I have a confession to make. I get expensive haircuts. It kills me to admit it, Miss Frugality who refills water bottles, grinds her own wheat, wraps presents from wallpaper sample books, and washes generic Ziplock bags for reuse. But there it is.
For twelve years I paid eight dollars ($5 for husband and sons) for a good haircut from a stylist who loved our family and never raised her rates for us. It was a sad day when she moved away. When money was tight, I bought a razor and learned how to give the guys haircuts. My husband was the first to escape that tyranny; one son still insists I cut his hair.
I’ve done the beauty college ($ 9), the no-appointment, leave with a wet head, walk-in shops ($12), the blue-haired, weekly wash-and-set shop for grandmas ($16), and eventually went to a good stylist who waxed eyebrows for free with her $22 haircut. Then I was given a gift certificate to the most expensive, la-di-dah shop in town. It was The Best Cut I’ve ever had. I went back, on my own volition, naively assuming it wouldn’t be too much more than the $22 range. Soo-prahse, soo-prahse! $35. Prices have increased, and I now pay $42 for a cut and style. Never In My Days, would I have believed that I would pay that much for A Haircut.
My only consolation is that the cut is good for five to six months. And it is still the best cut I’ve ever had for my thick, curly mop.
I live in the country. I know prices can be higher in the city.
How much do you pay for your haircut?
A Living Pencil 
25 bucks, plus a 5-7 dollar tip…..and this is in Chinatown HoustonI think lots of guys get 2.99- 5 dollar haircuts. I think for shampoo and cut for them is 10.
$14 plus I tip her $3 or $4. In our small rural area, we have several beauty shops, and the only cheaper than my hairdresser is Wal-mart, and I won’t go there. Yvette has a tiny shop – it’s just her, and she always cuts my hair exactly the same way. When I want something new, she always understands what I mean. I was very happy to find her after my former hairdresser moved away. Most of the other salons in town charge more like $25 to $30.Carrie
I only paid $14 when I was in Wallowa because Terri did it. I cringe now when I have to pay $25!
I cut my own bangs and never look in a mirror. Mr W and the boy get chopped by my electric shaver during the summer, I cut #1’s bangs monthly and #2 is doing the Hannah Montana-grow-it-all-out thing. When school is in session and Mr W needs something more professional, he goes to SuperCuts every 6 weeks or so for $15. I hope he tips them, but it’s unlikely.Family of 5, $90 per year for haircuts. But don’t ask what we spend on movies at Hastings. To each his own splurge!
When I did get a hair cut I paid $13.95 for it at the Walmart Style shop. Yep. I am that redneck 😉 teehee
Cute post, Carol. I’ve run the gamut with the pricing, as you have detailed, settling in on the much higher end 🙂 I paid my dues by cutting DH’s hair for years as well as DDs.For me, the best test of the quality of the stylist is how well the cut *grows out*.Hair style is the final tip-off whether or not a woman really knows herself. Hubert Givenchy, designer, 1927 –
My best friend of 27 years has always cut my hair for free, whenever I want. But I tend to never be happy with any style and have never settled on one for any number of years. Right now it’s just a little longer than shoulder-length. But a month ago, my eldest daughter paid for a shi-shi haircut which cost $72!!! I look at it now and it just looks like an almost-all-one-length haircut. Don’t know if I’ll go back or not. I would really like something that looks more styled. Maybe short. I AM getting to that age where you’re “supposed” to have short hair, anyway.
My last hair cut cost $35 plus $35 for color. The last one before that cost $15. I hadn’t paid more than $15 for a wash, cut and blow-dry for over 10 years but Terry wanted me to try the more expensive stylist who is the dil of good friends and we’ve seen her work for years and she is GOOD. I was especially pleased with the color, which looked SO natural and is demi-permanent so it washes out in 6-8 weeks (so if I decide to go gray, I can do it without growing out roots).I’ll be calling the expensive stylist tomorrow for another appointment….glad to know I’m not the only one!
