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Haircuts

14K views 41 replies 31 participants last post by  LBCfan 
#1 ·
Well I have curly hair, and lately I've wanted a good haircut so I could get a picture done.

As you all know, I'm pretty frugal and you'd think that hairstylists everywhere would be able to get a hang of cutting hair. This is not my experience. A haircut at the mall is not the same as getting your hair done by a skilled stylist.

Plus my husband keeps complaining that I keep getting the same hairstyle when I go to cheap places even though I ask for different things.

So this time to get my picture done, I went to a salon and paid $48 for the cut, $18 for some hair stuff plus $20 tip so $86 altogether.

This seems like a kingly sum to me, but my hair looks really nice. What about everyone else? How much do you pay?
 
#2 ·
Well I'm a guy, and don't have much hair, so I don't really count. I used to try cutting my own hair but it never looked very good (and I don't want to just shave my head), so I pay $13 to have my local barber do it. I love the experience -- it's an Italian barbershop and most of the patrons are Italian, so they're all talking Italian to each other and on holidays they offer you a glass of grappa after your haircut.
 
#4 ·
Go to a barber. $8 plus $2 tip. No apt necessary. Soak up some culture too. Not a place for women either. Conversations are more suitable for sailors...which adds to the charm. The other perk is that it is usually very quick and can be squeezed into my schedule anytime. A salon takes way too long and I don't need a shampoo a few hours after my shower. Of course i have short hair and only require minor attention.
 
#7 ·
Well I have curly hair, I went to a salon and paid $48 for the cut, $18 for some hair stuff plus $20 tip so $86 altogether.

This seems like a kingly sum to me, but my hair looks really nice. What about everyone else? How much do you pay?
I have curly hair too! Curly hair = high maintenance hair. Cutting and styling curly hair is very different than cutting and styling straight hair. Many of my straight haired friends have no problem going to a cheap chain salon and getting a good cut.

Add to that the fact that I am prematurely gray so my trips to the salon come to about $180 including tip.

I only go about every 3 or 4 months. I colour it myself in between salon visits. If you find a great hairdreser, hang on tight and DO NOT let go. In my experience it is really hard to find a great stylist for thick, curly hair. Especially if you need a cut that looks good whether you leave it curly or straighten it. I like to do both.

Two years ago I lost my stylist to the 'hood (as in motherhood) and I went through about a year of bad haircuts. I actually started asking strangers who had nice hair for referrals. I finally found someone and am very happy.

IMO a really good stylist is worth paying for.
 
#8 ·
IMO a really good stylist is worth paying for.
Years ago I lived with a woman who used to drive five hours roundtrip from southern Connecticut to Princeton, New Jersey, to get her hair done. That was dedication, but I have to admit that her hair looked great.

Personally I love gray hair, premature or not, I think it's beautiful and it always bugs me when women dye their hair to hide it.
 
#9 ·
You guys are lucky...

I can't tell you what I've been through with hairstylists...I had one around here but he went out of business because the mall he was in put up his rent too much. He did a great job with my hair but I didn't really like him because of his annoying habit of flirting and the odd rub up against me. His prices were very reasonable so I did put up with his pervy behaviour. It was a bit of a mixed blessing when he went out of business as I didn't have to weigh if I should go get my hair cut there or elsewhere.

That was like 3 years ago, then I had a series of really bad haircuts, my hubby calls it the lesbian mullet, I mean even 10 bucks is too much, I could hack my hair up better myself for free.

Then I declared a haircut strike which was very cheap :D I just grew it out, at one point hubby told me to wear up because I looked like a "frizzy witch" and so I kept it up in a bun.

Then I remembered that there was a great hair salon in a building I used to manage on Carlton Street 9 years ago I went back there and lo and behold the salon was still there. It's about an hour drive... but I got a nice compliment when I got home this time.

If this hairstyling relationship doesn't workout, I'll probably shave my head lol
 
#11 ·
Free is still free. :)

Some months when I try to cut back on spending, (usually summer), I will shave my head with the clippers. My wife hates this cut and says I look like a little boy after. To get a real cut, I was going to a hair dressing school on Yonge Street. $7 a cut when students were in. I stopped going there because they raised the prices to about $9 a cut and didn't have any students. However the teacher charges $15 and their cuts are tend to be good. (instructor)

Recently I found an Indian lady on Yonge Street that cuts hair for $12. I did that and it turned out great.

My wife goes downtown (bloor Street) and gets her hair cut by some fabio type guy. It's quite expensive ($90 or so) but she won't budge from this guy.
I even told my wife I would take her out for dinner if she tried a cheaper alternative; no dice. :(
 
#12 ·
any good cartoonists around ?

the ideal cmfer:

- homemade self-directed haircut (a bad one)
- droopy lulus after too many washings
- peculiar manitoba savings account
- red eyes from day-trading
- drives a logo truck with guinness on board
- bluetooth not speakerphone.
 
#13 ·
So this time to get my picture done, I went to a salon and paid $48 for the cut, $18 for some hair stuff plus $20 tip so $86 altogether.
I see one easy way you can lower the price... drop the fancy salon product. It doesn't work any better than the stuff you get at the grocery store, and why would it? The big companies selling $4 product at the grocery store spend way more on R&D than the little companies pushing $20 product at the salon.

