When Hair Salons Are Like Crack

Isn’t this how dealers reel in their customers? It sounds like an after-school special:

Yet, even as many Manhattan women cringe as prices at their longtime salons rise, they are loath to move on. Switching stylists can be an emotional experience, akin to a breakup. And just as in romance, a clean break is not always easy.

Merle Rubine, an adjunct professor of media and film studies and a former network television producer, said she doesn’t want to leave her longtime stylist at Vidal Sassoon. But as the price of her partial highlights has climbed to $190, she has been freer about expressing her unhappiness.

“My stylist feels terrible,” Ms. Rubine said. “I feel terrible. Everyone feels terrible. Does that mean that he’s going to open his own place and do a partial for $50? Probably not.” So her solution is to live with longer hair, and take longer between appointments.