When my husband & I first moved to our area to do a church plant, the first member of our church was a beautician. She cut hair for our entire family for FREE for fifteen years. It left a great void when she had a heart attack and had to retire. I tried numerous others throughout the course of the next year with mixed results. Sometimes they did nice work but were impatient with children. Some were too busy and you couldn’t get in when you needed to. I finally, in desperation, did what I should have done to begin with. I prayed. The Lord led me to a wonderful stylist and she treats ALL pastor’s families to haircuts for NO CHARGE. (She is a P.K. herself). I’m so blessed by her ministry to us and I pass along her business card to everyone I know so as to send customers her way. I try to bring her a loaf of fresh bread whenever I go in for a cut to show her my appreciation 🙂
I just got my hair shampooed (twice, mind you), cut, and styled yesterday at Wal-Mart. With the tip, it was $20. It was a lovely respite on a hot day, and worth $20 just to have somebody else wash my hair. However, the results are sort of uninspired. I’d be willing to pay $40-$50 if I could find someone who could give me The Cut Of My Dreams!
P.S. — I buzz my guys and cut my girls hair. Usually everybody is very happy with their results, thankfully. So maybe with all the money I’m saving by playing beautician at home, I can justify a good salon cut for myself!
Hmm. How much do I pay for my haircuts? Not enough. Yesterday I put my hair up in a ponytail and my bangs were in my eyes. So I cut them off. Now I have the Franciscan Monk style bangs. The roll of bangs compliments the roll under my chin. Flattering. :0)
Agree with hiddenart – it’s all about growing out in style … so I pay a lot – in south african rands R240 for wash & cut (cheaper price R80 – R120); and yes, it’s past 6 months already! I also cut dh hair; my daughter cuts her own hair… i don’t know with what tools…i’m too scared too ask; i’ve given up on her; when one salon charged her R240 (3 years ago) she decided to cut her own hair; today at 17 her cut (medium length hair) actually looks like something from a salon (except the beautifully golden blond hair changed color – black.Why?
I am with dear BonnieT. I have been cutting my own hair for years and it looks like it! I have struggled with the strange concept that because we are missionaries, we aren’t supposed to use the Lord’s money that way. Never mind that I have been working full time for two years now. You inspire me, but I have absolutely no idea what it costs here. BTW your hair is absolutely gorgeous!!! blessings and love in sc
I do cut all my guys’ hair! It has saved us a bundle over the years. Because my hair is super-long, and I get it trimmed only once every year or so. Costs me abut $15 plus tip. I trim my own bangs inbetween.
Until about 4 years ago I didn’t pay a thing as my husband the horseshoer traded for hair care with a good family friend. None of us had to pay a thing as it all evened out pretty well by the end of the year. Now that he’s ‘retired’ form shoeing, I still get my hair (and other stuff) done there, but work out trades. Last year I gave her oldest son art lessons in trade, I’ve done some computer work for her in trade, so I really have no idea how much she charges me. I have learned that you get what you pay for, so spend a bit to pamper yourself, if you are happy with it and you are paying for quality, there isn’t anything wrong about it. I’m not advocating spending thousands of dollars but I don’t think $42 is out of line, as long as you don’t take that money from Peter to pay Paul! I’ve also learned that if you are going to represent our Lord to others, looking the best you can gives your example credibility in the eyes of the unbeliever. And, I am going this afternoon to have ‘the works’; hair, trim, color, weave, wax, visit!
WOW this topic is a hot one for women Love all the responses, showing how varied we are. Boy the prices sure vary from area to area–Limbolady and i are friends, and i used to go to that pricey salon where they worked excellently with my used-to-be-straight-hair-gone-curly. Can’t afford her anymore, but she was a wealth of haircare information. Now i get a 25 buck cut if i go home wet, i think it’s 40 with the blow dry and style (and then the tip.) But she offers no haircare tips if i say something like “i’m having trouble figuring out how to…” such and such with my hair. Instead she says, “huh.” OH! one of my favorite hairdresser stories is when the guy insisted i let HIM do my color since they “were the experts” and i went home with my gray roots magenta. Seems even i knew he’d need to color the roots to match the brown hair color on the rest of my hair, but he’d skipped that part. Made me have a lovely glow, though,
Haven’t paid for a haircut since I was 11 years old. And since Mom was still paying for such things at that point, I’ve technically never paid for a haircut in my life! For the past 29 years it’s been my mom or a friend or me wielding the scissors. Of course my hair is easy-peasy — all one length. I can grab it into a ponytail, lop off the scraggly ends, and I’m done.Oh, and I wash and reuse generic zipper bags, too!