How much do you spend on haircuts?

[vand]

Wonder what the Mustachian community budgets for the ol' mullet maintenance...?

I realise its usually more expensive for the ladies than the gentlemen, but let's see what people come back with as a whole.

Obviously in these strange times we've all been DIY if at all, but typically what is your typical annual spend? Has Coronavirus made your realise that its perfectly possible to become a mullet DIY convert, or has it pushed you in the opposite direction?

You can include eyebrow waxing, highlights, whatever if you want. Or not. I'm not fussed.

[chemistk]

I've been cutting my own hair (more than just buzzing it, too - I use scissors and other tools) for about 2 years now.

It takes me probably 15 minutes longer, including cleanup, than a trip to the barber. I save $18 every 2 months by doing it myself, I can try different styles, and I can shower immediately afterward which honestly is the biggest plus in my book.....I absolutely hate walking around with tiny little hair trimmings itching me.

I could answer again for my wife, I suppose - she's about $40 every 2 or 3 months and she won't let me touch her hair with a 10 foot pole so I think that's fairly reasonable.

[BTDretire]

My wife has cut my hair for at least the last 25 years.

[bloodaxe]

Like others have said, I cut my own hair.

Before the haircut places opened, DW cut her hair too. She used a technique similar to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LakVQeznBJk

[DadJokes]

What does "pa" stand for?

While cuts are more expensive for women, I think women tend to get their hair cut less frequently than men (at least my wife does). I cut my hair monthly, and my wife gets her hair cut twice per year. Back when I went to a barber, it was $20 each time. It cost my wife $120 for her last appointment. The monthly average is the same.

She will not let me DIY her hair, unfortunately.

[PoutineLover]

What does "pa" stand for?

I assume per annum.

I have curly hair and don't trust myself or my partner to do a good job cutting it. I generally get haircuts every 4 months or so for about $50 and my hairdresser is amazing. It's been too long now and I'm really itching for a cut!

[slappy]

I am a female and my husband cuts my hair. He also cuts his own hair and the kids hair. Baby girl is two and has not had a cut yet. She has curly hair, so I'm not sure if he will feel comfortable with that. We will probably let it go as long as possible to let her beautiful curls grow out, but we may eventually need to take her somewhere for a cost. But she will be the only one in the family who would possibly need a "professional" haircut.

[Mike in NH]

I used to get my hair cut about 2x per month at a friend's salon. Spent a little more to support her business, it was about $35 per cut. My hair grows fast and a close fade tends to not last long anyway. When I got serious about cutting down/mindfully re-purposing monthly expenses, my wife started cutting my hair. She does a good job, we've found that the sweet spot is not in trying to replicate the really close fade you would get done professionally (like a #0 or a #1 attachment). If you go with what we call the 'week old fade' and live in the comfort zone of the #3 or #4 attachments it hides a lot of imperfections.

Our original deal was if there was a special event like a wedding I might go back to the pro for a one-off but as with most things of this nature, once I took the jump I never looked back.

I now consider that $840/year saved a mini-vacation. Much better ROI.

Sidenote: Of much personal interest to me, many of my friends started handling haircuts in-house during quarantine. They all know I retired @ 38 but I don't discuss it much unless someone asks me a specific question. This seemed like an easy opportunity to point out a valuable lesson, so I asked what they were going to do with their newfound $750-$1000 a year. To a person, each one of them could not wait to go back to the regular barber/salon/etc once restrictions ease up. Forget leading the horse to water, I guess sometimes even when the horse falls in the water, it doesn't want to drink.

Meanwhile we'll keep taking amazing vacations, funded primarily by the money they spend on nothing more than the haircuts they just proved they didn't need and the expense of always new cell phones. People confuse me.

[ketchup]

Zero, my GF has cut my hair for the past eight years or so.  I trim hers every so often.  She still goes to "the salon" every few months for wizardry that I could never help with, so she spends more than I do but definitely still less than average.

[Luck12]

I'm going to pull the average up:  I pay about $20 every 6-8 weeks.  I would definitely end up in the hospital if I tried to cut my own hair and I don't have any friends that know how to cut hair. 

[YoungGranny]

I started cutting my husbands hair a few years ago and it's worked out just fine (he even gets compliments on it sometimes) - finally a year or so ago I convinced him to start cutting mine since I just require a trim every 6 months or so. I'll probably spend $20 every other year or so to go to the training salon in town and get one of the students to give it a larger chop.

