Hey Mslynn,

Hopefully your clients will be able to tell the difference of quality that you offer compared to the beauty school. i dont think they would mind paying the extra few bucks to continue getting the quaility type of service that you provide. and if they do decided to go somewhere cheaper then im  sure they will be right back to you when they need to you correct their hair cut or color that the student did on them. 

Good Luck,
Chad

1. You increase price by justifying value.

2. Don't sucker punch them with the increase. Give them some warning.

3. Maybe do something to mix things up... add new services or update something in your shop.

Those are my outside-the-industry guesses. If it were me, I'd write up a holiday newsletter talking about hair care and the news about you and your salon and the changes that are planned for 2010. And I would add some things about the necessity of charging a little more due to rising costs associated with your business (insurance, utilities, supplies, rent increase, etc).

Or maybe it would be better to keep some prices the same but raise others? Maybe you should try selling products more? Or getting the interval between cuts shortened?

Maybe you should conduct a survey first to see what the level of satisfaction is with your business. If they are extremely happy, prices go up. If they are middle-of-the-road and willing to switch, then you know not to bump up prices at this time while trying to change that perception by your customers in order to better launch a price increase in the future.