I'm not paying $600 for a haircut penguinfan when I can get one for $75.......so you can't say I'm bragging in this thread. See I'm a regular guy.
"Can you make it a bit choppy? