Justification for Prices

What’s the fair price for the haircut you want? 

Are you someone who will book a haircut because it’s cheap? 

Someone who will pay more expecting a better service? 

What even makes a good service? 

Hopefully we’ll clear up some of these questions in this blog. 

There are plenty of barbers out there to choose from, all advertising their work at different prices. In the UK the average price for a skin fade and beard trim; the UK’s most asked for haircut is £25 but people will still book a trim that’s £7… £10… £12… but expect the quality of service to be that of the £25 average price. 

Why? 

Truth is, for most, barbers charging such a cheap price is typically for turnover; in order to produce more haircuts in the day. But really these barbers will rush the haircut. 

Work in the skin line and speed through the rest with clipper over comb. 

Once there was a new barbers which just opened meters from my house. 

‘Buzzing, now  I won’t have to travel so far now for a haircut, hopefully he’s decent’ 

I went in and asked for wave length on top and a mid height skin fade and low faded beard trim. 

£7 any style… 

I should of left there and then. But I gave him the benefit of the doubt, you know I thought ‘aww he’s a new business just opened with competition in the market nearby’ ‘he’s just trying to attract heads into his shop’ 

Nah 

He started off with the balding line.

No problems there, he seemed to know what he was doing. 

From there he ensued to complete the rest of the haircut with clipper over comb.

Working the comb and clipper like he was on fast forward. 

Not sure how he was going to get a consistent fade doing the majority of the work with clipper over comb with a client who has afro hair. If you didn’t know, afro hair grows in so many directions. So to work a fade with clipper over comb just isn’t going to give you the end result you need. 

He then asked me if I wanted the full service; hot towel, face massage and shave for £20 

Yeah man why not, it’s still a cheap price considering the average price is for a fade and beard is £25! 

Once he got me on to another chair to start my face steam and hot towel which took about 15 minutes. He had cut another 2 clients in that time which he had finished before my steam cycle ended.

Then the penny dropped for me. Yes I was very shocked on the speed he was producing these haircuts in. But I thought,

‘He isn’t just trying to flirt with the towns clientele as like a welcome offer’ ‘all he cares about is the amount of people he can get in one day’ ‘and if the shop looks busy with clients waiting for their £7 trims, then people will think wow that shop looks busy, he must be good, I’ll go there’ 

I got home and had a good look at the haircut in the mirror. The haircut was 

LOBSIDED!! 

I spent a good 20 minutes fixing the fade myself in the mirror to balance it out. 

So what did I learn? 

I’m naive yes but also

Don’t ever go to a barber charging £7 any style – they just care about client turn over and not the end result of the haircut or the clients satisfaction. 

Basically guys, when finding a new barber, look for somebody charging a competitive price that suits you but also a price where you know or expect the haircut to be the way you want it to be. 

Us as barbers feel as though we charge what we are worth and our skill level. So if a barber is charging £30, £35. It’s because their skill level is at a significantly high standard and perhaps they want to attract a certain client. For this price you should expect a well in-depth consultation before they cut your hair. The process not to be rushed and you can see why they’re choosing to cut your hair a certain way. They’ll add character to the cut at the end that meets your needs but also is signature to the way they cut hair. Their own twist. The small details like a face steam or a hot lathered shave. And then of course the styling at the end. 

So really the choice is yours. 

Do you want a cheap haircut which really could be rushed and cut by someone who doesn’t typically care about the service they produce.

Do you want a high priced haircut of £30/£35 where you should expect the haircut to be amazing and all the small details have been thought about

Or do you want somewhere that thinks about the current social climate. Someone who charge £20/£25 where the haircuts should be consistent where you’re getting the haircut you want with all the small details available to you. 

Hopefully I’ve helped answer the questions at the top. 

Until next time 🤟🏼

Calv.