Cost of a haircut

Look into a mobile hairdresser.

Mine charges £25 for a wet cut and kids wet cut £10. I have a simple cut, I'd imagine a re-style a bit more.

She comes to my house and it's so quick.

Nice and Easy all over colour every 8 months and put the colour on everything but the roots for only 10 minutes. Then Nice and Easy root up kit every three or so weeks (it takes 25 minutes). I’m 56 with shiny brown hair and luckily different tones in my hair so it looks a bit like brown low lights in places.

I got sick of paying £60 plus a tip every seven weeks so I now go to a place where you don’t need an appointment and everything is £21. So I have a wettish cut for £21, I decline the £21 blow dry or could have a half a head cut f highlights or a colour for £21.

I also go there every three to four weeks for a fringe trim which is £5. I’ve never been as happy with my hair, they do exactly what I ask for which isn’t as easy to get as it sounds.

I'd do it myself! But many women do go to the hairdressers for something like that.

If it is just half an inch off the bottom why not get your mate or partner to do it for free ?

Or - just don't bother to hide them. There's nothing wrong with grey hair!

I pay about £70 for cut, colour, toner and blow dry. Very reasonable as I rarely go more than once a year. Sometimes 2 years pass! I'll start going more often now greys are coming through. I always go to same man, he has own salon and is quick. Longest part is blow dry around a brush (I have thick, long curly hair). His blowdry makes it like satin, with lots of bouncy volume.

How do people hide greys without going to salon every time? I'm dark brown. Do you go a shade lighter or get highlights to blend them in? Or just do that brush in dye at home?

I was with the same hairdresser/stylist for over 30 years and paid £65 for a cut and blow dry. I only went a couple of times a year but felt the cost was worthwhile as I always walked out feeling amazing. They had nice coffee and tea, decent music playing and everyone was so nice and friendly. Then he retired and I went to the person my sister uses.
I did not come out feeling amazing. Wasn't offered coffee or tea and the whole experience felt rushed and awkward. Ok it was the first time he had cut my hair so I'm giving it a couple more goes but when he said £80 please I think my mouth fell open! Apparently my old hairdresser must have been heavily discounting my haircuts as this is the going rate around here!!

I can see that.

The prices are insane lately. I have managed to find a decent salon that charges £65 for a root colour, cut and blow dry, which I think is fine.

I don't want to pay for a lovely chat!

I have a short, simple dry cut so there's no blow-drying involved. And most men don't have shaved heads so their cut is far more complicated than just trimming half an inch off the bottom of long hair. Yes,some women have more complicated cuts but why are all women charged more?

What exactly is an undercut please? If it’s what I think it is then I think it would be great for my shoulder length very very fine hair that I have massive off!

If you can find one mobile hairdressers seem to be cheaper. If I get mine cut in a salon I just get a dry cut now because of the price, otherwise I’m charged an extra £15 for a wash and £25 for a blow dry, I can do that myself at home.

I have a short, almost pixie cut. It has to be done every 6 weeks or so to have it the way I want it. Current cost is £70 in a Scottish city centre salon. I also enjoy the chat with the lovely and talented hairdresser who does it. I'd do without a lot of things before I forego this.

I’m in Midlands - £24 dry cut at hairdressers in village. Was paying £35 at another local one until I swapped.

men tend to have simple, short hairstyles which don’t necessitate wash and blow dry. It’s far easier to shave a head then do more complex styles ie layers which women typically have. That’s the reason for price differences which I totally understand.

Even worse is that some salons charge more for hair that is long or thick, as if you can help having thick hair!

I get that it takes longer to cut, but it’s the same principle as charging more for clothes in larger sizes which use more material. Can you imagine the uproar if retailers stated charging more for a size 16 than a size 10? I don’t understand why salons are allowed to get away with that.

DH £11 which includes ears and nose... Me £40

I had my 1st haircut in 2 years, it was all booked on a website (arghhh ! ) and it had pictures and prices of the length of your hair, I have long hair so picked the one that was relevant all good I thought it was priced at £57.50 which I thought was a bit on the dear side but as i've not been in 2 years I thought it was fine.

Get to the Hairdressers, explain that I want 2 to 3 inches off my hair, a few layers added in, nothing fancy or complicated. Hairdresser then says as your hair is long I will be adding a £20 extra fee onto your price, so its now £77.50, was so glad I was sitting down as that price nearly floored me.

Agreed, paid and left, the worst part is no-one and I mean no-one has even noticed i've been to the hairdressers 😂

The cost of a haircut really depends on the style and the barber’s skill. A low cut taper haircut is a great choice if you want something clean and affordable.

I've thought about this before.

I think its because styling longer hair generally requires more skill. Plus there is a greater range of styles and treatments and therefore skill/training equipment needed.

You also have the "impact of getting it wrong". If you get a mans haircut wrong most of the time he will grunt and say it will grow back. A considerable amount of mens haircuts are "do it shorter with the clippers". Whereas with womens haircuts it could have much more consequential impact on your hairdressing business if it is done wrong, and the time it might take to grow out if long hair is cut poorly.

I think a lot of people go to a preferred hairdresser because they like the way they make their hair look. This indicates variation of skill and that indicates demand and therefore pricing differential.

A final point I would make is that men who want complex styling (for men) often pay high prices for haircuts too. Probably the lacking option for women is when a woman wants a simple cut with no high skill treatment at low cost that option is often not available.

Standard cut
2023 it was £63
2024 £77
2025 £88

I've been cutting my own hair for the last 47 years, and I do DH's ever since Covid.

Every time I finish I shout Ker-ching! in a pointed manner, but he's not caught on yet. 😉. Given some of these prices I'll have to redouble my efforts.

I pay £9.50. Spray with water and trim, in a hairdresser on my street.