[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":335},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-post-\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-often-should-you-raise-prices-cpi-2026":3},{"id":4,"title":5,"body":6,"description":321,"extension":322,"howToSteps":323,"itemList":323,"meta":324,"navigation":325,"path":326,"publishedAt":327,"readMinutes":328,"seo":329,"stem":330,"tags":331,"updatedAt":323,"__hash__":334},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-often-should-you-raise-prices-cpi-2026.md","How often should you raise prices? The BLS CPI data through 2026",{"type":7,"value":8,"toc":307},"minimark",[9,18,21,26,37,43,46,50,53,68,75,82,87,94,98,111,118,122,125,131,142,148,159,163,166,172,178,184,187,191,230,234,237,241,244,247,251,275,279],[10,11,12,13,17],"p",{},"A common pattern among independent stylists: prices set once when going out on your own, then left untouched for years. The reasons are familiar — fear of losing regulars, no clear trigger to raise, no obvious framework for ",[14,15,16],"em",{},"when"," to raise.",[10,19,20],{},"The Bureau of Labor Statistics gives you a clear framework. The Consumer Price Index data tells you the floor below which your real take-home is shrinking. This post is the inflation-floor math through 2026.",[22,23,25],"h2",{"id":24},"the-cpi-numbers-plainly","The CPI numbers, plainly",[10,27,28,29,36],{},"Per the ",[30,31,35],"a",{"href":32,"rel":33},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bls.gov\u002Fnews.release\u002Fcpi.nr0.htm",[34],"nofollow","BLS CPI release",":",[38,39],"compare-table",{":cols":40,":rows":41,"caption":42},"[\"Period\",\"All-items CPI change\",\"Notes\"]","[{\"label\":\"Dec 2024 → Dec 2025\",\"values\":[\"+2.7%\",\"BLS year-end summary\"]},{\"label\":\"12 months ending Jan 2026\",\"values\":[\"+2.4%\",\"BLS Jan release\"]},{\"label\":\"12 months ending April 2026\",\"values\":[\"+3.8%\",\"Highest YoY since May 2023\"]},{\"label\":\"Cumulative ~18 mo to mid-2026\",\"values\":[\"~5-7%\",\"Compounded across the periods above\"]}]","BLS Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, all items. The April 2026 acceleration was driven significantly by energy costs.",[10,44,45],{},"The April 2026 figure marks the highest year-over-year inflation reading since May 2023, per the BLS. The acceleration was driven heavily by energy costs (which jumped ~17.9% YoY in that period), but the all-items measure that affects your supply costs and your booth rent is what matters for pricing decisions.",[22,47,49],{"id":48},"what-this-means-for-a-stylist-who-hasnt-raised-prices","What this means for a stylist who hasn't raised prices",[10,51,52],{},"The math is simple. If your services cost the same number of dollars today that they cost 18 months ago, those dollars now buy meaningfully less:",[54,55,56,63],"ul",{},[57,58,59],"li",{},[60,61,62],"strong",{},"5% less purchasing power on the conservative end.",[57,64,65],{},[60,66,67],{},"7% less purchasing power on the higher-acceleration estimate.",[10,69,70,71,74],{},"For a stylist with $5,000\u002Fmonth in service revenue who hasn't raised prices in 18 months, that's roughly ",[60,72,73],{},"$250-$350\u002Fmonth"," in real take-home value lost — purely to inflation, before any other factor.",[10,76,77,78,81],{},"Annualized, that's ",[60,79,80],{},"$3,000-$4,200\u002Fyear"," of purchasing power gone, on a static price menu.",[83,84],"money-bars",{":scenarios":85,"caption":86},"[{\"label\":\"Static menu, real take-home today\",\"amount\":4700,\"amountLabel\":\"per mo\",\"variant\":\"loss\"},{\"label\":\"Inflation-matched menu, same volume\",\"amount\":5300,\"amountLabel\":\"per mo\",\"variant\":\"gain\"}]","Illustrative — a $5,000\u002Fmo book with prices that haven't moved in 18 months has lost roughly the difference in real purchasing power. Substitute your real numbers; the percentage is the relevant input.",[10,88,89,90,93],{},"The point isn't that you lost money. You earned the same dollar amount. The point is that ",[60,91,92],{},"the same dollar amount no longer pays your rent