[kite]

We do them at home. My parents did. It’s the height of extravagance to have a “store bought hair-cut”.j
I’d have to amortize that pair of scissors and the set of clippers over a lifetime to get an annual cost.  I have a very good set. 

[AM43]

I like to have a clean look so i get my hair cut every 3 weeks or so.
My wife cuts my hair for the past 3-4 years.
I used to pay $20 a pop every 3 weeks or so.
Its $0 now.
I did invest approx. $100 in the beginning in decent quality hair cutting stuff.
Paid for itself in 5 cuts.

[JLee]

I used to pay $40-50/mo on average (cheap cut / high tip to a friend), but lately I'm doing it myself so nothing.

[FI45RE]

$0. Wife has been cutting mine for about 3 years now...Since January, she has been letting me cut hers. Took some practice, but luckily it's fairly easy now

[afox]

yes its a myth that men spend less on haircuts than men. men with short hair need a haircut around every 5 weeks. the haircuts cost less (and you get less and they're quicker) but the overall spending is the same or more, stylists/salons are well aware of this.

haircuts have been one good thing that's come out of covid, for years ive been trying to get my wife to cut my hair, now i had my reason and it was okay  if she got it wrong since i am working from home. we are 2 haircuts in and she has really realized how easy it is, its so much more convenient to cut hair in the yard instead of making an appt and going to salon, not to mention the savings (10 haircuts year x $30 = $300 year = me retiring much later if i pay for haircuts. Remember its not the cost of the monthly haircut that makes the big difference, its the savings that's needed to pay for haircuts into perpetuity (till death). I need about 25x the amount to pay for haircuts ($300 annually) through retirement which equals an additional savings of $7500!

[ixtap]

I am DIY for both of us, but it is time to replace the clippers, so I chose $10pa. It probably comes out a bit less than that yet, but I don't know how much I am going to have to pay once clippers become available again.

[SimpleCycle]

I do a combo of DIY and a professional cleanup about twice a year.  My "salon" is the local unisex haircutting place that charges $10 for a woman's cut, so with a generous tip I pay $40/year.

[RetiredAt63]

I have short hair and was getting a $25 haircut about every 8 weeks.  When it was long (halfway to my waist) I did it myself.  I've always done my own bangs because they need trimming every few weeks.

With Covid I am at that shaggy messy stage, my last haircut was March 17.  I hate having hair on my neck in the summer heat and humidity.  How long can clippers cut? I don't want "guy short" hair.

[afox]

Where I live there is no such thing as a $10 haircut. $15 might be as cheap as you can get but ive had some $15 haircuts that were much worse than DIY.

[ixtap]

Where I live there is no such thing as a $10 haircut. $15 might be as cheap as you can get but ive had some $15 haircuts that were much worse than DIY.

That is why I started DIY. If my hair is going to be messed up, at least I shouldn't have to pay for it!

[mm1970]

$25 per haircut.

I get my hair cut about every 4-5 months.  So, $50-75 a year. I basically go and get 4 inches cut off at a time.

Hubby and kids go to the same place that I do.  Hubby gets more haircuts than I do (more often) because: shorter hair. 

Little kid a little less frequently than hubby.

Big kid a little less frequently than little kid.

I get the least # of haircuts.

[Khaetra]

I spend around $70/year.  I only go once a year but my hair grows fast and living in FL and wanting to have decent looking hair I'm willing to spend a bit more.  Plus I donate what I chop off.

[Wolfpack Mustachian]

Wife cuts it. She cuts her own and the kids. I'm happy she does it. It's not even the money - at the time, I was paying $5/hair cut from an older semi-retired barber. It's trying to get another thing scheduled in. It's great!

[Cranky]

$34 every 6 weeks, plus more for color twice/year. I love getting my hair cut and have gone to the same stylist for years and years.

I haven’t been since mid acre rusty and it shows, but it’s not like anyone is seeing it, I guess! I don’t know when I’ll feel okay getting it cut again anyway.

I have cut dh’s hair at home for years. He doesn’t have that much and it’s basically just buzzed all around.

[ketchup]

Wife cuts it. She cuts her own and the kids. I'm happy she does it. It's not even the money - at the time, I was paying $5/hair cut from an older semi-retired barber. It's trying to get another thing scheduled in. It's great!

