The Zenflo Price Index (Q3 2026): What Beauty & Wellness Really Costs in Brisbane

A balayage costs nearly 4× more than a women's haircut. A cosmetic brow tattoo has the widest price spread of any service tracked. And across 8,182 real prices, the median blow-dry in Brisbane sits at just $70.

Those three numbers come from the Zenflo Price Index - a dataset of 8,182 itemised, real-world service prices pulled from Brisbane beauty and wellness listings on Zenflo, computed on 2026-07-05. This is the baseline report: no invented trends, no year-on-year comparisons, just the clearest picture yet of what Brisbane residents actually pay for the services they book every week.

How We Measure: Median, Not Average

Every figure in this report uses the median price, not the mean. That distinction matters. A single high-end salon charging $800 for a balayage would drag an average upward and make the market look more expensive than it really is for most people. The median - the middle value when all prices are lined up in order - is far more resistant to those outliers. It tells you what a typical Brisbane resident is likely to pay at a typical business. The "typical range" figures represent roughly the 25th to 75th percentile of prices, so you can see how much spread exists in each category. Full details on the statistical methodology are available on the Zenflo methodology page.

Summary: Brisbane Beauty & Wellness at a Glance

The table below covers the ten most data-rich service categories in the index - those with the highest number of prices collected - so the medians here are the most statistically robust in the dataset.

For a full breakdown of every service tracked - including per-service price guides - visit zenflo.com.au/costs.

Hair: The Biggest Spend Category

Hair services dominate the dataset by sheer volume, with more than 3,500 prices collected across cuts, colour, and treatments. That depth makes the hair figures the most reliable in the index.

Cuts

A women's haircut has a median of $95, with the typical range sitting between $70 and $130 across 339 prices from 120 businesses. Men's haircuts are considerably lower at a median of $50 (typical: $38-$59, 191 prices, 112 businesses), and kids' haircuts come in at a median of $35 (typical: $28-$40, 61 prices, 44 businesses).

The gender pricing gap is real and significant: the median women's haircut costs 90% more than the median men's haircut. That gap partly reflects differences in time and technique, but the range within women's cuts is also notably wider - a $70 cut and a $130 cut are both entirely normal depending on the salon and suburb.

Colour & Treatments

This is where costs climb steeply. Hair colour has a median of $144 (typical: $95-$207, 767 prices, 181 businesses) - by far the most-collected price point in the dataset. Foils and highlights sit at a median of $240 (typical: $165-$335, 733 prices, 127 businesses).

Balayage is where pricing really opens up: the median is $360, but the typical range of $260-$477 across 241 prices from 104 businesses shows just how much variation exists. That upper end isn't an outlier - it's the 75th percentile of real bookings.

Keratin and smoothing treatments have a median of $320 (typical: $250-$400, 213 prices, 91 businesses), while hair extensions are the most variable service in the hair category: median $400, but a typical range of $250-$750 across 122 prices from just 34 businesses. That narrow business count explains the wide spread - fewer providers means less price competition and greater variation in what's offered.

A blow-dry is one of the more affordable salon visits: median $70, typical $55-$95 across 354 prices from 131 businesses.

For men, a beard trim has a median of $40 (typical: $30-$52, 143 prices, 71 businesses).

Lashes & Brows: High Frequency, Modest Per-Visit Cost

The lash and brow category is characterised by repeat visits - which makes the per-appointment price only part of the story.

Eyelash extensions (full set) have a median of $130 (typical: $100-$150, 357 prices, 106 businesses). The ongoing cost kicks in with lash refills at a median of $85 (typical: $73-$100, 690 prices, 146 businesses) - the second-largest price dataset in the entire index, which speaks to how regularly Brisbane clients are booking this service.

Lash lifts offer a lower-maintenance alternative at a median of $99 (typical: $80-$118, 282 prices, 168 businesses). Notably, lash lifts are offered by more businesses (168) than full-set extensions (106), suggesting broader accessibility.

