The Debate

It’s a topic that drums up a lot of debate. We posed the question to two salon owners who weighed in with their thoughts…

“We have a menu for short hair, medium haircuts and long, thick haircuts.”

Noel Halligan and Corey Taylor, NOCO Hair, Bristol.

“When we opened our salon 18 months ago, we knew we needed to adapt to the times. We had seen a different type of pricing structure in our previous salon, so we knew an alternative could work. As an industry we have always had different prices for men and for women, but if the client is sat in the chair for the same amount of time, why charge one person more than another?

When we first opened, men got their hair cut more regularly but men’s prices were lower, while many female clients came into the salon for the same amount of time but were paying more. So, we changed our price structure based on time rather than gender – now we have a menu for short hair, medium haircuts and long, thick haircuts. They are spending the same amount of time in the chair so the price is the same.

Our main clientele is female and this option has strengthened our business because our guests with shorter hair come back more frequently. Our male clientele is small, however they stay loyal because of the experience we offer. They understand they pay more because of the calibre of the services we provide. If they wanted a quick short, back and sides they realise they could go elsewhere.

The advantages of being a gender-neutral salon is equality for all of our clients and pricing on time rather than gender ensures our services remain profitable. For a cut and style on short hair, this is a 30-minute appointment and costs from £45 (depending on the stylist’s experience); a regular cut and blow-dry takes 45 minutes and costs from £60, while longer, thicker hair which takes 60 minutes plus, costs from £80. If we’re cutting men’s short hair, or women’s short hair, the time we spend is approximately the same. The most important thing we do is work to the clock – not to the task.”

“Male clients take less time than female clients so men pay less.”

David Corbett, David Corbett Hairdressing, Bothwell, Glasgow.

“Our clientele is 33% men and 67% women. However, with our top stylists it tends to be an equal split. For a men’s cut I charge £32, while for a women’s cut I charge £50. It makes sense to have different prices for men and women based on the amount of time in my chair.

It’s impossible to have a one-price-fits-all structure as there are many variations in terms of experience, resulting in time spent in the salon being very different. A male client spends less time than a female client, so men pay less.

I believe in keeping our pricing simple while accommodating varying expertise levels. Stylists have the opportunity to charge for a standard cut and finish or a re-style and finish. This allows flexibility to charge on time spent in the chair, while the client knows what they will be charged, which in turn boosts their loyalty.

 Inevitably, a men’s haircut will take less time, so we charge accordingly. You can word your price list to include ‘from’ to accommodate any extra time spent.

 One price doesn’t work for us or the services we offer because simply, the time taken to complete the tasks are often different.

It is widely recognised that men’s cuts take less time as there is less blow-drying required. Offering this price structure not only allows you to manage the operating costs of your business more effectively, but offer guests fairness in price.

The best advice I could offer is to understand how long it will take the stylist to do the job. The labour cost of a haircut is the largest part of it followed by the salon running costs. You need to build these costs in, which will allow you to consider the profit margin you want to achieve, and as men spend less time in the salon, it makes sense to charge them less.”