Esquire USA - 10.2019

the Code: Grooming

54 October 2019_Esquire

When I decided to
grow my hair out, I
had to break up with my
barber and switch to
a stylist. After years of
$40 crops, I didn’t real-
ize it meant my haircut
could climb into the tri-
ple digits. Finding a salon
that charged more than
a car payment wasn’t
difficult; getting over
the sticker shock was.
Men are not taught to
invest in their appear-
ance. When Bill Clinton
got a $200 haircut aboard
Air Force One or French
president François Hol-
lande spent $10,000 a
month on his grooming,
the outcry was intense.
Could these men be that
vain? But the price of a

curly, thinning, or

longer hair, even if

the end result doesn’t

look elaborate. Says

Barrett, “Sometimes

the differences are

subtle, but they’re

important.”

Chris, a publicist in

New York City, switched

to $200 stylist cuts be-

cause to him they’re no-

ticeably better. “Hair is

a big part of how I show

up in the world,” he

says. “I’m happier. It’s

worth it to me.”

So choose your hair

guy based on his work

and the light he puts in

your step. Price is im-

portant, sure, but a little

vanity isn’t a bad thing.

—Garrett Munce

is a cut specific to you.

“Cookie-cutter does

not exist,” says Barrett.

It’s like a bespoke

suit versus the off-the-

rack version.

Short hairstyles need

to be cut about once

a month, and invest-

ing that much time and

money isn’t really a via-

ble option for most. Jay,

a father of two from New

Jersey, pays $20 for his

simple crop cut, because

it works. “I try to spend

less on me and more on

the kids,” he says.

But what if you have

difficult hair? Take it

from me: A stylist or a

hybrid barber could be

life-changing. Scissors

can work magic with

trim actually has little to

do with the haircut itself.

So how much should you

be spending?

It used to be that the

difference between bar-

ber and salon cuts was all

about technique. Bar-

bers use a lot of clippers.

Hairstylists rely on scis-

sors, which are suited

to longer, textured styles.

Now the difference

isn’t so cut-and-dried.

“Hybrid barbering in-

corporates both tech-

niques,” says Andres

Morales, lead barber

at Johnny’s Chop Shop

in Brooklyn (haircuts:

$36). According to Mo-

rales, the combination

of the two tools allows

for more versatility.

The price also de-

pends on the environ-

ment. Salons have more

overhead; they’ll wash

your hair and offer

other services, like color

(which drives up costs

even if you’re not get-

ting it). “If you go to a

diner or a fancy restau-

rant, you’ll be well

fed at both, but the pre-

sentation is very dif-

ferent,” says hairstylist

John Barrett. (A haircut

by him at his New York

City salon costs $600.)

The biggest price in-

dicator is time. Tradi-

tional barbershops are

assembly lines with hair-

cuts every 15 minutes.

Stylist cuts take around

an hour, but the result

THE PRICE OF BEING A GOOD HAIR GUY

A great haircut can be transformative.

Bu t is i t re all y wor th SPENDING HUNDREDS on a trim? It depends.