What do you pay for a haircut?

It takes a lot of government mandated training and licenses to cut hair. A barber has to go through the same training as a fancy hairdresser and the beauty colleges are set up to be very predatory. The student loans are usually offered by the beauty school itself so they can double dip. It is expensive, and will haunt them for decades. 30K with high interest is not unusual.

Renting a chair/space at an existing shop is around $1000 a month. 

Being an employee at a supercuts/great clips/whatever is a pretty low wage so they live off tips (which they are taxed on whether they get them or not)

Some of y'all are tightwads.  I tend to be a little more generous when it comes to low wage earners holding sharp objects very close to my head.

$20 w/Senior discount at Haircuts-R-Us + $10 tip, paid in cash.  Basically a buzz cut.  I would go every 3 weeks when I was working, now I stretch it to once a month.

Every 6 weeks or so Mrs. pays $200 under-the-table to a guy that has been doing her hair since the last century.  Who knows what she'll do when he croaks.

I go every 10 -12 weeks, $30, $20 haircut/$10 tip.  Small shop right around the corner. Was just 2 guys when I started going and now they have a 3rd. He is a kid fresh out of school, he has cut my hair the last few times. His cutting speed isn't great but he does what I ask and is getting better.  As for value, if I was to cut my own hair, I probably wouldn't want to go out in public for 6 weeks. $30 is cheap.

In reply to Hungary Bill (Forum Supporter) :

I don't know Loui's. There's at least two old school barber shops on the peninsula that do a decent job, but you're going to wait for a chair to open up. I know I could save a few bucks by waiting but the 20-60 minutes of wait time is worth spending ~$20 more to have an appointment. There's a place in Port Orchard that caters to a LOT of Navy boys. Very military friendly. Nice shop and they do a good job but I just don't have the time to wait around. Even when I get there a few minutes before they open, there's a line of guys. 

Ive been buying clippers and buzzing my own head since i was like 14, but my son gets his hair cut at my buddies barber shop. 25$ for a standard boys cut, 35$ or so if you want a skin fade which is a serious art.  Ive recommended many people to them.  Find a good Latin barber shop to fix your mop. 

Duke said:

Toyman! said:

In reply to Duke :

I don't pay it so I'm certainly not complaining about it.

OK, lets call it "questioning the value of skilled labor."

Hey, if you want to start a fight, why don't you just start out with calling him an A-hole and stop dancing around!!

(E.g. your multiple attempts to steer this into an argument seems very inappropriate)

Duke said:

dean1484 said:

Another thing.  Why don't people tip if it is the business owner doing the work?  That makes no sense to me. 

Because it is assumed that, as the business owner, you are setting a price that assures you a reasonable profit, and you are keeping 100% of that profit.

I always heard it was in poor taste/insulting to tip the owner. When we became friendly with the husband/wife owner of a small restaurant in town we always left more than the price of the meal on the table. They never complained.

When I had more hair I used to go to a chain and always request the same girl*. She was either very good, or the one thing she could do well was what I was asking for. She cut my hair for at least five years. After doing it myself for about ten years I went to a different place to have it done professionally, I think because I was going somewhere that I wanted to look really nice. I waited, and was called up. It was the same girl.

I have been cutting it myself now for almost twenty years and gotten so good at it I no longer have to have PW check it over to see if I missed anything. I cut it to different lengths, blend and fade like a pro . Actually it looks pretty good.

*In 2003 I still had long hair, and wanted to get a trim because I was going to an important event and wanted to look presentable. The girl who attempted to cut my hair made an complete mess of it. I absolutely lost it, and stormed out. I went the next day to another place to have it fixed, and it was then that I met the girl. I showed up for the 2003 challenge with short hair, the first time since I was a kid. 

Bought an electric shear decades ago.  I use it to cut my hair down to a uniform 1/8" every three months.

In reply to aircooled :

I wasn't trying to steer this into an argument.  I don't think he's an a-hole.

I thought that particular person's original post was ironic considering his frequent minor rants from the other side.

He seemed determined to miss my point.

I'll crawl back in my hole now.

In reply to Duke :

When I do oil changes myself, or maybe even take it to a quick lube, it's not because I'm questioning the value of the skilled labor an ASE Certified Master Tech provides to a job deserving of their skill... It's because the value of their labor is greater than the value I place on the (low skill) job in question.

