Server reveals shocking amount of tips after testing out viral ‘hair theory’

Restaurant worker documents how much money she makes in tips after changing her hairstyle for various shifts

A restaurant server has shown how her tips drastically changed after she tested out different hairstyles.

In a viral video posted to TikTok, user Sam McCall (@sammccall0) documented the hairstyles she wore during various shifts at a restaurant, revealing exactly how much money she took home after each shift.

“Trying the server hair theory to see what gets me more tips,” she wrote over the clip, which has been viewed nearly 50,000 times since it was posted last week. On day one, she showed her long brown hair styled down with her bangs peeking out of a colorful headscarf. At the end of her shift, McCall revealed she had made $310 in tips.

The following day, she wore her hair in dutch braids with her bangs laid across her forehead. After switching up her hair, her tips total had increased to $428 throughout the shift. On the third day of testing out the viral hair theory, McCall decided to wear her hair in a messy bun during her shift. She later revealed she made $392 in tips with her hair styled up.

In a follow-up video, McCall continued her experiment by styling her hair in a half-up half-down look and made $465 in tips – the most money out of the four shifts she documented.

“Hair theory” is a viral trend that has circulated on TikTok under the #hairtheory tag, which has a staggering 19,000 posts. On the app, TikTok users have claimed that how you style your hair can alter how you look, how you feel about yourself, and how you’re perceived by others.

Many people took to the comment section to share their shocked reactions to the amount of tips McCall earned after each shift.

“Where are you working making that much??” asked one TikTok user, while another said: “That’s a lot of money for one day.”

Others shared how they felt the hair theory experiment could be improved, like one person who suggested wearing one hairstyle for an entire week and comparing the tip totals of each one.

Meanwhile, some TikTokers shared which hairstyles they believe earn the most tips.

“My daughter swears she makes more when she wears pigtails,” one person wrote, while another similarly echoed: “My daughter swears space buns are the best.”

Most recently, a separate person sparked outrage after claiming he saved nearly $153 in a week by not tipping at various establishments. Anonymous TikTok user @idontip revealed in a video posted earlier this month exactly “how much money [he] made in a week in Los Angeles by leaving zero tips.”

He showed the different restaurants he had visited, with one tablet showing that he was paying $12.80 for a meal but chose not to leave a tip. Other payments he made throughout the week included one for $99.66 and another at a coffee shop for $6.75. In both situations, he decided not to tip. Other receipts, one of which was at a sit down restaurant, showed that one of his meal’s totals came out to $88, while another was $58. He even included footage of a restaurant receipt for $389.47, which he refused to tip for as well.

While he was given the option to tip between 18 to 22 percent on every purchase, he decided to choose the “no tip” option instead for a total of $152.92 saved by not tipping.

“No tip on the $300+ bill is crazy inconsiderate,” said one viewer, criticizing the man for failing to leave tips. “There’s no way you left $0 on a $300+ meal.”

“This is utterly disgusting,” another said.

Although there has been an ongoing debate about tipping practices in America, it’s customary in California to leave between 15 and 20 percent of the total bill before tax is included. Others insist on tipping 20 percent, but some say that 18 percent is the bare minimum.