For years, Laurel salon owner Glenn Nelson said he’d look at his schedule every Monday and see at least 22 to 24 clients already booked for the week. Over the past year, he said, Mondays have begun with just eight to 10 appointments.

“I think people are afraid to spend,” he said.

As federal layoffs and rising cost of living continue to reshape household budgets, salon owners and stylists say customers are stretching appointments farther apart, choosing longer-lasting styles and cutting back on hair care.

Consumer spending data reflects the trend. A 2025 report by consumer analytics platform CivicScience found 40% of salon customers are visiting less often and doing more at home, while nearly one in four have stopped going altogether. The report found Gen Z was most likely to reduce salon visits, while Millennials and Gen Xers were most likely to stop going entirely.

Taylor Turner, 27, of Bowie, said she once spent as much as $250 a month at salons before teaching herself to do her own hair during the pandemic. Now she spends about $25 a month maintaining styles such as knotless braids, cornrows and blowouts at home.

“I wouldn’t be able to afford that every month with the bills, inflation,” Turner said.

For Nelson and other stylists in the Washington region, business began slowing after layoffs tied to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) affected federal workers last year. Nelson estimated about half of his clients work for the federal government.

“I wouldn’t say it was a complete cutoff, but I noticed that instead of coming four times a month, some people were only coming two times a month,” Nelson said.

The slowdown has continued into 2026. Nelson said clients who once booked appointments months in advance now often wait until the week of their appointment because they’re unsure they’ll have the money.

Customers who once spent about $150 per visit—roughly $500 to $600 a month through multiple appointments—are now paying more upfront for styles that last longer.

“They’ll spend $400 or $500 on extensions or a wig because it can last two or three months. Instead of spending $150 to $200 every few weeks on a silk press, treatment and trim, they’re paying more once and stretching that style out over a longer period,” Nelson said.

Stylist Zadia Brown of Sola Salons in Bowie said she has experienced a similar slowdown.

Like Nelson, Brown’s clientele is largely Black. Many customers now come only for braids while handling twists, weaves and other styling at home using techniques learned from YouTube. Clients who once visited every two or three weeks now come about every three months, she said.

Brown, who serves clients throughout Prince George’s County, said federal layoffs have hit her business especially hard because federal workers make up 75% to 80% of her clientele. County officials estimated about 73,000 federal employees worked in Prince George’s County in 2025.

“Every time I hear something going on within the federal government, I’m like, ‘Oh Lord, here we go,’ because they’re not coming in to get their hair done if they’re not going to work,” Brown said.

Rather than raising prices, Brown said she has allowed some longtime customers to split payments overtime.

“If the fee is $200, they’ll send me like $100 this week and another $100 in two weeks. … It’s not everyone that I do that with, it’s just a few,” Brown said.

Rising supply costs have added another challenge. Brown said the shampoo she uses has increased from about $27 to $40 a gallon. Nelson said boxes of foils and gloves have roughly doubled in price, while color treatment products have climbed from the low $30 range to nearly $60 per box. Altogether, he estimates he now spends $400 to $500 a month on salon supplies.

As customers spend less on discretionary services, stylists are making sacrifices of their own. Brown said she has considered taking a second job to support herself and her child, while Nelson supplements his income as a brand influencer for hair care companies.

“I’m doing the best that I can,” Nelson said. “Nothing has gone unpaid. Thank you to Jesus.”