• Hi, I am the owner and main administrator of Styleforum. If you find the forum useful and fun, please help support it by buying through the posted links on the forum. Our main, very popular sales thread, where the latest and best sales are listed, are posted HERE

    Purchases made through some of our links earns a commission for the forum and allows us to do the work of maintaining and improving it. Finally, thanks for being a part of this community. We realize that there are many choices today on the internet, and we have all of you to thank for making Styleforum the foremost destination for discussions of menswear.
  • This site contains affiliate links for which Styleforum may be compensated.
  • We would like to welcome House of Huntington as an official Affiliate Vendor. Shop past season Drake's, Nigel Cabourn, Private White V.C. and other menswear luxury brands at exceptional prices below retail. Please visit the Houise of Huntington thread and welcome them to the forum.

  • STYLE. COMMUNITY. GREAT CLOTHING.

    Bored of counting likes on social networks? At Styleforum, you’ll find rousing discussions that go beyond strings of emojis.

    Click Here to join Styleforum's thousands of style enthusiasts today!

    Styleforum is supported in part by commission earning affiliate links sitewide. Please support us by using them. You may learn more here.

Salon or barber?

lemonbishop

Member
Joined
Aug 20, 2008
Messages
12
Reaction score
0
Hello all,

Just curious what the style-conscious men around here do for hair cuts: do you do to the barber or a salon?

I am also curious if the barber/salon split has anything to do with age.
 

Grayland

Distinguished Member
Joined
May 10, 2007
Messages
2,295
Reaction score
66
I did a salon for years. 2 years ago, I found a great barbershop. No appointments needed, in addition to the haircut, they trim ears, eyebrows, nostrils, and shave my neck with a straight razor. $12
 

JoelF

Distinguished Member
Joined
Dec 31, 2007
Messages
1,452
Reaction score
2
^ +1. Barbershop, same stuff, same price, usually make it $20 or $25 with tip.
 

pitboss12

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 22, 2007
Messages
507
Reaction score
1
^+1 Barbershop. I find that I'm more relaxed in a barbershop.
 

Bradford

Current Events Moderator
Joined
Mar 19, 2002
Messages
6,626
Reaction score
228
I also have recently moved from a salon to a barbershop.

My regular stylist at the salon had a baby in February and now works out of her house. I can still get my haircut from her but I pretty much have to set up an appointment more than a week in advance and drive 40-miles.

I found a barber who does a good job, I can stop in anytime and it's only $12 as compared to the $25 I was paying before.
 

cimabue

Senior Member
Joined
May 19, 2008
Messages
638
Reaction score
1
I bought barbering tools (clippers, scissors, cape,etc) and have my stylist cut my hair at home. It's worthwhile for her since she gets to keep all the money. The main benefit for me is that I don't have to be exposed to what I gather are largely germy salon tools.
eh.gif
 

Gus

Stylish Dinosaur
Dubiously Honored
Supporting Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2007
Messages
18,575
Reaction score
8,070
Barber.

They give me a trim for $20 including tip. They have Playboy, Maxim and car mags. The shop is near a busy street corner with lots of babes that walk by. It is so much more fun than a salon!
 

redgrail

Distinguished Member
Joined
Aug 31, 2007
Messages
1,280
Reaction score
0
I have done both. Generally, salons do a slightly better job with my admittedly fussy hair, but they also make me feel completely emasculated. Nothing will kill a testosterone buzz quite like otherwise intelligent and attractive women discussing the latest Perez juice with their effeminate male stylists.
Now I go to a place called State Steet Barbers. Kind of pricy for a barbershop at $35, but the haircut is a notch above other barbers I've been to and I get a free beer, straight razored neck and a neckmassage. Plus I don't have to feel like my balls just got cut off.
 

rjmaiorano

Distinguished Member
Joined
May 1, 2007
Messages
2,204
Reaction score
1
Barber, specifically Grand Ave. barber since I was 3.
 

fredfred

Distinguished Member
Joined
Feb 20, 2008
Messages
1,108
Reaction score
2
Long time ago started to see a girl at a trendy (and good) salon. She had great **** and would brush them against you as she worked. Hair cut was very good, but cost was $70. The brushing was not part of the package, this was a regular salon - she just happened to have an added talent. They'd also sometimes give you a neck rub and oil/hair "treatment"/rubbing.

Moved to different city, found a $70 salon, but then tried a $13 barber (also have female attendants) and the cut was just as good.

The question I always have is how much to tip. If you tip 20% of $70, that's $14. 20% of 13 is $2.60.

So what do you tip?
 

Grayland

Distinguished Member
Joined
May 10, 2007
Messages
2,295
Reaction score
66
I add a $3 tip to a $12 haircut. My barber never brushes his man **** against me, though. If he did, I'd tip him more.
 

redcaimen

Bigtime
Joined
Mar 22, 2006
Messages
6,787
Reaction score
552
Originally Posted by rjmaiorano
Barber, specifically Grand Ave. barber since I was 3.

Lots of good, cheap places to get your haircut in the san diego area. I get my haircut in Ramona - place right on the main street. Up until about 6 months ago it was $4.50. Its now $6. There is a shop in that shopping center at the corner of Rosecrans and Midway(Henrys, Carls Junior, Jamba Juice) where it is also still $6.
 

lemonbishop

Member
Joined
Aug 20, 2008
Messages
12
Reaction score
0
I failed to list myself as as salon goer. I started on salons way back, while dating a women who worked at one. I gained a bias for salons from this experience (which I am not claiming is justified). I have noticed a fussyness and attention to detail when addressing head shape, and the appropriate cut/shape to correspond, in general at the salons I have gone to. This has been exhibited by both male and female salon cutters. Conversely, I have noticed less attention to detail by barbers, based on a very unscientific and shallow research pool (basically looking at people I know went to a barber). I have always chalked this up to a less fussy cliental, as guys (although maybe not around here) tend to be less detail oriented about most things, which leads to a more straightforward, quicker, and less expensive cut.

I also used to have longer hair, which seemed more fit f for the salon than the barber. After I switched to shorter hair, inertia was in effect. Now I am wondering if my bias was ever justified, and perhaps the people in my shallow research pool had crappy barbers. I am now wondering if I am just paying too much for a hair cut, and I should just find the right barber.
 

Featured Sponsor

How important is full vs half canvas to you for heavier sport jackets?

  • Definitely full canvas only

    Votes: 55 36.7%
  • Half canvas is fine

    Votes: 59 39.3%
  • Really don't care

    Votes: 15 10.0%
  • Depends on fabric

    Votes: 26 17.3%
  • Depends on price

    Votes: 26 17.3%

Forum statistics

Threads
505,131
Messages
10,578,706
Members
223,885
Latest member
Garyypangburn
Top