Regional Differences in Haircut Price

[HintOfMint]

So I had a bit of a sticker shock when one of my friends told me about haircut prices in the DC metro area. Apparently, here the price for a good salon haircut is about 50 dollars does not include the blowdry and that tacks on an extra 30 to 40 dollars. It seems to be standard practice here to treat the cut and blowdry as separate. So a standard salon wash-cut-blowdry/styling costs about 90 dollars, not including tip. From what I can tell that's a pretty good price for the area. This includes suburbs outside DC.

I was dumbfounded. I've spent the last three years in NYC/Long Island and prices are nothing like that. Granted NYC prices are a bit higher than Long Island, but not by much. Long Island has had 45 - 55 dollar haircuts, and I've found 60 - 70 dollar haircuts in the city, but they all included a blowdry with styling. That means properly with the round brush and curls at the ends if you like.

I expect differences between certain areas, city vs. suburb, higher cost of living vs. lower... etc., but this was a bit strange.

What are the prices for haircuts where you live? What was the most unexpected culture shock you've had in visiting a salon in a new area?

[clioariane]

Haircuts are about 40 euros and up (including blowout) in Amsterdam if you go to a reputable salon. I definitely raised an eyebrow when I saw that $70 was common in NYC the last time I was there.

[jeanniet]

I pay $60 plus tip for a Deva cut, which involves about 45 minutes of cutting, then styling and dry (but bonnet drying, not blow dry. Not sure what a regular cut would be, but maybe a little less unless it's in an upscale salon. That's in the SF Bay Area, but small town, not metropolitan area. In SF, I would expect the same cut to be $100.

[Arien]

I generally pay between £130 -150 for a half/full head of highlights, cut and blow dry at my salon. I was having this done every 8 weeks or so but I haven't been since last Nov! My biggest culture shock was visiting a popular and trendy hair salon in London and realising that they didn't actually cost anymore then my hair salon does! I was expecting the prices to be through the roof! Needless to say I was very pleased :).

[hikarilu]

When i went to hairdresssers i used to pay approximately 35-40$ max. for a shampoo/haircut/brushing in France...
That's so expensive ! Even parisian salons are cheaper!

[jrmviola]

In Arkansas at Walmart, a simple trim is about 16$. My mom went to another place in town, got her hair cut, layered, and washed and blow-dried for 30$.

[cmdinoto]

I was just at the hairdressers and they charged $160 for partial highlights, cut, and blow dry. I live in SW Florida area and this is a "World Famous" Salon apparently. Then add tip and a product, I'm looking at $215 total. But the product I bought is the best!! It's pureology's new product Colour Fanatic. It does like 21 different things. My hair is sooo very knotty and this got all the knots out, is a heat protectant, and more. I love it!

[Seeshami]

If I go to a Salon I have never been to $50 would be about right. Muffin's barber would do it for the cost of a men's buzz at $14, my cousins would do it for $10 and both are beauticians one has a salon the other doesn't.

[starlamelissa]

In the rural area where I am living the average income is 25,000 per year. So prices reflect that! Plus all the salons in my area are privately owned, there are no chains. Usually a single person converts a garage into a salon, or rents a small space on the Main Street. Depends on where you go, but these are the local prices.

Bang trims- free up to 4.00

Full Haircuts for women- 13 to 15 dollars max

Haircuts for men- 8.00 to 11.50

Haircuts for children- 7.00 to 10.00

Color/wash/blow dry/cut (all at the same appointment) 30.00 to 50.00 (depends on the length on hair)

Perm-30.00 for long hair

[FireFromWithin]

I always get a bit of a shock if I go home and the cost is £30 plus for a cut whereas the salon I normally go to is £10 for dry cut and £20 for wet. Mens barbers advertise cuts at less than £5 mostly. But women's cuts at bigger salons are always more expensive. If I wanted to get highlights or dye it would be upwards of £80 (I've not had a quote since I was BSl and they were already not happy at that length) so that was a bit of a shock too but I managed to find a place to darken my bleached ends for £60 last year, again up in sheffield though which is far cheaper than Surrey.

[lapushka]

In Belgium, prices are about 40€ to 50€ for a simple cut and blowdry (included). No tip necessary as that is always included in the service (for anything you consume or buy).

[jacqueline101]

I pay $25 and that's high in my book.

[Night_Kitten]

I live in a small city, and here a "regular" hairdresser charges 10-20$ while salon prices can get to ~50$... In the more central cities the prices are higher, the really "high end" special salons can be even 100$... Funny thing is that prices usually have no relation to how good the stylist is, so you can pay a fortune and still end up with a complete disaster on the top of your head :rolleyes:
I haven't been to a salon / hairdresser in several years though, so my info could be outdated...

[Buddaphlyy]

When I regularly went to the salon, I got a relaxer (which includes touch up and deep conditioning),trim, and style for $55. I usually tipped the shampoo girl $5. This is fairly standard pricing.

I've never gotten just a haircut for myself, but my SO goes to Great Clips and pays $13 for his whole head.

ETA: We live in/near a major city but get services outside of the downtown/business area.

