A SURVEY of hair salons and barbers has revealed large price differences between different outlets.
It will come as no surprise to women that they pay significantly more than men to get their hair cut but the survey also shows that it costs men more to attend a unisex salon rather than a traditional barber.
Charges are also higher in Dublin than the rest of the country, according to the survey published in Consumer Choicemagazine.
The highest price in the survey for highlights and a wash, cut and blow dry was the €190-€210 charged in Toni Guy on Dublin’s Dame Street. The same service costs €80 in Carrigaline Hair Studio in Co Cork.
Prices for a ladies wash, cut and blow dry ranged from €35 at Zenith in Galway and the Lynda Maher Hair Studio in Carlow to €62-€85 in Toni Guy in Dublin.
Prices for a mens cut and blow dry varied from €10 at Lynda Maher’s in Carlow to €46-€63 at Toni Guy in Dublin.
A survey of barbershops showed a variation in prices for a dry cut from just €4.99 at Dillon Hair Studio on Dublin’s Wellington Quay to €20-€26 at Knights in the St Stephen’s Green shopping centre.
The magazine, which is published by the Consumers’ Association of Ireland, is critical of the failure of many hair salons to offer women the option of a dry cut. Most shops said this was available only for a fringe trim.
“They say they can’t cut the hair very well if it is not washed beforehand and that their staff are only trained to cut wet hair,” the magazine states. “We think that this is often just a method of getting customers to pay the full price and that customers should be given a choice.”
Prices vary between different shops in the largest hair salon chain, Peter Mark, because of variations in rent, rates and staffing overheads, according to the company.
The magazine says salons should break down their services by price and let customers choose exactly what they do and do not want. In this way, they could save money by, for example, omitting the blow dry where it isn’t required.
Hairdressers are required by law to display their prices at the entrance.