the way it used to",", because your booth rent, supplies, insurance, and personal expenses all moved with the CPI.",[22,95,97],{"id":96},"what-the-industry-is-doing-about-pricing","What the industry is doing about pricing",[10,99,100,101,106,107,110],{},"Per ",[30,102,105],{"href":103,"rel":104},"https:\u002F\u002Fsquareup.com\u002Fus\u002Fen\u002Fthe-bottom-line\u002Foperating-your-business\u002Fsalon-booking-cancellation-policy-templates",[34],"Square's 2025 research on the beauty industry",", ",[60,108,109],{},"71% of beauty business owners planned to raise prices in 2025",". That's a broadly-shared response to the inflation backdrop. The stylists who haven't raised aren't being \"more loyal to clients\" — they're falling behind a market norm that's already pricing in the inflation.",[10,112,113,114,117],{},"This matters because ",[60,115,116],{},"what feels like a price raise from your perspective often reads as catch-up from a client perspective",". The client who has watched grocery prices, gas, and rent climb knows costs are up. A $20 increase on their $120 color reads as plausible, not unusual. The stylist who hasn't raised in 18+ months is the outlier, not the stylist who raises annually.",[22,119,121],{"id":120},"a-defensible-cadence","A defensible cadence",[10,123,124],{},"Annual is the right baseline, and the BLS data supports it:",[10,126,127,130],{},[60,128,129],{},"1. Annual raise of at least the trailing 12-month CPI."," If the trailing 12-month CPI is 3%, raising prices by 3% (or more) is the floor — that's what keeps your real take-home flat, not what makes you more money.",[10,132,133,136,137,141],{},[60,134,135],{},"2. Layer additional raise above CPI for compensation growth."," If you want your real take-home to grow, raise more than CPI. The $20 raise rule we wrote up here (",[30,138,140],{"href":139},"\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-20-raise-rule","The $20 raise rule",") is one structural way to apply a meaningful raise — typically more than 3-4% on a single-service basis.",[10,143,144,147],{},[60,145,146],{},"3. Don't double up in the same year."," Annual is the right cadence; biannual is fine; two raises within 12 months erodes trust regardless of how justified the inflation case is.",[10,149,150,153,154,158],{},[60,151,152],{},"4. Communicate the raise."," A short text to regulars two weeks before the new prices kick in handles the relationship part. We have a template here: ",[30,155,157],{"href":156},"\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-20-raise-rule#the-script","The $20 raise rule script",".",[22,160,162],{"id":161},"when-the-rule-doesnt-apply","When the rule doesn't apply",[10,164,165],{},"Three scenarios where the inflation-floor doesn't apply automatically:",[10,167,168,171],{},[60,169,170],{},"1. You raised in the last 12 months."," You've already done it. Wait until next year.",[10,173,174,177],{},[60,175,176],{},"2. Your book is too new to absorb the relationship cost."," If you're under 12 months in a new salon or area with a still-stabilizing client base, hold off until you have a 6-month retention pattern you can see.",[10,179,180,183],{},[60,181,182],{},"3. Your service quality has slipped."," Raising prices on declining work is the path to losing clients who otherwise would have stayed. Fix the work first.",[10,185,186],{},"Outside those exceptions, the BLS data gives you a clear floor: prices that don't move with inflation are prices that effectively went down.",[22,188,190],{"id":189},"what-this-implies-operationally","What this implies operationally",[192,193,194,201,212,218,224],"blog-steps",{},[195,196,198],"blog-step",{"label":197},"Check when you last raised prices",[10,199,200],{},"If it's over 12 months, you're due. If it's over 18, you're meaningfully behind the CPI per the data above.",[195,202,204],{"label":203},"Calculate the inflation floor",[10,205,206,207,211],{},"Trailing 12-month CPI is in the ",[30,208,210],{"href":32,"rel":209},[34],"BLS release",". That's your minimum raise to hold real take-home flat. Anything below it is a real-dollar