Ditto to this.  Same deal as oil changes.  Nice to be able to fit it in when I have time and not on someone else's schedule.

[thesis]

About $20 every two months. The actual cut is a little less than that, but I was raised tipping $1-2, and I feel like a cheap-a$$ expecting $1 back, so I just give the guy a $20 and call it good. It's an old school barber shop with a cool environment, none of that 'modern salon' crap :)

I have cut my hair 1.5 times in quarantine. The .5 was a re-trimming of the top. It actually turned out pretty good, though I didn't do it too short, as a safety net. Now that I finally have a hand mirror to see the back of my head, it should go even better next time. However, I will probably never be able to texture my hair the way my barber does, and yet my hair is so not-fancy I can't quite tell the difference.

I still don't trust getting a hair cut at this point in the pandemic, but I feel bad for my barber :( . Likely I will go back there sometime, unless I somehow perfect how I cut my own hair.

[Plina]

Previously, I got haircuts every 6 weeks and haircuts and color every 3 months. The haircuts  cost about 65 dollars and the coloring and haircut about 180 dollars.

This time last year I cut my hair short and in the fall I moved so I lost my hairdresser. I got a really short cut one of the last days in my old city and postponed finding a new one as long as I could. Then I bought a trimmer and scissors to try cutting my own hair. I did it once and everybody was impressed by the results even someone that didn’t know I had cut my own hair. So I have cutting my own hair since january and have done it three times so far. I covered the cost of the trimmer and scissors after the first cut so everything else is money gained. I cut it really short, 20 mm. If I don’t do that I will get problems with my curls and that is to hightech for me to deal with.

[brandon1827]

I've been buzzing my own head with clippers for around 8 years. I'm a morning workout person, so it's easier for me to not have to worry about it. I get out of bed at 4:00, get dressed, and go. Then I get home with just enough time to shower and get dressed before heading out to work. Not having to worry about my hair provides a good deal of stress relief and at least a few extra minutes during that process.

[Zikoris]

I spent $114.73 on hair in 2019. Barber shop every couple of months. I cut my boyfriend's hair, so his spending is zero.

[afox]

I've been buzzing my own head with clippers for around 8 years. I'm a morning workout person, so it's easier for me to not have to worry about it. I get out of bed at 4:00, get dressed, and go. Then I get home with just enough time to shower and get dressed before heading out to work. Not having to worry about my hair provides a good deal of stress relief and at least a few extra minutes during that process.

Supposedly einstein wore the same thing everyday, to preserve time and brainpower for more important endeavours...

[ixtap]

yes its a myth that men spend less on haircuts than men. men with short hair need a haircut around every 5 weeks. the haircuts cost less (and you get less and they're quicker) but the overall spending is the same or more, stylists/salons are well aware of this.

haircuts have been one good thing that's come out of covid, for years ive been trying to get my wife to cut my hair, now i had my reason and it was okay  if she got it wrong since i am working from home. we are 2 haircuts in and she has really realized how easy it is, its so much more convenient to cut hair in the yard instead of making an appt and going to salon, not to mention the savings (10 haircuts year x $30 = $300 year = me retiring much later if i pay for haircuts. Remember its not the cost of the monthly haircut that makes the big difference, its the savings that's needed to pay for haircuts into perpetuity (till death). I need about 25x the amount to pay for haircuts ($300 annually) through retirement which equals an additional savings of $7500!

I don't know what the cost difference is between mens cuts (more often? Cheaper barber? Etc) compared to women's but I think its more expensive over-all for women as they generally have more done. Not only styling with a cut, but often coloring, highlights, flattening, perms, etc. Those things aren't cheap! I once had a friend do a trim and a Brazillian Blowout on my hair (which is very straight already)  for free. While it looked incredible it would normally run around $200 a pop. No way.

ETA and then there are the expensive "products" one must haveto maintain the cut style.

A lot of places have "women's cut" and "men's cut" prices irrespective of what you actually want done :( I refuse to let them style my hair. Just cut it and leave it alone, it HATES the blow dryer.

[vand]

I used to spend about $100/pa but since last year joined the DIY crowd and started buzzing it myself. Got a friend to show me how its done first time (highly recommended). I don't think I can justify going back to paying someone else to do it now.

