You might be surprised (or irked) that many hair salons today still charge different prices for men and women’s haircuts. But one salon isn’t just going along with tradition. Here’s the scoop on Studio-Coiffure PA, a Canadian salon with gender-neutral haircut pricing – and it’s about time.
Why the different prices for haircuts?
Here’s where the whole different cuts for men vs women comes from. Women are presumed to have longer hair. And long hair means a costlier cut.
But while women often do have longer hair than men, it’s not always the case. And paying a premium even if you sport a pixie or short crop style that is the same length as most men isn’t fair.
Furthermore, women’s hair products are also consistently more expensive than men’s. It’s often referred to as the pink tax, a discriminatory amount women have to pay on specific products or services.
In spite of some haircare products having the same ingredients and similar formulation!
A recent study by NYC’s Department of Consumer Affairs on gender-based products had an alarming finding. It’s this: Shampoos and conditioners aimed at women cost nearly 50% more than the same products marketed towards men.
That’s quite the price to be a female consumer. Literally.
An unfair, outdated concept
Together with the gender pay gap, women are forced to endure a financial double whammy – Earning less but paying more for many goods and services. On average, women pay a 13% premium over men on beauty and personal care products.
The beauty industry has long justified charging women more by claiming that female styles require more time, skill, and products for creation. While that might have been true in the past, it’s not always the case anymore.
Even young girls are often charged more than boys!
Many men today are now opting for longer or more complex styles than in the past, including undercuts, fades, and buzz designs. These styles are more intricate and time-consuming than a standard crew cut.
A Montreal salon embraces gender-neutral haircut pricing
Thankfully, Studio-Coiffure PA, located in Montreal’s Gay Village, has taken a stand on the bias. They’ve done away with gender-based pricing altogether.
Instead, your hair length determines the cost, with 6 prices from super short (XXS) to very long (XL):
As one of the few salons in the city to offer gender-neutral prices, owner Joshua Belair feels it’s only fair to their clients. It makes no sense, not to mention awkward, to tell a woman with short hair that she’s getting a “man’s” cut or a man with long hair that he’ll have a “woman’s” cut.
Or, worse, continue to make women pay more regardless of their length or style.
Instead, it makes more sense for the haircut fee to be relative to the amount of time and effort put into styling each individual’s hair.
On gender identity
With a diverse clientele at Studio-Coiffure PA, including many of Montreal’s top drag queens, Belair explains that removing gender from the price list isn’t just about equality, either. It’s also about respect for each person who walks into the salon.
Those who consider themselves gender fluid or non-binary are not pigeonholed into a male or female service anymore. Getting rid of the binary price model respects each individual’s gender-identity and allows everyone to be their authentic self without question.
Final words on gender-neutral haircut pricing
It’s a no-brainer, really. When you take gender out of the price, it’s not only good for customers, it’s also good for business.
Women who can only afford to visit a salon once or twice a year might come in more regularly than that as part of their overall hair care routine if it’s affordable. Plus, men and multi-gender individuals who avoided a particular salon in the past may feel more comfortable stopping in for a cut or treatment now.
For Montreal, Studio-Coiffure PA is leading the way towards equality and respect for all genders. None of which should ever go out of style.
I love this post. It is a subtle way to point out to differences instead of embracing generalities. Length is a good criteria in my opinion. The Montreal case is eloquent in this sense. I saw some similarities when it comes to haircuts and dyes when I was in Barcelona…. but curiously enough it was a “Female” hairdresser’s saloon… (quite there, but not yet, it seems… ). Thanks for sharing this post: very intelligent, Christy. Hugs 🤗 ♥️
Thanks for appreciating the message behind this one, Aqui. I hope you had a wonderful weekend!
I fully support equal rights, and I think women should be paid the same as men in all professions. That being said, it doesn’t seem right that my five minute haircut (that’s being overly generous as it normally takes much less) should cost $25. (not including the tip)
The idea here is that simpler haircuts be the same monetary rate for men and women. So, a short haircut on a woman is the same as short hair on a man, with extra pricing for more complex styles ;)