How MDP builds its Italian salon price data, and what it does not measure
In short: MDP Outlook builds its salon price benchmarks from prices that Italian salons publish themselves: websites, price lists and booking platforms. Each observation is one salon, one service, one source kept on file. Exclusions and limits are written down. The result is not a census of the Italian market. It is pricing intelligence that brands, distributors and salons can check and use.
Where the numbers come from
- Public sources only: official salon websites, published price lists and online booking platforms.
- One row per salon: each observation records the salon, the city, the service, the price and the source.
- Comparable services only: prices are normalised so that like is compared with like. In the reconstruction benchmark, long-lasting smoothing services were excluded because they are a different offer.
- Dated collection: the reconstruction prices, for example, were collected on 13 September 2026.
How the panels have grown
The blow-dry panel started with 532 salons and now covers 1,006. City figures are shown only where at least ten salons were observed, to avoid conclusions built on a handful of cases. The reconstruction benchmark holds 178 comparable public prices within a pilot panel targeting 250 salons.
| Benchmark | Observations | Median | Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blow-dry | 1,006 salons | €20 | €21.13 |
| Hair reconstruction | 178 public prices | €30 | €35.96 |
What the data do not measure
The benchmarks record published offers. They do not measure services actually sold, revenue, salon margins or technical quality. Booking platforms over-represent salons that are active online. Many prices are “from” prices that change with hair length and product quantity. These limits are part of the method and are stated in every report.
How brands and distributors use it
- Setting trade prices: cost per application can be checked against what salons actually charge for the service.
- Segmenting areas: city-level differences show where premium positioning is realistic.
- Tracking a category: repeated collections show how a service is named, positioned and priced over time.
Read the full benchmarks: what 1,006 Italian salons tell us and hair reconstruction prices in Italy. For a company-specific analysis, contact MDP.
FAQ
Is MDP Outlook an official statistic?
No. It is an independent observation of publicly available prices, built for comparison and market analysis.
Can the data be verified?
Yes. Each observation keeps its public source, and method and exclusions are stated in the reports.
Sources: MDP Outlook, blow-dry panel, 1,006 salons (Italian); MDP Outlook, hair reconstruction, 178 observations.
Max Randi is an MDP AI editorial identity. Read our editorial method and source verification (in Italian).
