No you haven't imagined it, the price of a haircut in Dublin has increased by up to 20 per cent in the past year. That's according to a small survey carried out by Consumer Choice, the magazine of the Consumers' Association of Ireland.

Prices for a woman's cut and blow dry in city centre salons ranged from £15 (€19.05) to £37, while men's haircuts came in at anywhere from £6 to £21.50.Those that had increased their prices blamed the rising costs of hair products, the minimum wage and a shortage of good hairstylists, which has forced wages up by 30 to 40 per cent over the past three years.

The straw poll found that smaller shops seemed better able to get by with lower haircut prices and, lower increases.