Assistants in France

I just need to get my fringe cut basically, it's driving me nuts. How much in general does it cost to get a haircut ? I'm in Metz, the north east, if that helps.

I paid 30 € here in Annecy, and I just got a wash, cut & blowdry. I've seen some other places advertising the same for 42 €. I have no idea why it's so expensive. Though I am near Switzerland, so a lot of prices are jacked up. Might be cheaper in the northeast.

Most places offer youth discounts, until you're 25 you pay about 20% less which is nice, ask to see if they have them (usually its adverstised on the window). Also if its just for your fringe you can ask them to just do that, most places will and they will probably charge between 5-10euros (although I doubt they'd give you % off for something so small..)

I used to pay around 30€ to get my haircut, but now I only pay 16€ in a chain salon. They never did what I asked them to, so one day I just thought "Why the hell am I paying twice as much if they're not going to do what I want anyways?" So now I get pretty much the same cut for half the price.

Yea I payed 50 euro for the worst haircut EVER. This was in October and I hated it so much I just let my hair grow til I came home in May.

alpha60 wrote:I just need to get my fringe cut basically, it's driving me nuts. How much in general does it cost to get a haircut ? I'm in Metz, the north east, if that helps.

OMG! I just my hair cut last week and threw a fit.
The window price for cut, dry and style was 36 euros.
So I already knew it was not going to be cheap. Nevertheless I decided to treat myself. First of all you need to know that they decided how much to charge you depending on the LENGTH of your hair. I just got a trim and a shampoo naturally but my ticket at the counter was 50 something euros!!!
I said Pardon, mais COMMENT CA CE FAIT?! and I pointed to the price on her window. Then she said, you have long hair and then I put some product in your hair.
I have shoulder length hair but apparently that is considered LONG here.
I said, OK and paid and left then inspected my receipt.
I threw it away already because I was so disgusted but it was something like 18 for the trim, 9 for shampoo, 9 for styling, 12 supplement for long hair and another 4 euros for some styling/smoothing product she put in my hair.
It might be a pain in the butt BUT you should ask about a student discount and then ask for an estimate before because you can only spend so much. (else you will end up spending you money for food!)
I am in the east as well too but not that far.
I am in Epernay near Reims. I think it cost so much because they washed my hair with champagne...NOT!
I hope you have a better experience than me.

I agree haircuts can be a total ripoff - be sure to get a breakdown of the cost BEFORE you get it cut...I had the same surprise at the cashier's desk for the "long hair" supplement! grrrrr.... I would love to have long hair but mine is just a smidgen below my shoulders (apparently in France anything below the ears is considered long in the hairdressing world)...I was pissed too cuz I had just enough cash for the price marked on the "vitrine" so I had to use my CB and don't get me started with the fact that you have to pay for a blow dry (am I supposed to leave your salon dripping like a drowned rat! how's that for good publicity) and soin (ummmm have you heard of tangles!!!)...needless to say I haven't had a haircut in a year despite the split ends...I have to venture in soon but I'm not looking forward to it any suggestions in PARIS for a cool and not to crazy expensive haircut (although waiting a year I can splurge! )

One time I was in a hairdressing salon, getting my hair washed and the girl asked me did I want a "soin" i.e. some sort of product put in. I said well why not and answered "oui".

IT COST €6 EXTRA!!! I was not impressed.

If you go for a haircut and they ask if you want a "soin" added, be aware that you'll be paying for it. But that's the same in the UK. And the average price that I pay (€30-40) is cheaper than the UK/the same as in the UK. Never heard of or been charged a "long hair supplement" (and I have longish hair)..sounds like some salons just trying it on - I'd refuse to pay it if I wasn't told in advance.
If anyone is looking for a salon, try Biguine...it's a chain salon but all the hair stylists are meant to be trained to the same standards/styles so it should be similar from town to town. Plus they're really good. Also, be aware that Jean Louis David only use clippers/electric razors to cut hair - not scissors!

I go to Saint Algue (chain), and they now give you a ticket with how much your haircut/style is going to cost, like a quote, before they get started. Then if you're OK with it, they do it. If you're not OK with the price, they give you the opportunity to tell them. I'm not sure if they do this in every Saint Algue, but it's worth a shot! They always do exactly what I like too. Last time I got a cut and highlights, and I wasn't happy because you couldn't really see the difference in the highlights, so I called and they had me come back in and they re-did them for FREE!!! I couldn't believe it. That's the only example I've ever had of customer service that I've ever had here in France in 3+ years.

Candi wrote:I go to Saint Algue (chain), and they now give you a ticket with how much your haircut/style is going to cost, like a quote, before they get started. Then if you're OK with it, they do it. If you're not OK with the price, they give you the opportunity to tell them. I'm not sure if they do this in every Saint Algue, but it's worth a shot! They always do exactly what I like too. Last time I got a cut and highlights, and I wasn't happy because you couldn't really see the difference in the highlights, so I called and they had me come back in and they re-did them for FREE!!! I couldn't believe it. That's the only example I've ever had of customer service that I've ever had here in France in 3+ years.

That's really good, and I'm so surprised a salon in France would be like that! I ended up going to a chain, for a shampoo, fringe cut and blow dry it was 17 euros. They gave me some discount card so if I go back there I can get 20 percent off everytime. For just a fringe cut it was okay but I'm not sure if I'd get a full haircut there, they seemed kind of unprofessional (getting shampoo on my face and the person dying someone's hair in the next basin had hair dye all over the place).

If you go for a haircut and they ask if you want a "soin" added, be aware that you'll be paying for it. But that's the same in the UK.

They ask beforehand in the UK though (or at least, my hairdresser does). "Do you want a special treatment today? It'll cost £5 extra".

I ended up cutting my own fringe in France. No offense to French hairdressers, but I don't trust soemone to cut my hair if I don't understand precisely everything she's saying to me.

I went to the hairdressers in France with all my vocabulary clutched in my hot little hand only to find that, in my town of 4000, the hairdresser had just come back from 3 years in London and had a boyf who spoke no French! You never know what you'll come across. I haven't had a hairdresser touch my hair since she left to go back to England though. I do it myself 'cause I don't trust anyone else with my hair.

I HIGHLY recommend Jean-Claude Biguine!!!!!!!!!!

I went to the one in Paris @ M - Voltaire and it was awesome awesome. They were extremely friendly and were very patient w/my language difficulty. They sat me down and let me look through books and told me exactly how much each thing would cost. They also offered me coffee and soda while I waited for my dye to set.

I got a cut/color/styling and it was 84 euros. More than I'd like to spend, but it came out fabulous so I'm not complaining! I do NOT trust my hair to just anyone! I will definitely be coming back here next time I need something done.

Haha the only time I've gotten my hair cut in France I went to a beauty school in Avignon and paid 5 euros. It was a little scary at first because I got a newish student who was kind of shaky, but basically she was too scared to do much so the teacher ended up basically giving me a cut after she was done (because you couldn't even tell the difference when she was done), and I got a great shampoo, cut, dry and style for really cheap! At home I always do the beauty school thing too--it can take a long time, but it's usually really cheap and they HAVE to do what you want--they have to run it by the instructor first and then make sure they did it right afterwards and that you are happy--plus the instructor always fixes things up at the end.