Highlights Cost and Peekaboo Highlights Cost.

From menu price to what you actually hand over

Every line below is standard and expected. None of it is a scam — but almost none of it appears on the menu board either.

An illustration built from the ranges on this page. Your tax rate and add-on choices will differ.

Takeaway: budget $101 when the board says $67. The difference is $34.

You can work this out for your precise service rather than doing this by hand.

The real annual cost of keeping this up

The per-visit price hides the real decision. At every 10 weeks, this service costs about $810 annually including gratuity if you pay national median rates.

Assumes 5 visits a year. Adjust the visit count and every figure here shifts with it.

The cheapest lever is nearly always stretching the cadence, not finding a less expensive provider. Moving from 5 visits a year to 4 saves about $202 annually — usually more than switching salons would.

What to tip, in actual dollars

Percentages are awkward to compute at the counter. Below they are converted into actual dollars at the low, middle and high end of the market range.

• Missed-appointment charges are penalties rather than services. It is not tipped.
• If more than one person worked on you, check how gratuity is divided before assuming the lead provider receives all of it.
• Tip the same on a redo as on the original if the redo was not the provider's fault - and speak to management rather than the provider if it was.
• A tip is for the work performed, not for the price you were charged. Do not penalise a provider for a menu they did not set.

Five ways to overpay without noticing

These recur constantly in pricing disputes. Each is prevented by one question asked before the service starts rather than after.

1. 1Assuming the advertised price includes shampoo and stylecosts $12–$35

   Most value menus price the cut alone.

2. 2Not checking the location menucosts $8–$25

   Franchise prices vary between neighbouring stores.

3. 3Ignoring the brand appcosts $5–$15

   Chain apps run standing offers the walk-in counter does not mention.

4. 4Accepting the conditioning upsell blindcosts $10–$30

   Offered at the bowl, priced afterwards.

If you want the policy detail behind these: Highlights Aftercare and Prepare For Highlights.

The booking script, word for word

Read these out. It takes under two minutes and they are the difference between a quote and a surprise. The final question matters most — a written quote settles any dispute at checkout.

1. "Can you email or text me the quote before my appointment?"
2. "What is your cancellation window, and what is the charge if I miss it?"
3. "If this runs longer than booked, does the price change?"
4. "Do you take a deposit, and does it come off the final balance?"
5. "What is the precise price for partial highlights at my hair length and density?"
6. "Is removal of my existing product included, or is it a separate charge?"
7. "If I join the membership today, is there an enrolment or annual fee on top?"

And when you pay: read the itemised receipt line by line. Unexpected charges are almost always fixable at the desk and almost never fixable later.

Worth comparing before you commit

Price alone rarely settles it. Compare scope first — what is actually included — before you look at the figure.

What people want to know before booking

Sources and how we checked them

Listed so you can check the figures yourself. If a source has changed since we recorded it, the correction form below is the fastest way to flag it.

1. Official homepageBrand and service overview · updated 2026
2. Official U.S. salon directoryLocation count and directory · updated 2026
3. Official senior reduction pageAge and participation rules · updated 2026
4. Official additional servicesService availability · updated 2026
5. Official Online Check-InOnline check-in and waitlist process · updated 2026
6. Official Customer Service and FAQsOnline check-in and walk-in rules · updated 2026

Menus change. If you were quoted something different, send it over and we will re-verify.