My wife just turned 40, and one of her Birthday To Do items was to visit NY and have her hair cut by Nick Arrojo from TLC’s makeover show What Not To Wear. She loves the show, but her favorite part is the haircut, since she always thinks he does a fabulous job with the show’s subjects.
Having consulted their website, I discover that to have Mr. Arrojo personally cut her hair would cost $400. Add to that some highlighting (which she usually gets) plus a 15% tip, and it’s another $275 easy–and that doesn’t include the cost of travelling to NY (while we’d obviously find other things to do while we’re there–including celebrating our wedding anniversary–the reason we’d be going is the haircut).
Me? I’m a SuperCuts guy. I’ll go to a salon once-in-a-while, but I honestly don’t remember ever paying more than $50 total.
I should note that my wife works like a dog–thankless hours, merciless travel commitments, almost no leisure time–and while the cost of the haircut alone is a week’s salary for me, it’s something she nets in a couple hours (she owns her own company and has some very faithful clients who appreciate the quality of work she provides). She almost never “treats” herself to anything (shopping, spa days, non-business dining, non-business travel, etc.), so I don’t question this one Wish an iota.
But it’s still more money than I’d ever imagine spending on a haircut (we spent less on her wedding dress), and it may be more than she’s even willing to spend (I just heard back from the studio per some questions I had, so she doesn’t yet know about the full cost).
So what’s the most you’ve ever spent (or personally known someone to spend) on a follicle trim? Any wonder tales (or disaster stories)? Since our trip will be in July, I’m just worried what the humidity will do to his work once she steps outside.
Twenty bucks. A wash, some snip-snip, break out the clippers, brush away the detritus, apply some gel, I’m in and out in about as many minutes. I like to keep it simple – I mean, it’s a haircut. I’m a guy. I’m not quite so laissez-faire that I’d do it myself with a vacuum cleaner and a Flowbee, but a hair cut should be one of the least involved parts of your day.
Unless you have high maintenance hair anyway – like a mohawk or something.
I personally think the cost of the haircut is ridiculous then add the cost of other services on top :eek: (You have to book for it and pay extra if it is expected to take more than 10 minutes for a full blow-dry?)
Then again you said that is what she really wants and that she never treats herself. If that is the case and she doesn’t mind the cost, let her go for the high-end salon treat!
To actually answer your question, I think the most I have personally spent on a haircut was about 60 bucks. (I am a female)
I haven’t had a professional haircut in over twenty years. As I recall, the last time a hairdresser cut my hair, I paid $15 and left a $5 tip. I now cut my own hair and my husband’s hair. I offered to cut my mom’s hair, but she turned me down. I don’t think she trusts me with scissors.
My latest haircut cost the most I’ve ever paid for a haircut-- $60. However, I loved the cut so much that the stylist got a $20 tip.
If this sounds like a ton, consider the fact that I get my hair cut on a 3 to 6 month basis at best, so having a style that can handle being grown out over a 6 month period is a must.
I spent almost $150 once for color and a haircut, but I only get my hair done like 3 times a year, and usually it’s about $75 (see, I went blonde a couple of years ago, and foils are expensive. Just doing an overall bleach, like at home, would look horrible). Before I went blonde, I colored and cut my own hair for about… a dozen years.
For a cut and color, I’ve paid between $150 and $200, including tip. I have co-workers, however, that routinely go to the “good” salons in LA, and will pay upwards of $300-$400. But I think the most I know of (if we’re counting “salon visits where they did something to your hair”) is around $700, which included a Japanese perm (I think that’s what it was called – it’s when they straighten your hair and it stays straight for a couple months without flat-ironing). So while I realize the proposed cost is high, it’s not utterly out of range for what you’re getting – a celebrity haircut in a posh salon.
I realize that makes me the outlier, but at least it’s another data point.
ArchiveGuy, I’m so jealous!! I want a haircut from him too! My friend who’s a hairdresser recently went to a hair show in NYC and he was there. Let me know how she likes it. I’m really considering letting my hair grow a little more and going myself.
Tell her to get it done! If she has someone from his shop other than him, it’s much cheaper.
The most I ever paid was $60 for a haircut at a salon being run by an old friend of my wife (and that was with a $20 discount). His salon was was located in Harajuku (of Gwen Stefani fame, very expensive high fashion district) and doing pretty well, so I’m sure there were other customers around me who were paying far more.
To be honest, I wasn’t impressed. He had a half-dozen assistants who each specialized in a particular task at a set station, so I would get up and move to each station as the process went on, until getting to the ‘master craftsman’ himself. The problem was that his cutting style was to take tiny little snips (and I mean tiny, the floor was covered in hair granules rather than clippings) here and there until the entire thing had reached the shape he wanted. The end result took about three hours and left me looking like a cotton ball. He invited me back several times, but somehow my schedule was always too busy.
On the other hand, I paid $40 for a haircut once that was well worth it. After a very good (and relatively quick) haircut, the barber took out a straight razor and shaved my entire face; I mean neck, chin, cheeks, lip, temples, ears, forehead, eyelids :eek:, everything. Add in a hair tonic treatment, steamed towel wrap and a shoulder massage, and I walked out of there feeling fantastic. It was beyond my budget at the time, but I don’t regret it one bit.
Nowadays, I’m strictly $10/10-minute trims at the local chain place.
$120 including tip for single process colour & cut. It’s going up though, next visit will be a bit more. Not too much. I know someone who spent $400 on a cut and fancy colour job. That would be too much. Heck, I’m too cheap to go for the highlights at my current salon; I’m of the opinion that what I’m paying now is about as high as I’m prepared to go, excepting a little inflation over the years.
I still have… um… the occasional guilty cold sweat about paying that much for a frivolity but frankly, my hairdresser does a wonderful job, and I can afford it. And any frugal ancestors are welcome to spin in their graves. I used to be a supercuts type girl so this has been… interesting.
20 bucks-ish. I get a haircut every few months since every time I do I think it looks like crap and decide to grow it long but realize after a while it looks worse longer. This cycle repeats itself and it’s been like this for the past few years.
Mom let me get a $120 cut and highlight job for senior pictures a few years back. Gotta love the straight razor for layers! It was at a place that serves you champagne and stuff.
But now I have a regular lady who does my hair right for $20. My hair sucks so it’s imperitive I get good haircuts so it lays right when I straighten it.
That honestly makes me feel a little faint, but hey, if they’ve got that kind of dough, more power to them.
I think the most I’ve paid at a salon appointment is about $75, and that was a cut with foil highlights. I usually pay around $40 including tip every two months. I’m quite cheap about lots of things, but this is worth it for me. I love my stylist, and she works with my wash-and-go hair care philosophy.
Himself actually spends more on hair than I do. He has a flattop, and gets it cut every three weeks, for $15 including tip. If he gets it cut less often, he starts to look pretty unkempt. He’s tried to get me to cut it, but I’m not doing a flattop. I know myself, and I’d keep “fixing” it until he was bald.
Probably $90 with cut, color, and tip. You can always get a good haircut in Manhattan for little or no money.
If she’s set on Nick Arrojo, and she overworks herself and never treats herself, what’s the harm? She might get a cheaper or better haircut elsewhere in the city, but the majority of the fun is probably getting the cut from him. If you give her your full blessing, and even act excited about it, you will gain major brownie points.
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