Been going to the same place off Lincoln for about two years and they just went to 65 before tip for a basic taper. Nothing special about it, the guy is on his phone half the time, and I still have to book a week out.
I do not mind paying for a good cut. I mind paying Westside prices for a mediocre one. I have meetings all week and I would rather look sharp than save ten bucks, but 80 out the door is getting silly.
So who is your guy or your girl, which shop, and what do you actually pay? Real names and real numbers please.
Seaside Barbers on Manchester in Playa del Rey. Ask for the straight razor finish on the neck if you like it clean. Forty five, I tip ten, in and out in half an hour, and they take walk ins if you show up early. Let me be honest, most of what you are paying for at the fancy shops is the espresso and the leather chair. The cut is the same cut.
Dapperz on South La Brea in Inglewood. Ask for Fabian. Thirty five and the fade is clean every single time, no attitude, no app, you can just walk in. I have driven past plenty of shops charging double for worse work. Only warning is Saturdays get packed, so go on a weekday morning if you can swing it.
Atwater Barber Shop on Glendale Blvd. Same guy has been cutting my hair for years, forty plus tip, and he actually remembers what I asked for last time. That part is worth more than any hot towel.
Honest take, price is not really the variable, consistency is. Find someone decent, go every four weeks, tip well, and stop shopping around. Everyone I know who complains about their haircut is chasing a new spot every single time.
The Art of Kevin's Barbershop in Culver City. Around forty, first visit came with a wash, and they move fast.
For a while I was doing Floyd's because it was cheap and easy, and the quality depended entirely on whoever was free that day. Once I started booking one person instead of walking in, the price stayed the same and the cut got noticeably better. As far as I can tell that is the entire trick.
Adding the women's side since this thread went all barbershop. Juno Hair on Olympic in Koreatown, a cut runs about forty to sixty depending on who you get, and that includes the wash and a proper blowout at the end. Walk ins are fine on a weekday, weekends you want an appointment.
I paid over a hundred fifty at a Beverly Hills salon once for a cut I liked less. The K-town salons are genuinely one of the better deals in this city, and the parking is right there instead of a fifteen dollar valet.
Two options from my side of town, depending on the budget. Elite Hair on Santa Monica Blvd here in WeHo is the sensible one. Reasonable prices, they run on schedule, and I have never waited more than five minutes past my appointment time.
If it is a big occasion I go to FUMA on Melrose instead, but that is a different price bracket and I only do it two or three times a year.
One tip for whoever reads this later. Book the individual stylist by name, not just the salon. At most places the difference between a great cut and a forgettable one is which chair you land in, not the sign on the door.
Check out Mr Brothers Cut Club in downtown. They are the most talented guys in L.A.. They have five shops in Japan as well. I paid $60 last time, not cheap, but true artists. At least worth your money.
I went from going once a month to every three months. People are getting used to it.