[PetuniaBlossom]

;) My favorite hairdresser will give me a scalp massage, trim/dusting (just the right amount,) pre-shampoo oiling, then CWC, detangle, and air-dry. With a minimum of conversation, plus soft music and coffee readily available throughout. She does it in my home, at my convenience, and never expects a tip. And the total price? You've already figured it out, right? Free because it's me.
Once I learned about Feye's self-trimming method, a whole new world opened up and a whole lot of money got saved. :cheer:

[Pusekatt]

You guys should be happy! Seems to be cheap there.
I live in Norway, the last time I went to a hairdresser I paid a little more than 350 dollars for cutting 1 inch and adding a few highlights I did not even notice afterwards :P and that are normal prices here. Just cutting and washing would cost about 120 dollars.... :(

[Magalo]

Wow guys!! A normal local hairdresser here charges 20-30$ for a cut (washed, blowdried and light styling) and then you add tips. I used to go to a very high-end hairdresser, we were his neighbours so he charged my family 20-30$ each for a cut (washed+styled) but I heard his usual prices are around 50-60$. Paying 80$+ for a cut?? Crazy!!

[battles]

New England, technically a city but you'd doubt it if you went there. I typically pay $20 for a wash, cut, blow dry, etc.. doesn't charge me extra for anything else and usually refuses a tip.

[velorutionista]

In Minneapolis, $60 + tip gets me a cut and blow dry at a good salon, and I think that's pretty standard. In my hometown (small town Montana), $20 to $25 + tip would buy the same service. It's amazing how much this varies regionally!

[sparrowswing]

I grew up in the backwoods of WV. You might have to drive 30 miles to find someone to cut your hair, but you'd pay somewhere in the range of $7-15 for a simple trim. That usually included some degree of styling, but a wash and blow-dry might be a couple of dollars extra. Perms and foil colors usually cost about $60, less if you had very little hair or just wanted simple color. At that point I'd never even heard of tipping a stylist.

When I moved to one of WV's larger cities, I was surprised by the price jump, even though it wasn't much. I think it was $22 for a simple trim there, and about $40 if you wanted the wash and dry. Tipping was still pretty uncommon, at least from what I saw and heard from friends.

Now I'm just beyond DC metro area, and it seems to be about $60 for a simple cut and another $30-40 for the wash and dry. There's a salon (http://www.myorganicsalon.com/menu.html) in Rockville that does coloring with henna from Mehandi, and those prices start at $80 and go up. That seemed insanely expensive when I was first considering it, but seeing the prices listed here and knowing how much the henna itself costs, it doesn't seem so bad. I think tips are pretty much expected here, but I still don't really understand the etiquette for it (not that I've been to a salon here).



ETA: I've done a bit of research on salon/stylist tipping, and now I'm even more confused. Most of the general guidelines I've seen for tipping don't even include stylists and make it seem like it should be discretionary. The few articles I've found that specifically address salon tips say that you should start at 20%. There's no middle ground! What do you all do?

[koko]

In the rural area where I am living the average income is 25,000 per year. So prices reflect that! Plus all the salons in my area are privately owned, there are no chains. Usually a single person converts a garage into a salon, or rents a small space on the Main Street. Depends on where you go, but these are the local prices.

Bang trims- free up to 4.00

Full Haircuts for women- 13 to 15 dollars max

Haircuts for men- 8.00 to 11.50

Haircuts for children- 7.00 to 10.00

Color/wash/blow dry/cut (all at the same appointment) 30.00 to 50.00 (depends on the length on hair)

Perm-30.00 for long hair

About the same prices here( EU, 12000 per capita) There are a few more expensive salons that go to 200 USD but I have never been in those. Last haircut costed me 10 USD.

[Avital88]

I pay 250 dirhams for a cut at a good hairstylist, with wash and hair mask and blowdry with styling, but thinking when converting to dollars i think thats around $65 so not very far off but in Europe i pay for the same thing around $100. I almost never have a cut though a just aregular blow-dry is 150dhs wich is around almost $40

[Libbylou]

In the rural farmland of Ohio I pay $5 for getting my bangs trimmed. I give her a $2 tip. This past January I had my ends dusted, shampoo and blow dry and that was $17.
Going for a formal updo in a couple weeks, I have no idea how much that is going to cost.

[restless]

In the small town where I currently live (but not for long!) you can get a haircut from say 12-30 euro. However I was greatly surprised when I saw a salon which had a sign saying 35 euro for a haircut from a hairdresser/cosmo school STUDENT :bigeyes:. I dont even dare to think how much it would cost getting a cut from a professional there...

[maegalcarwen]

I currently live in Holland, and even though here it is very diverse, it's so much more expensive than back in Hungary... I used to bay 10 euros for a really good haircut+shape+dry, and here with a student discount its between 15-30 euros. Horrible! And this is not a pro or anything, just a normal hairsalon. And let's not even talk about the coloring prices.

[wandlimb]

I think people charge from about £15 for a trim right up to more like £70 here. I'm not sure because I've been going to the same hairdresser for years and she only charges me £3-£5 depending on how much of a trim I need. No idea how she makes a living but I'm not complaining!