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Salon & Spa Tipping: You're Probably Doing It All Wrong

When you're stressing over the gratuity at the salon or spa, keep these "tips" in mind
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Tipping Well Can Come With Perks
If you hand a bartender a $20 tip at the beginning of the night, it's likely that he or she will take care of you for the rest of the night. Likewise, tipping well at a salon can have a similar effect. As Phillips puts it, "It's human nature to want to do something extra for someone who has done something for you." She says this doesn't translate to free services, but it does mean that things like fixing chipped polish or using an extra product in a massage come free of charge.

It seems simple enough: A standard tip is about 15 to 20 percent of the bill, which isn't too hard to calculate. But over the years, the rules of salon and spa tipping have become complicated. What do you do, for example, when one person washes your hair and someone else cuts it (God forbid a third person does your blowout)? What about facials at medical spas -- since when do you tip a physician? And does the old rule of not tipping the salon owner still stand?

To take the stress out of tipping, we asked two salon and spa owners all of those "what if" situations. We also consulted national etiquette expert Diane Gottsman on the proper tipping protocol when it comes to salons and spas.
BY EMILY WOODRUFF | JUN 4, 2014 | SHARES
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