A twelve-month audit of appointments, tips, upcharges, rescheduled meetings and time-off. The number, on paper.
See our full interactive calculator on the Silk Press Tax page. This is the essay version.
The base cost
Chicago average: $135 per appointment. Twelve appointments a year is $1,620 before tips.
The tips and upcharges
20% tips plus quarterly deep-condition upcharges add another $500–$700.
The time cost
Four hours per appointment × 12 = 48 hours a year. That is a full workweek.
The takeaways
- The ‘real’ cost is closer to $2,600 than $1,600.
- Time is the invisible line item.
- See the full calculator at /silk-press-tax.


