Server reveals shocking tip amount after testing ‘viral hair theory’

A restaurant waitress showed how her tips changed dramatically after trying out different hairstyles.

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

“I’m trying the waiter hair theory to see what gets me the most tips,” she wrote in the video, which has been viewed nearly 50,000 times since it was posted last week. On her first day, she showed off her long brown hair styled down low with her bangs peeking out from under a colorful scarf. By the end of her shift, McCall revealed she’d earned $310 in tips.

The next day, she wore her hair in Dutch braids with her bangs draped over her forehead. After changing her hairstyle, her tip total increased to $428 throughout the shift. On the third day of testing the viral hair theory, McCall decided to wear her hair in a messy bun for her shift. She later revealed that she earned $392 in tips with her hair up.

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

“Hair theory” is a viral trend that has been circulating on TikTok under the hashtag #hairtheory, which has a whopping 19,000 posts. On the app, TikTok users have claimed that the way you style your hair can change the way you look, the way you feel about yourself, and the way you are perceived by others.

Many people shared in the comments section their shocked reactions to the amount of tips McCall earned after each shift.

“Where do you work to make so much money?” one TikTok user asked, while another said, “That’s a lot of money for one day.”

Others shared how they thought the hair theory experiment could be improved, like one person who suggested wearing the same hairstyle for an entire week and comparing the total spikes in each one.

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

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

More recently, another person sparked outrage after claiming to have saved nearly $153 in one week by not tipping at various establishments. Anonymous TikTok user @idontip revealed in a video posted earlier this month “how much money[he]made in one week in Los Angeles by not tipping.”

He showed the different restaurants he visited, with a tablet showing that he paid $12.80 for a meal but chose not to tip. Other payments he made during the week included a payment for $99.66 and another at a coffee shop for $6.75. In both cases, he decided not to tip. Other receipts, including one from a table-service restaurant, showed that the total for one of his meals was $88, while another was $58. He even included a video of a restaurant receipt for $389.47, which he also declined to tip.

Given the option to tip between 18 and 22 percent on each purchase, he decided to choose the “no tip” option instead, saving a total of $152.92 by not tipping.

“Not tipping on a bill over $300 is completely inconsiderate,” one user said, criticizing the man for not tipping. “There’s no way you left $0 on a meal over $300.”

“This is just disgusting,” said another.

While there is ongoing debate over tipping practices in the United States, it is customary in California to tip between 15 and 20 percent of the total bill before taxes are included. Others insist on tipping 20 percent, but some say 18 percent is the bare minimum.