You’ve heard of ‘pretty privilege,’ but what about ‘influencer privilege’?
A self-proclaimed “non-famous” girl gave a 3-minute review of a popular hair salon last week. The touching David and Goliath-esque story quickly garnered outrage online. Her feedback shed some long-overdue “highlights” on the beauty industry, inadvertently reminding us that influencer culture is alive and well, thriving on its usual no-carb diet of organic, grass-fed matcha and quick n’ easy validation.
Her experience highlights how influencer privilege shapes what customers expect vs. what they actually receive. What started as a simple review transpired into an important lesson on advertising, particularly the role influencers play in facilitating this. What you see online isn’t necessarily what you get. This is especially true in the beauty industry. So, how did a girl’s viral TikTok illustrate this principle in action?
How did Hair by Chrissy land itself in hot water?
In a TikTok with 1.7 million likes, the creator notfamous🧸 (@notfamous808) | TikTok made a video captioned “honest review of hair by chrissy”.
Hair by Chrissy is a hairstylist at Habit Salon. The salon has established a reputation as a popular gathering place for influencers. It’s a charming haunt for all those of considerable social relevance to spawn into. It’s the malt shop of the modern day. The equivalent of the 2000s office water fountain, where the office sirens gossip, shaking the imaginary contents of their salad boxes.
Among the salon’s favourite accolades (read: clients) are Briar Nolet, Piper Rockelle, and Julia Hatch. Never heard of them? Don’t worry. You don’t need to revoke your Gen Z card. For context, they’re the sort of people your mum won’t have heard of, but your younger cousins will vehemently insist are the coolest people to have ever graced the Internet.
Over $4,000 for a hair treatment?
The creator recounted her unique experience with the hair salon. I say ‘unique’ because the review came from “someone who’s not famous”. [Judging from context, it looks like we can say anyone with under 1K followers counts as “non-famous” nowadays].
She explained: “It’s a little bit overwhelming because everyone’s kind of grabbing your hair. There’s like 10 people around you and Chrissy’s nowhere to be found.”
But the real issue, the creator implies, was influencer privilege, not the cost
“Obviously, she [Chrissy] has a lot of followers and a lot of people are coming to get their hair done by her, but it was a little bit disappointing to pay the price that I did for the service.”
Most people who come into the salon are entering with the expectation that Chrissy will be doing their hair. In a way, I suspect, that’s part of the whole appeal. Prefacing with “I’m being so genuinely honest”, the creator said, “I think she [Chrissy] might have touched my hair for 60 seconds.”
And what was the price she paid for the service? It was a total of $4216.61. That’s the equivalent of £3199.99 (not that seeing that number in pounds makes a massive difference to the dent in one’s wallet).
The Chrissy Service: Like the Midas touch… only more expensive
Any fervent fans of Supercuts should close their eyes as we delve into the price breakdown:
The mysterious ‘Chrissy service’ is an additional service charge. The creator explained, “This is ‘just the price of Chrissy touching your hair.”
“I don’t think it’s talked about enough that when you’re not famous, and you go to Chrissy, she doesn’t actually spend time on your hair. You’ll walk in, she touches your hair, asks you what you want, then she tells everyone what to do on your hair.”
Chrissy’s TikTok videos are full of videos of girls getting their hair done by Chrissy and showing off their fresh locks. But notably, the girls featured in her TikToks are those who have the highest number of followers.
The sad but inevitable fact is that ‘influencer privilege’ affects service. And this girl’s experience is a perfect example of that. Even if the creator was the friendliest, nicest customer to have entered the establishment all day. Even if she was the best tipper in the world. She was never going to get the treatment she was hoping for, the treatment that she had seen other influencers raving about. Having money to throw about and good luck isn’t enough anymore. There is a special class of treatment reserved exclusively for those blessed with the blue verification tick.
The original creator admitted that she was happy with how the overall look of her hair turned out. But she expressed her disheartenment with Chrissy’s lack of involvement; she hinted at a sense of injustice in the fact that only some girls received the full ‘Chrissy treatment’.
“I was like, ‘I’m going to go get my hair done by Chrissy’, and it wasn’t even Chrissy who did my hair. She spent less than 60 seconds on me.”
Laissez-Hair mentality: your business, your choice of prices
The price alone is a clear area of contention for many people. Most of the comments consisted of a culmination of shock and indignation at the suggestion of spending $4000 on a hair appointment.
But these comments crudely overlook the point of the original creator’s video.
Assuredly, for many people, spending such a large sum of money on something that will only last 6-8 weeks is not financially feasible. As the bubbles fizz and the shampoo oozes down the drain, so does your money.
While people fixated on the $4000 price tag, the creator’s point wasn’t really about cost; it was about the different level of service given to influencers versus regular customers. Several legitimate components can push a salon invoice into thousands of dollars. Hairporium cites that “celebrity-linked teams or exclusive studios often command a premium for perceived status”. There is clearly a significant demographic of people willing to pay. But, surely, as long as the price expectation is communicated in advance, this isn’t so much of an issue.
Others have rushed to defend the salon. They’ve pointed out that, whilst other reputable hair salons would have done the same look for less money, you’re not paying for the actual hair treatment when you visit Habit Salon. What you’re paying for is the influencer treatment.
This point is also true. But I think it similarly misses the creator’s point. Because she isn’t really complaining about the money. And she also isn’t complaining about what her hair looked like in the end, nor the atmosphere of chaos that was buzzing all around her.
She’s frustrated because she expected to be spoiled with personal attention from Chrissy herself, in the way that a myriad of other influencers have advertised. And that expectation wasn’t met when she sat down in the chair.
A cautionary tale: What can we learn from this?
‘Influencer marketing’ is a common strategy that helps promote engagement with a specific audience in favour of a certain product or service. Within this system, influencers and businesses can prudently manufacture a symbiotic relationship. This comes with reciprocated perks for both parties.
The influencers reap obvious benefits: they receive the best customer service and the utmost personal attention. The original creator of the video pointed out that she didn’t feel prioritised, adding that Chrissy’s attention was pulled towards the other girls in the room. In terms of selling a product, this translates into where influencers receive the best stash or the latest upgrades.
The brand itself also benefits from this mutually advantageous transaction. When the influencers promote their brand, it can draw in new business or reaffirm confidence in their existing clientele.
Influencer marketing is a powerful tool. Time and time again, it has proven itself to be ‘one of the best ways to reach a specific, researched audience’. It’s clearly working well for Habit Salon, after all.
And while I don’t think there’s anything inherently immoral about this type of marketing, it’s something that people should be aware of. With greased hands and scathing behind-the-scenes ‘hey girly’ Instagram DMs, it’s becoming easier for influencers to flirt with the line between an honest review and an outright advertisement. This makes it harder for viewers to know whom to trust, especially if the brand itself is presenting a false facade on social media.
This viral review shows how influencer culture shapes consumer experiences and expectations, even in luxury services. Viewers should be extra skeptical of what is being promoted, so they can protect themselves (and their hard-earned money) from being taken advantage of.
