Why do women pay so much for haircuts

[Moontan]

My colleague just came in complaining about how expensive it is to get her hair cut. She paid 100 pounds.

I was thinking - why don't more women cut their own hair

I think that advertising and marketing has convinced a lot of women - that they must pay someone else a huge amount of money to cut their hair for them.

When it is actually very easy to cut it ourselves.

My mum always cut her own hair.

i also always cut my own hair. Its really easy to cut it very straight at the back, and I also cut layers at the front of my hair

I colour my own hair (hairdresser says I do an amazing job). Its easy with practice.

Not sure why it makes you laugh. It is more than acceptable in colloquial speech. What exactly is making you laugh?

You’re easily amused. Which is surprising given how uptight you are about how other people spend their money.

Have to pay up! live in London, £85 every two months

In awe of anyone who can cut their own hair (or anyone else's). I tried it during lockdown after watching a "Look how easy it is!" YouTube video and ended up looking as though I had escaped from a Victorian orphanage.

Re the comparative price of women's vs men's haircuts, we definitely get charged more, but I suppose that's the market. Some of my best cuts have been at those cheap-and-cheerful no-appointment places. Paying more seems a bit hit-and-miss.

I do my own hair, but only now that I have it long and wavy and even a shit cut can be styled out. Not in a million years could I reproduce my haircut from when it was short. Also hairdressers is an experience. Getting to sit and just chill and have a chat, a coffee and get a head massage is part of the price. I do miss it, but now I can cut my own I can’t justify it.

Completely agree. We are conditioned & tricked into so many things, the starting point is what we think we need to pay for. You don't have to look like an advert, spend the money on something meaningful ❤️

You are asking why more women don't cut their own hair.

Maybe they like to treat themselves. Maybe they wouldn't be able to cut it how they want it.
Some styles are way more complicated than others.. It's their choice. And their money 😊

spend the money on something meaningful ❤️

It is meaningful to me. It's a calm oasis whereby I get pampered for an hour or two out of a stressful relentless routine. If such self care is not "meaningful" then I dont know what is.

£100 is excessive. I pay £29.

I cut my own hair! It’s great. I’m not sure I’d ever go back to a salon just for a cut now.

I started during COVID and was so pleased with it - I have long lightly layered hair - that I’ve done it ever since. I use heavy duty sewing scissors, same as I use for tidying up my horse’s tail and doing the kids’ haircuts!

I’m sure a proper stylist would be better at doing something fancier, but for the quite simple cut I do (and I mostly tie it back anyway), it’s not at all worth £100 every 6-9 months.

This. Not everyone has simple long hair that is easy to cut, I certainly don't.also this is very insulting to hairdressers. Of all the things that are marketed to women (and there is so much) trips to the hairdresser are not something I've ever seen marketed to us.

I don't mind paying, I just loathe going to the hairdressers, don't want the chat, drink or massage. I cut and dye my own hair. Its easy as I wear it very short and any little mistakes can be sorted out with a bit of hair gel.

spend the money on something meaningful ❤️

This is such an odd thing to say- you dont get to decide what is "meaningful" for other people, that will vary from person to person. For one person, having a hair cut might be the only time they get to spend on themselves

Why would I want to cut and colour my own hair when I can pay some qualified to do a much better job? No thanks.

My hair's got a couple of kinks so if it's not cut properly it doesn't sit right. Apart from the cut and dry my hairdresser supplies the imagination. I don't do colour or anything else fancy.

I pay £50 plus tip which is more or less the going rate for the city centre. As she runs her own shop I dont think it's outrageous for something that makes me feel better too.

Why do people pay to have their houses cleaned, their cars washed, their nails done, etc? Sure, I could do all these myself, but I prefer to leave it to someone more skilled, who would do a better job in less time. Plus getting a haircut is about the experience too - at least in the salons that I go to.

About 8/9 years ago I used to go to a ‘gender neutral’ hairdresser. Prices for a hair cut was dependent on length of hair not gender. I had a pixie style and paid the same as males with short hair. Males with long flowing locks paid more - the same as women with long hair. Seemed fair to me.

YANBU

There is a common tendency to show that you are "better" by changing your appearance in a way not everyone can, see tanning for Caucasian people and whitening for south/east Asia.

Marketing is exploiting this tendency by suggesting adjustments many people can do and pay for. Instead of creating exclusivity, it's creating an expectation and presssure to conform.
Nature or nurture, women's socialisation is a lot about doing whatever is expected from you and looking "presentable" in line with current "standards". Shaving of legs, nails, makeup, hair... those are all wins of marketing over women.

If we talk only about hygiene, you can do all of it yourself easily. However, we are talking about social and marketing pressure here. And it's very hard to avoid that pressure machine.

Yes, some haircuts are easy to do at home - I bought a good scissors and I'm fine. Sometime hairstyles are impossible to do at home. In a way it is a demonstration that someone has time and money to afford the kind of haircut which requires regular updates. It's a high stakes (if you drop the frequency it will look very weird) high reward (your hair look in a very particular sharp way) game. In a wealthy country with services oriented economy some people make the conscious choice to play that game. The issue is if marketing is forcing it on people who can't really afford it.

That method wouldn’t work for everyone though.
It depends on the thickness and texture of the hair. Really thick kinky or curly hair is a whole different thing to what you’re describing.

That doesn't really make sense. If its the only time they get to spend on themselves, eg they only have two hours free a week for themselves, they don't have to spend that time in a hairdressers.

That doesn't really make sense. If it's the only time they get to spend on themselves, eg they only have two hours free a week for themselves, they don't have to spend that time in a hairdressers

I pay £40 for a wash, cut and blow every eight weeks.
Want to know why? I love the salon experience. My hairdresser spends a good 6-8 minutes massaging my conditioner in and it feels lovely and relaxing. She uses great products and my hair always feels lovely afterwards.
My boyfriends aunt comes round and cuts his hair every few weeks and she always offers to give me a dry cut for free in my kitchen but I don’t want that. I want the luxury feel.

Good point- can anyone explain why men pay less? Years ago, with a straightforward short back and sides, I could understand why, but now their hairstyles are as varied as women’s!
If I cut my own hair it would look as if a rat had nibbled it!

My hair is extremely thick. When I can be arsed to get it cut I am happy to pay because they are trained and know how to put varying length of layers in it. To be honest I probably go 2-3 times a year as I hate the small talk. Now my hair is falling out my husband shaved it off for me. I think when it grows back I don't think I could ever go long again. It's so much faff having long hair I think if the barber will do it then I'll do it when my 4 year old gets his cut.