Can something as simple as the way you do your hair affect how much money you make at work?
Creator and restaurant server @faithgeorge_ has been running hairstyle experiments on her TikTok account, and in one viral example, she set out to see how a low ponytail hairstyle might affect her tips for a shift. The video has almost 10,000 likes and 174,000 views as of Monday.
@faithgeorge_ lol #fyp #foryoupage #servertok #servertiktok #serverlife #fypシ #serverhairstyles ♬ TELEKINESIS (feat. SZA & Future) – Travis Scott
“Seeing how a low pony affects my tips as a server,” the text overlay on the video reads, as the creator confidently models her hairdo for the camera.
The TikTok abruptly cuts to a closeup of the creator’s shadowed face. “Don’t wear a low pony if you want to make money,” the text overlay reads.
It seems like there’s something to the idea that your hairstyle can affect your tips. Many commenters—mostly women—showed up with advice about what ‘do make servers the most bank.
“Two braids is where the money is at, I hate to admit,” one commented.
“High pony definitely gets the tips,” another wrote.
“I wear a poof, 2 buns, moving butterfly clips and a handmade bow by yours truly in my hair to serve 5 times a week and get so many compliments,” a viewer commented.
“Wear pigtails and you get all the tips tho … men are weirdos,” another wrote. Someone agreed and added, “Girlie pop wear pigtails they bring im sm money.”
One comment read, “When I do braided ponys I make less, when I do low pony I make more. I feel like it depends on clientele I feel mine view me as unprofessional.”
“I think it’s whatever brings attention to the eyes. Try a high pony with 2 strains of hair out,” one commenter suggested.
The creator took that suggestion, tried the hairstyle at work, and posted the results in a subsequent video, flashing a stack of bills with satisfaction.
@faithgeorge_ Replying to @Jess #fypシ゚viral #fyp #server #servertiktok #serverhairstyles #cute #restaurant #servertok ♬ fukumean – Gunna
Previously, @faithgeorge_ posted a similar experiment on TikTok with space buns instead of a low pony. She got sent home early on that shift because business was slow, but she said she was tipped $20 each on two $50 tabs.
This isn’t the first time a creator has experimented with different hairstyles while working as a server. A creator named Grace (@aliveandwellandsexy) went viral in 2021 trying out pigtails and cleaning up in tips, according to Buzzfeed. It sparked a trend and conversations about how men respond to women working in the service industry.
The trend came back last year, and women working as bartenders and exotic dancers reported getting more tips while wearing pigtails. (A Texas Roadhouse server got the most tips wearing a high pony.)
A server named Lisa Stirling who participated in the trend told NBC News in 2022, “Unfortunately, women are going to be fetishized in different ways by what they look like.”
The Daily Dot reached out to @faithgeorge_ via TikTok.