If you're not so sure you can refuse the fancy conditioner, at least drop the shampoo. A quick trip down the hall just confirmed what I already know, my $3 no-name shampoo has almost exactly the same ingredients as my girlfriend's $50 shampoo (no, no, that is not a typo). The only noticeable difference is that mine contains this crappy stuff called 'water' as the first ingredient, whereas her's is made with 'aqua' :eek:

By the way, the detergent in both of them (probably the only ingredient that actually does anything) is sodium laureth sulfate, the same detergent in my $2 bottle of dishwashing soap! (Not that I advocate washing your hair with dishwashing soap, mind you. It might be a little bit too strong!)

Now after that rant, you might think I'm the cheapest guy in the world (well, close), but I actually pay full price ($35 + $15 tip) to get my hair cut at a fancy place. I like the atmosphere. I like the attention. And I especially like that my hairdresser actually knows how to cut hair.
 
#16 ·
It's close to true but not quite. All shampoos are equally good at cleaning your hair, but they do differ in the amount and kind of residues they leave behind. This is why some shampoos can leave your hair shiny and full of "body" while others leave your hair dull and limp. It has nothing to do with "feeding" your hair, since hair cells are dead. It's just a matter of presentation.

During my teenage years I cleaned my hair with Ivory soap, which did an adequate job but left my hair very dry and dull. Once I switched to shampoo I noticed a difference, and even today I notice a difference between different types of shampoos; I never use conditioner.
 
#22 ·
Yeah, I would definitely not be spending the $ on fancy salon products. Who's to say it will work anyway? It's all parabens and stuff that will wreck havoc on your endocrine system :)

I go for a haircut twice a year (and I'm overdue but still too cheap to go, hopefully my boyfriend won't notice haha!) but it's pretty pricy.

I pay about $170 for a highlight and hair cut, but the compliments I have been getting from this hair stylist I have finally found have been "priceless".

:cool:
 
#25 ·
I used to get my haircut from the same barber that I had been getting them from since I was a child, but he retired a few years ago, and after trying to find a suitable replacement in the "low-end" market and failing, I go to a higher-end salon instead.

It's one of the few things I splurge on at about $50 per month, but I get an awesome haircut from someone that knows what they're doing, uses scissors over clippers, and a towel skin care treatment, lol.

I used to feel self-conscious about being a guy and going to a salon, but my hair stylist is hot, and most importantly gives an awesome cut...so I'm a loyal and satisfied customer.
 
#26 ·
I cut my own hair , have a good set of clippers with those plastic comb attachments , I use the one with the longest setting and go over everything , head , beard , eyebrows , and I look FABULOUS!:D (see avatar).

Then I use the same thing on the dog , he looks FABULOUS too.:D

And best of all , it's free.
 
#27 ·
My wife got talked into a "Brazilian Blowout" a month or so ago by her hairdresser. She got a "deal".... $400. Now, Health Canada has issued a warning that the BB contains unacceptable levels of formaldehyde, and the treatment has been deep-sixed. So, here I am with my $12 men's cut (hairdresser drives to my door) and wifey gets soaked for $400.. (there is a lesson here, but I am not sure what it is)
 
#29 ·
I can't say that i am proud of this but it is funny now. When I was younger my friends and I would go to a very high end shop that was mainly for wealthy women. I became very good friends with my stylist (in her wedding etc), She would ask the hottest staff to give us a shampoo, which we did not mind. I asked her about it one day if that was a coincidence and she laughed and called it the shop's 'cheap lap dance' service and said that she always asked the most 'endowed' staff to help us. All the staff knew and made an effort to be intimate/friendly with these shampoos. To be honest some of my buddies probably got their cuts more often because of it.

Oink.
 
#32 ·
She would ask the hottest staff to give us a shampoo, which we did not mind. I asked her about it one day if that was a coincidence and she laughed and called it the shop's 'cheap lap dance' service and said that she always asked the most 'endowed' staff to help us.
It's a running gag at work when someone write's they've gone to the "Coiffeuse" hah

I had a regular barber in Kingston that I will still stop by if I traveling by. It's the only place I know that still uses a straight edge and hot saving cream. It was cheaper than most places but just seemed classier. A buzzer is just not the same

I find the price of haircuts across the country interesting considering my style is pretty darn simply these days. The price ranges from $25 to $5 for the exact same thing, except you wait longer and it takes longer for the $25 job
 
#30 ·
Ha ha David

You know what now that I think of it the pervy hairdresser had a contingent of senior retired ladies that needed a weekly salon treatment, now I know why.

My hair is nicer than Furgy's lol look at MY avatar.

Which I want to point out...I now have, after quite a while of being on here. I have tried multiple times to get my picture up mostly so people would know I'm not a man, I felt like I won the lottery when I finally made it work.
 
#33 ·
I spend about $0.01 for a haircut - the electricity it takes to run my clippers. They are actually pet grooming clippers, bought years ago at Canadian Tire for about $30. I use the number 2 length attachment and it takes about 2 minutes plus my wife does the back and cleans it up. I have several freinds doing the same thing, all of us don't have much hair to work with anyway!

This all started when I got tired of paying $15-20 inc tip for some unskilled person at Supercuts to give me a 5 minute haircut.
 
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