Haircuts are one of those services which in my experience have risen well above the rate of inflation in recent years. Probably has to do with the extortionate cost of rents, business rates and all the other costs involved in running a store these days.

[Channel-Z]

I don't trust my shaky hands to cut my own hair. I spend roughly $120 per year.

[BicycleB]

Maybe $5 for razors to trim the dome.

I do spend about $50/year on beard dye, though. Not ready to be an actual greybeard yet!

[chaskavitch]

I cut my husband and 4 year old's hair, but I have mine in a pixie cut, and my husband actively refuses to try to cut it, even now when I'm getting a mullet and it's driving me nuts because I'm not willing to go to my recently-opened hairstylist. 

I'm not brave enough to try to cut my own, even though now is the perfect time, since I'm only in the office one day/week.  I should probably just grow it out again, but my hair is super thick and takes FOREVER to dry even in Colorado with no humidity. 

I usually get my short hairstyle cut every 8-9 weeks.  I don't use any product in it, don't dye it, nothing fancy, and it's still $60-$70 per haircut, plus tip.  Makes me cringe every time, but I love having my hair this way - it's so dang easy.

[Blue Skies]

I have short hair and was getting a $25 haircut about every 8 weeks.  When it was long (halfway to my waist) I did it myself.  I've always done my own bangs because they need trimming every few weeks.

With Covid I am at that shaggy messy stage, my last haircut was March 17.  I hate having hair on my neck in the summer heat and humidity.  How long can clippers cut? I don't want "guy short" hair.

One reason I keep my hair long is that it is so easy to just stick in a pony tail, braid or bun when it gets hot out. No having to bother cutting every few weeks to get it off my neck. I always wonder why more people don't just do that? I had short hair a few times and it was a major PITA to deal with.

I agree with not enjoying long hair in the summer.  Yes, a ponytail is super easy and not so hot.  But I get tired of a ponytail every day.  I feel like if I am just going to put my hair up every day I would be better off just cutting it off.  So I do. 

As for the OP question - I have my hair cut once a year, in the spring.  I get it cut short for summer and then let it grow out the rest of the year.  About $40/year.

[RetiredAt63]

I have short hair and was getting a $25 haircut about every 8 weeks.  When it was long (halfway to my waist) I did it myself.  I've always done my own bangs because they need trimming every few weeks.

With Covid I am at that shaggy messy stage, my last haircut was March 17.  I hate having hair on my neck in the summer heat and humidity.  How long can clippers cut? I don't want "guy short" hair.

One reason I keep my hair long is that it is so easy to just stick in a pony tail, braid or bun when it gets hot out. No having to bother cutting every few weeks to get it off my neck. I always wonder why more people don't just do that? I had short hair a few times and it was a major PITA to deal with.

Oh, I know, I had it long for decades.  It was great in the 60s, long and straight was fashionable.  But honestly, except for needing to get it cut more often, for me short is so much easier.  It dries fast, it doesn't get tangled, it doesn't get in my face when I am gardening, it weighs almost nothing.  Ponytails and buns give me a headache.  And I never noticed how heavy it was until it was gone.

[ExitViaTheCashRamp]

Like others have said, I cut my own hair.

Before the haircut places opened, DW cut her hair too. She used a technique similar to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LakVQeznBJk

 Thanks for the link, we just tried this on the wifes hair and it worked great !

[chaskavitch]

I have short hair and was getting a $25 haircut about every 8 weeks.  When it was long (halfway to my waist) I did it myself.  I've always done my own bangs because they need trimming every few weeks.

With Covid I am at that shaggy messy stage, my last haircut was March 17.  I hate having hair on my neck in the summer heat and humidity.  How long can clippers cut? I don't want "guy short" hair.

One reason I keep my hair long is that it is so easy to just stick in a pony tail, braid or bun when it gets hot out. No having to bother cutting every few weeks to get it off my neck. I always wonder why more people don't just do that? I had short hair a few times and it was a major PITA to deal with.

Oh, I know, I had it long for decades.  It was great in the 60s, long and straight was fashionable.  But honestly, except for needing to get it cut more often, for me short is so much easier.  It dries fast, it doesn't get tangled, it doesn't get in my face when I am gardening, it weighs almost nothing.  Ponytails and buns give me a headache.  And I never noticed how heavy it was until it was gone.

