Hair salons are going through a zone of turbulence. A new low-cost model is multiplying and shaking up the entire sector.
The smell of the shampoo, the sound of the hairdryer, the confidences exchanged in front of the mirror… You too, probably associate the hairdressing salon with a little reassuring ritual. We come there for a cut, we leave lighter, sometimes transformed. This almost intimate place, where you trust your hair like a secret, is nevertheless going through a period of turbulence.
The sector is suffering. In two years, the failure rate of hairdressing businesses increased from 2.2% to 3.6%. At the same time, the average price of a women’s haircut reaches 40.4 euros. Inflation of products, increase in energy, rents, salaries… Professionals explain that they can no longer reduce their costs. But for many of you, the beauty budget is no longer stretchable. “We see clients spacing out their appointments, postponing a color,” says a hairdresser in a TF1 Info report. Some storefronts have already gone dark in our city centers.
Meanwhile, barber shops are multiplying at high speed. In Angers, their number jumped 27% in three years. You’ve probably seen them popping up near you, with their vintage armchairs and black windows. Inside, the promise is simple: a cut for 10 or 15 euros, done in ten minutes, often without shampoo. But it must be clarified: these establishments primarily target a male clientele. Clean gradients, ultra-precise contours, defined beards… The success is largely based on young men, seduced by the trends seen on TikTok and by unbeatable prices.
“At that price, how do you expect us to get by?” asks a hairdresser interviewed by Le Dauphiné Libéré, referring to competition that he considers “unfair”. The barber shop model is extremely efficient: micro-enterprises, small areas, rapid turnover of customers, few complex technical services. Some professionals also warn of practices that are sometimes less supervised, particularly in terms of qualifications.
However, women, the historic core of traditional salon customers, are not deserting en masse. A tailor-made color, a subtle balayage, a precise hair diagnosis cannot be improvised. Many salons are reinventing themselves: personalized care, more premium experience, in-depth advice. Where the barber shop focuses on speed and low prices for men, the traditional salon continues to embody expertise and transformation.
Basically, these two models do not meet the same expectations. Express cut on one side, moment for yourself on the other. This new competition is worrying, forcing us to innovate and shaking up habits. But what if it also pushed your hairdresser to surpass themselves to better seduce you? In this battle over prices and scissors, you may now have the last word.
