- Add equipment per treatment: monthly lease ÷ treatments
- Classic facial ≈ $56, hydrafacial ≈ $98 in our example
- Compare treatments per hour, not by price
Esthetician pricing has one cost that nail and lash pricing often don't: equipment. A hydrafacial machine, LED panel or laser has to be paid for by the treatments that use it. Add that to products, your time and room overhead, then add profit, and you have a price you can stand behind.
The facial pricing formula
How to work out equipment cost per treatment
Divide the monthly cost of a machine (lease or loan, plus servicing) by the number of treatments you do with it each month.
Example: a $500 monthly lease ÷ 50 hydrafacials = $10 per treatment. If you only do 20 a month, it is $25 per treatment, which is why low-volume machines are often unprofitable.
Example facial price list
Labor $25 an hour, room overhead $15 an hour, 3% card fee and 15% profit (divide by 0.82):
| Treatment | Time | Products | Labor | Room | Equipment | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Classic facial | 60 min | $6 | $25 | $15 | – | $56 |
| Hydrafacial | 60 min | $30 | $25 | $15 | $10 | $98 |
| Chemical peel | 45 min | $10 | $18.75 | $11.25 | – | $49 |
| Dermaplaning | 30 min | $3 | $12.50 | $7.50 | – | $28 |
Example numbers, rounded.
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More skin treatments and add-ons
The same formula works for the rest of an esthetician's menu, including small add-ons that are easy to give away for free. Same numbers as above: $25 an hour, $15 room overhead per hour, divide by 0.82.
| Treatment | Time | Products | Labor | Room | Equipment | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microneedling | 75 min | $25 | $31.25 | $18.75 | $3 | $95 |
| Back facial | 60 min | $8 | $25 | $15 | – | $59 |
| Brow wax & tint | 30 min | $3 | $12.50 | $7.50 | – | $28 |
| LED add-on | 15 min | $1 | $6.25 | $3.75 | $2 | $16 |
| Dermaplaning add-on | 15 min | $2 | $6.25 | $3.75 | – | $15 |
| Sheet mask add-on | 10 min | $4 | $4.17 | $2.50 | – | $13 |
Example numbers, rounded. LED equipment: a $100 monthly panel cost ÷ 50 uses = $2. Microneedling: $3 per treatment for the pen.
Add-ons are where many skin clinics quietly lose money. A "free" 15-minute LED session still uses a quarter of an hour of your time and room. Priced at $16, it is one of the best-paid quarter hours on the menu.
Why an $80 facial can earn less than $45 brows
Compare what each treatment leaves per hour, not its price. A 90-minute facial that leaves $40 earns about $26.67 an hour. A 45-minute brow treatment that leaves $30 earns $40 an hour, 50% more. Long treatments need higher prices to be worth your time.
The free demo ranks every treatment of an example beauty salon by profit per hour, so you can see this effect for facials, peels and brows side by side.
Packages and memberships
Series of 4–6 treatments and monthly memberships smooth out your income, but every discount comes off your profit, not your price. Check the numbers first: a 20% package discount takes a $56 facial down to $44.80, below the $46 it costs to deliver. Our profit margin guide shows the effect of discounts.
How to price a facial series
Facial courses (for example 6 treatments for acne or pigmentation) are great for results and for regular income, but the discount comes out of a small profit. Take the classic facial: it costs $46 to deliver, and at $56 the 3% card fee is $1.68, so about $8.32 is left per facial.
Over a course of 6 that is about $17 of profit instead of about $50. Still positive, but there is very little room for a free add-on or a treatment that runs over time. A safer approach is a smaller saving (5%), a free add-on that costs little to deliver, or a series price based on a slightly higher single price. Ask for payment upfront so the course is actually completed.
Common esthetician pricing mistakes
- Leaving out the machine. If a device is on lease, every treatment that uses it must carry a share of the payment. Our salon equipment ROI guide shows how to check whether a machine pays for itself.
- Pricing by product cost alone. A $30 serum is easy to see; the hour of your time and the room are bigger costs.
- Forgetting consultation and skin analysis time. If the first visit takes 20 minutes longer, price the first visit higher or book a separate consultation.
- Using a spa's price list as your own. A day spa with a large building has very different costs from a one-room skin studio.
- Giving add-ons away to keep clients happy, until they become the expected norm.
Treat each treatment like a small product with its own cost and price. Once you know the cost, discounts, packages and add-ons become simple decisions instead of guesses.
Frequently asked questions
How much should an esthetician charge for a facial?
With $6 of products, 60 minutes at $25 an hour, $15 an hour of room overhead, a 3% card fee and 15% profit, a classic facial comes to about $56. Premium treatments with expensive products or machines cost more.
How do I price a hydrafacial?
Add the per-treatment cost of the machine (monthly lease divided by treatments per month) and the tips and serums to your time and room overhead. In the example on this page that is about $98.
Should I offer facial packages?
Packages help clients come back, but each discount reduces profit, not just price. Calculate what is left after costs before choosing the discount.
How should I price facial add-ons?
Price add-ons by their time and products, exactly like a full treatment. A 15-minute LED add-on with $1 of product and $2 of equipment cost comes to about $16 in our example. Add-ons that take little time are often the best-paid minutes on your menu.
Should estheticians charge for a skin consultation?
If consultations take real time, yes. Either charge a small fee that comes off the first treatment, or build the extra time into a higher first-visit price. Free 30-minute consultations are 30 minutes you are not paid for.
Why does a hydrafacial cost so much more than a classic facial?
It takes about the same time, but it uses more expensive tips and serums and carries the cost of the machine. In our example that adds about $34 of cost per treatment, which becomes about $42 on the price once card fees and profit are added.
How often should an esthetician review their prices?
At least once a year, and whenever product prices, rent or a machine lease change. Skin care product prices tend to rise steadily, so small yearly updates keep your margins from shrinking without anyone noticing.
Simple numbers for beauty businesses: pricing, profit and team pay, explained with real examples. More about us. Follow @salonprofitlab on Instagram for weekly tips.
This guide uses example numbers for illustration. It is not accounting, tax or financial advice.
