Price list at a beauty studio: what price disclosure requires

A small beauty studio in Thun adds two new treatments in autumn: a lash lift and a longer facial with massage. The owner updates the website, writes a post for Instagram and notices that the printed price list at the entrance dates from spring. On the website, hair removal says “from CHF …”; the list in the studio shows individual zones.

Which of these entries must look how is regulated by the Price Disclosure Ordinance (PDO, in German the Preisbekanntgabeverordnung, PBV). It is short, but it distinguishes cleanly between treatments, products on the shelf, booking on the internet and advertising. For hairdressing salons, barbershops, beauty institutes and body care, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) has published its own information sheet, as of 1 April 2025.

Which services fall under price disclosure

According to Art. 1, the PDO aims to make prices clear and comparable and to prevent misleading price information. For goods it applies generally; for services only in the areas listed in Art. 10 para. 1 PDO. Two of them concern the trade directly:

• let. a: the hairdressing trade
• let. d: beauty institutes and body care

The SECO information sheet gives nail care and foot care as examples of body care. The typical treatments of a beauty studio, from facials through waxing, lashes and brows to manicures and pedicures, therefore belong to the areas to which the disclosure duty applies.

The ordinance applies towards consumers, that is, people who obtain a service for private purposes (Art. 2 para. 2 PDO). Under Art. 20 PDO, the person who manages the business is responsible for correct disclosure; for a self-employed beautician, that is herself.

Which price belongs on the list

Art. 10 para. 1 PDO requires the price actually to be paid, in Swiss francs. Under para. 2, public charges such as value added tax and all surcharges that cannot be freely chosen are included, expressly also surcharges for reservation, service or handling. A booking fee that applies to every online booking therefore belongs in the price, not in a footnote.

The SECO information sheet adds some points that come up often in studios:

• Fixed prices instead of “from”. Entries such as “from CHF …” or “from CHF … to CHF …” for a treatment are, according to SECO, not permitted. In its FAQ, SECO also answers the question about “blow-dry, from CHF …” at the hairdresser with no, because the offer must be specified.
• Tiers are allowed. A service may be divided by criteria: at the hairdresser, for example, by hair length, in a beauty studio by zone or duration.
• Time-based services. If the price depends on time, an hourly rate or a flat price per unit of time is permitted, for example in steps of five minutes.
• Standard material is included. The price covers the usual material such as wax or cream. If the client can choose a more expensive product, its price is stated separately.

This is what the structure of a price list can look like; each studio sets the amounts itself:

Treatment	Unit	Price
Classic facial	60 min.	CHF [amount]
Facial with massage	90 min.	CHF [amount]
Waxing, lower legs	per treatment	CHF [amount]
Waxing, full legs	per treatment	CHF [amount]
Electrolysis	per 5 min.	CHF [amount]
Lash lift incl. tinting	per treatment	CHF [amount]
Surcharge, premium skincare range	per treatment	CHF [amount]

The “Unit” column is not decoration. Art. 11 para. 2 PDO requires the disclosure to show which kind and unit of service the price refers to.

Where and how the price list hangs

Art. 11 para. 1 PDO requires price notices and price lists to be easily accessible and clearly legible. The SECO information sheet describes what that means in a studio: prices are posted or laid out where clients normally are, for instance at the entrance or in the waiting area. The prices are available without anyone having to ask; verbal information alone is not enough.

For a studio in a single room, that can be a list next to the door; for an institute with a reception, a folder on the counter and a notice at the entrance. The ordinance does not prescribe a particular form; it requires the list to be easily accessible and clearly legible.

Skincare products on the shelf

If a studio sells creams, serums or nail polish, the rules for goods apply to these products. Under Art. 3 PDO, the price actually to be paid is stated in francs; under Art. 7, on the product itself or immediately next to it, for example with a label or price tag. If that is not practical because of many products at the same price, a notice at the shelf is possible. Under Art. 8, prices must be easily visible and clearly legible; if products are in the shop window, the prices can be read from outside.

Prices online, on the booking page and in advertising

According to SECO, there is no general duty to disclose prices for the internet. It is different when a website offers the direct purchase of a service that is listed in the catalogue of Art. 10 para. 1 PDO, and the offer is aimed at clients in Switzerland: then, according to the SECO FAQ, the prices actually to be paid must be stated in francs. A booking page where a client selects a treatment and reserves it bindingly is, in a studio’s everyday life, the obvious place for this question.

For advertising, Art. 13 PDO applies. A price in advertising is not required. But if a price is given, or a numerical reference to a price range, it is the price actually to be paid. According to the SECO FAQ, this applies to all goods and services, not only those from the catalogue. Art. 14 PDO also requires that it be clear which service the price refers to. Art. 13 names no particular advertising medium; it speaks of advertising in general.

Promotions. Anyone who shows a reduced price next to an earlier one makes a comparison with their own price under Art. 16 PDO. It is permitted if the service was offered at the earlier price until immediately before the promotion or for at least 30 consecutive days. In the first case, the comparison price may be shown for at most half as long as it applied, and for at most two months; in the second case, it is not limited in time.

Tips. Art. 12 PDO regulates this too: the tip is included in the price or is clearly labelled as a tip and stated as an amount. A note “tip not included” without an amount is not permitted.

How compliance is checked

The cantons enforce the ordinance; SECO has overall supervision (Art. 22 and 23 PDO). In 2025, 25 cantons checked exactly this sector in a joint campaign, from early April to mid-October. According to the press release of 15 December 2025, 3,651 barbershops, hairdressing businesses and beauty studios were visited; for services, 77 per cent stated the prices correctly. 853 businesses received a warning and a deadline to remedy the defects. Fines and criminal complaints occurred in fewer than one per cent of cases; according to SECO, they usually follow only when the prices are not corrected despite the finding of defects, the information brochure and the deadline.

A list that grows with the offering

For a studio that adjusts its offering regularly, the price list is less a notice than a small database: every treatment with a unit and a fixed price, the same details at the entrance, on the website and in the booking. Anyone who maintains it in one place has to make a change only once.

In the idea for beauty studios that we are working on, everything starts with the treatment catalogue: each treatment is recorded with its duration and price in CHF, and the booking page will show these details as the studio has set them.