A woman left people divided after she said she did not tip her hairdresser for 7.5 hours of work, despite saying she was “the best braider” she’d ever had.
Justice, a TikToker who is known for her body-positive and anti-diet culture content, posted a video on Sunday saying she did not add anything on top of the $350 her hairdresser charged to do her braids.
“This is the first time I haven’t tipped to get my hair done,” Justice said in the TikTok. “And I was fueled with anxiety, especially when I hand her over the cash and she starts counting it.”
Justice’s video touches on a cultural shift occurring right now with tipping, and how people are getting sick of adding more money on top of services, including at convenience stores, coffee shops, and even self-checkouts.
It’s known as “tipping fatigue,” and has become a heated topic of debate with the cost of living rising so high, and consumers being increasingly expected to top up the wages of workers.
Justice previously called out “tipping culture” in a video posted in December last year, saying it was “out of control.”
She listed services she would no longer be leaving a tip for, including drive-thrus, self-serve kiosks, and to-go orders.
In her latest TikTok, Justice said she didn’t feel like tipping on her hair was “necessary” because her service was so expensive. She said the cost worked out at $46 per hour, and the hairdresser did not have to commute because she works from home.
“I think that that’s a really good price,” Justice said. “How many people are making $40 per hour?”
She added she had to pay in cash, which was “inconvenient,” and she had to arrive with her hair already washed, conditioned, and blow-dried.
“This is no tea, no shade, no nothing,” she said. “This is the most comfortable braiding experience I’ve ever gotten. She was the best braider I’ve ever had. And I will definitely be going back to her.”
Justice said many people think tipping is a way of saying thank you, but she didn’t see it that way.
“To me, saying thank you is how you say thank you,” she said. “Respecting people’s policies, arriving to your appointment on time, being respectful of the space that you’re in, letting them take photos of their work after, and maybe telling your friends, or if you have a social media following — that to me is how you say thank you.”
Viewers of Justice’s video were divided. Some were vehemently on her side, saying that the tip was definitely included in the cost of the service.
“Tipping fatigue is real,” one commenter wrote. “Definitely needs to be scaled back, especially with the cost of things.”
“Absolutely right,” said another. “People who braid, do makeup definitely charge their worth. Tipping culture in the US is crazy sometimes.”
But others thought Justice was in the wrong because stylists pay high taxes and have a lot of overhead costs they are responsible for themselves.
“You tip for how the service is,” one comment reads. “You are helping out that woman with her life. You don’t know her cost.”
“Your braids look fire, she deserved a tip,” said another.
Others said it was “crazy” not to tip someone who worked for 7.5 hours, and that Justice may not be invited back as a “non-tipper.”
“You felt awkward because you know it was expected,” one person wrote. “Don’t be surprised if she is busy when you try to rebook — I would be.”
Justice did not immediately respond to a request by Business Insider for comment.