Ohh, all of this too.  I forget how heavy hair can get, and headaches from that are so awful.  They just creep up on you :( 

[kanga1622]

I am a really big tipper when I get my haircut. So usually $35. And I get it done 2-3 times a year when it gets annoying.

I buzz DH and my oldest at home. Buzzed the little one at home due to Coronavirus but he decided he likes a longer cut. So when it grows out enough, we will spend $20 on his haircuts. But I can usually do the salon for every other cut - I can scissor cut at home once but it needs professional help a couple times a year.

[kanga1622]

I have short hair and was getting a $25 haircut about every 8 weeks.  When it was long (halfway to my waist) I did it myself.  I've always done my own bangs because they need trimming every few weeks.

With Covid I am at that shaggy messy stage, my last haircut was March 17.  I hate having hair on my neck in the summer heat and humidity.  How long can clippers cut? I don't want "guy short" hair.

One reason I keep my hair long is that it is so easy to just stick in a pony tail, braid or bun when it gets hot out. No having to bother cutting every few weeks to get it off my neck. I always wonder why more people don't just do that? I had short hair a few times and it was a major PITA to deal with.

My hair is super fine - think baby hair. So when it gets long it is very scraggly looking. It just looks healthier when short. And I am not a “messy” hairstyle person. When I pull my hair back it has to be super smooth which makes me nutty.

[evme]

I usually go to GreatClips -- their regular price is $14 I believe but they do a promotion once a year where if you prepay you can purchase in advance for about $10-11. Not a bad price and they do a pretty good job there.

[Steeze]

Last year I spent $25 on hair cuts. A $15 cut with $5 tip before a wedding, and $5 to replace a couple of the guards for my buzzers that broke. Wedding I grew my hair out for a month or so and got a nice fade with a part / comb over. Usually I just do a simple fade #1 on the sides, #1.5 on the top.

[Travis]

I haven't paid for a haircut in 10 years. DW spends around $30 for a once-a-year-or-more trim, and we spend maybe $20 or so a year on my son's haircuts.  He hasn't had his hair cut in over a year and we're about to mow over two years worth of growth from his head next weekend ourselves.

[ETF2]

I watched Pete's video when the pandemic started and decided to give it a try.  It was WAY easier than I ever imagined to just cut my own hair.  I cut my hair faster than just the drive to a salon, and the universal mens grooming device cost less than one trip as well.  So consider me $0 probably for the rest of my life at this point.  It was almost shocking how easy it is to get a decent haircut yourself.  It's intimidating, yes, but once you do it and see it's not hard, it's pretty rewarding.

[MudPuppy]

We're a DIY household, but we both like to get our hair washed so we might go to great clips once a year or so, maybe as a birthday splurge. Under $50 per year, including tip.

[Retire-Canada]

In non-COVID times barbershop every ~3 weeks with DIY home clipper clean up trims between those visits. Cost is ~$25CAD or ~$18USD including tip. So ~$312USD/year on hair cuts.

[Michael in ABQ]

I need a haircut once a month to stay within Army standards. Normally about $10-15 at a Great Clips including tip. My wife started cutting our kids hair recently so I think once I get home we'll have her start doing mine as well. That should save $150+ per year. When I would take our three oldest boys with me to get a haircut it would be over $50 including tips. Albeit, they could go a few months between cuts.

[Kris]

I have short hair and was getting a $25 haircut about every 8 weeks.  When it was long (halfway to my waist) I did it myself.  I've always done my own bangs because they need trimming every few weeks.

With Covid I am at that shaggy messy stage, my last haircut was March 17.  I hate having hair on my neck in the summer heat and humidity.  How long can clippers cut? I don't want "guy short" hair.

One reason I keep my hair long is that it is so easy to just stick in a pony tail, braid or bun when it gets hot out. No having to bother cutting every few weeks to get it off my neck. I always wonder why more people don't just do that? I had short hair a few times and it was a major PITA to deal with.

Agreed. I’ve often heard women who cut their hair short say they did it because it would be so much easier to deal with. I always found the exact opposite — my short hair had to be washed and styled every day.

Now with the pandemic, my friends with shorter hair are super-frustrated about needing a haircut. I’m just letting mine get longer with curiosity at how long it will get before I’m finally able to go back to my stylist.