decline.",[195,213,215],{"label":214},"Decide on the raise amount",[10,216,217],{},"CPI is the floor, not the ceiling. The $20 raise rule applied across every service typically lands meaningfully above CPI — which is the right call if you want your real take-home to grow, not just hold.",[195,219,221],{"label":220},"Send the heads-up text two weeks early",[10,222,223],{},"Don't surprise regulars at checkout. The script lives in the $20 raise post.",[195,225,227],{"label":226},"Update your booking page the day the new prices kick in",[10,228,229],{},"New clients should see the new prices from day one. Existing regulars get the heads-up text; the booking page just reflects the new menu.",[22,231,233],{"id":232},"what-changes-besides-the-dollar-amount","What changes besides the dollar amount",[10,235,236],{},"A subtle effect happens when you raise prices on the right cadence: your relationship with the work shifts. Charging more for the same cut makes you slightly more deliberate. The consultation gets more careful. Your work, marginally, gets better — not because you decided to be, but because the new price asks you to be.",[22,238,240],{"id":239},"the-bottom-line","The bottom line",[10,242,243],{},"The BLS CPI data gives a clear answer to \"when should I raise prices\": at least annually, by at least the trailing 12-month CPI. That's the floor.",[10,245,246],{},"Stylists who don't raise on that cadence are absorbing the inflation gap themselves. Per Square's research, the broader industry has already moved — 71% of beauty business owners planned to raise prices in 2025.",[22,248,250],{"id":249},"references","References",[252,253,254,265],"ol",{},[57,255,256,257,260,261],{},"U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. ",[14,258,259],{},"Consumer Price Index News Release."," ",[30,262,264],{"href":32,"rel":263},[34],"bls.gov\u002Fnews.release\u002Fcpi.nr0.htm",[57,266,267,268,260,271],{},"Square (The Bottom Line). ",[14,269,270],{},"Salon Booking & Cancellation Policy Templates: 2025 Beauty Industry Pricing Trends.",[30,272,274],{"href":103,"rel":273},[34],"squareup.com\u002Fus\u002Fen\u002Fthe-bottom-line\u002Foperating-your-business\u002Fsalon-booking-cancellation-policy-templates",[22,276,278],{"id":277},"related-reading","Related reading",[54,280,281,286,293,300],{},[57,282,283,285],{},[30,284,140],{"href":139}," — the tactical companion: when you do raise, how much, and the script for telling clients.",[57,287,288,292],{},[30,289,291],{"href":290},"\u002Fblog\u002Freading-your-bank-statement-like-a-stylist","Reading your bank statement like a stylist"," — the monthly system for spotting when a raise is overdue.",[57,294,295,299],{},[30,296,298],{"href":297},"\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-much-do-hair-stylists-make-2026","How much do hair stylists actually make? The BLS data"," — the BLS published median and the booth-renter gap.",[57,301,302,306],{},[30,303,305],{"href":304},"\u002Fblog\u002Fsalon-client-retention-rate-70-vs-45","Salon client retention: 70% vs. 45%"," — the retention side of the math; raising prices on a healthy retention curve compounds.",{"title":308,"searchDepth":309,"depth":309,"links":310},"",2,[311,312,313,314,315,316,317,318,319,320],{"id":24,"depth":309,"text":25},{"id":48,"depth":309,"text":49},{"id":96,"depth":309,"text":97},{"id":120,"depth":309,"text":121},{"id":161,"depth":309,"text":162},{"id":189,"depth":309,"text":190},{"id":232,"depth":309,"text":233},{"id":239,"depth":309,"text":240},{"id":249,"depth":309,"text":250},{"id":277,"depth":309,"text":278},"Cumulative US inflation has run roughly 5-7% over the last 18 months per BLS CPI data. If your salon prices haven't moved on at least an annual cadence, your real take-home has shrunk. Here's the inflation-floor math.","md",null,{},true,"\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-often-should-you-raise-prices-cpi-2026","2026-06-15",7,{"title":5,"description":321},"blog\u002Fhow-often-should-you-raise-prices-cpi-2026",[332,333],"pricing","money","IEdA0oPXj0eyyKC-5qCe1lzIEGF-N3ygRWcBolGK5NI",1781753994544]