It's the same reason I don't mind the price paid for my wife and daughters haircuts... But when my simple clipper-only cut is easy enough that I can do it myself for free, have it look just as good, and eliminate any and all associated time/schedule impacts from my already too-busy life, why pay for skilled labor on an unskilled job?

Fair value of the labor skill vs personal value of the job is the entire premise behind all things DIY 

When you've got curly hair like mine you have to find someone that knows what they're doing. I'm 2-3 times per year at $35+tip. Normally get it cut when it starts getting in my eyes. 

I pay $30 plus tip at our local barber, Proper Barber Co. Figure I need all the help I can get. 

During Covid I gave myself a #1 clipper cut - approximately every two weeks. Easy. 

Most of the time now I just go to great clips about every five weeks. I believe it is now $18+$7 tip. 

Wife gets a cut and color about every 2 months for $100 + 25 tip. 

$18.00 plus tip.  I go to an older fellow who has a one chair shop, he's also a gearhead so we have something to talk about besides sports, and he does a good job on my hair.  Unfortunately, one of these days he's going to decide to finally retire (I don't know his age but he must be over 75) and then I'll have to find someone else.

As for the debates above about how much money barbers make, remember there's a BIG difference between their shop's gross income and what thelr takehome pay is.  There's a reason you don't see them driving around in Ferraris.

In reply to Duke :

You are getting stuck in a tangent. This thread isn't about whether I think being a barber is skilled labor. (I don't but I am willing to change my opinion.) This thread is about what people are willing to pay for the service. It's about what the market will bear vs the cost of running the business. If enough people are willing to shell out the dollars then I'm interested and the best way to find out if they are is to ask. You gents are varied enough to get a pretty good indication across a wide demographic. Consider it research. 

Thanks for playing. 

As to what my wife pays. I told her as long as she would cut mine, I didn't care what she paid for hers. She gets it done every 3-4 months. I have no clue what it costs. 

My wife cuts mine since covid. #2 guard on the clippers. She's been too busy and stressed, so I haven't wanted to bother her. Started looking like Wolfman jack, went to my old barber today. $20 bucks for my head and beard. 

Our local salon went up from $35 to $45. I went back to Great Clips for $25 and didn't get a cut worth paying for. 
Last cut was by my wife and she suggested I get it cleaned up before any interviews.. lol

An older neighbor who has lived here for 45+ years recommended a new place to try out next time for ~$20

In reply to classicJackets (FS) :

Senior Price:   $18    Coupon:   $2   Tip:  $5    Cost:  $21

Results:

I bought a clipper set (Oster) about 35 years ago for $25 CDN. It still runs like a charm and I give myself a buzz every three or four weeks with the second shortest guard. The beard gets the shortest guard every Sunday. The last time I went to a barber was the day before my son's wedding, and I only did that because I had had bypass surgery four weeks earlier and couldn't contort myself enough to cut the back.

Supercuts type place is about $24  here , I usually leave $30

But I have not found a good place to trim my beard , so do it myself  when it gets too long.....

As far as $30 for 20 minutes being too much , well yeah 3x$30 every hour is great money , but what barber has  3 customers an hour all day , everyday ?

imgon said:

I go every 10 -12 weeks, $30, $20 haircut/$10 tip.  Small shop right around the corner. Was just 2 guys when I started going and now they have a 3rd. He is a kid fresh out of school, he has cut my hair the last few times. His cutting speed isn't great but he does what I ask and is getting better.  As for value, if I was to cut my own hair, I probably wouldn't want to go out in public for 6 weeks. $30 is cheap.

I was going to type out a response, but almost verbatim the same experience. My guy charges $25, and he's hinted that he's raising his prices to $27. He does a great job every time, is about 5 minutes away and has "free" beer

$35 tips included....

I go to an old, small town barbershop. They've got 4 chairs and stay very busy. Last year they raised their price for a standard men's cut from $17 to $21. I go every 6 weeks or so and usually hand the lady $25 cash. 

Am I the only one that has invested in the Flowbee haircutting system?

What's a hair...cut? I know those words, I don't understand them together.