On the brow side, brow shaping and wax is one of the most affordable regular treatments in the index - median $40, typical $30-$55, across 485 prices from 220 businesses (the most businesses of any single service tracked). Brow tint adds a median of $25 (typical: $20-$35, 191 prices, 152 businesses).

Brow lamination sits at a median of $100 (typical: $85-$135, 346 prices, 148 businesses). And for those considering a more permanent solution, cosmetic brow tattooing has a median of $599 - with a typical range of $499-$699 across 46 prices from 29 businesses. With only 29 businesses offering the service, this is a specialist market where provider reputation and technique matter considerably.

Nails: Consistent Pricing, Limited Spread

Nail services show some of the tightest price clustering in the dataset, suggesting a fairly competitive market.

A manicure has a median of $60 (typical: $40-$75, 136 prices, 60 businesses). Pedicures run slightly higher at a median of $76 (typical: $56-$99, 173 prices, 64 businesses). Gel nails and acrylic nails share the same median - $75 - though gel nails have a much larger sample (202 prices, 75 businesses) compared to acrylics (40 prices, 19 businesses). The acrylic nail data should be read with that smaller sample in mind.

Massage: Surprisingly Uniform Across Modalities

The massage category is one of the more interesting findings in the index: three of the four massage types tracked have nearly identical medians.

• Remedial massage: median $100 (typical: $75-$140, 163 prices, 64 businesses)
• Relaxation massage: median $99 (typical: $70-$140, 124 prices, 61 businesses)
• Deep tissue massage: median $100 (typical: $80-$135, 121 prices, 51 businesses)
• Hot stone massage: median $115 (typical: $95-$155, 108 prices, 45 businesses)

The $1 difference between remedial and relaxation massage medians is statistically negligible. Hot stone commands a modest premium - $15 above the others at the median - which likely reflects the added equipment and session length involved.

Skin & Waxing: A Wide Price Ladder

Facials have a median of $130 (typical: $90-$175, 551 prices, 148 businesses) - a solid dataset that reflects the breadth of facial options available across Brisbane, from basic hydrating treatments to more advanced clinical procedures.

Skin needling sits at a median of $250 (typical: $199-$320, 121 prices, 61 businesses), reflecting its position as a clinical-adjacent treatment requiring more specialised equipment and training.

Waxing is a regular spend for many Brisbane clients. A Brazilian wax has a median of $72 (typical: $60-$87, 75 prices, 46 businesses). A leg wax is lower at a median of $52 (typical: $45-$65, 131 prices, 64 businesses). And a spray tan is one of the most affordable treatments in the whole index - median $40 (typical: $35-$49, 60 prices, 39 businesses).

For Journalists and Researchers

The figures in this report are sourced from the Zenflo Price Index - a dataset of 8,182 real, itemised service prices from Brisbane beauty and wellness businesses, computed 2026-07-05. Journalists, researchers, and consumer advocates are welcome to cite the Zenflo Price Index in publications, with a link to zenflo.com.au/costs. For methodology details, including how prices are collected, cleaned, and computed, see the methodology page.

Frequently Asked Questions

How were these prices collected?

All prices in the Zenflo Price Index come from real, itemised service listings on the Zenflo platform in Brisbane. Each price is a specific service offering from a specific business - not an estimate or crowd-sourced figure. The dataset of 8,182 prices was computed on 2026-07-05. Full details are on the methodology page.

Why do some services show such a wide price range?

The typical range reflects the 25th to 75th percentile of real prices. Services with wide ranges - like hair extensions ($250-$750 typical) or balayage ($260-$477 typical) - genuinely vary that much in Brisbane, often because the service scope, product quality, and time required differ significantly between providers. A wide range is a signal to ask your salon exactly what's included before booking.

Where can I find the full price breakdown for a specific service?

Each service has its own dedicated cost guide on Zenflo - visit zenflo.com.au/costs for the full list. Every guide shows the median price, typical range, number of prices collected, and the number of businesses offering that service in Brisbane.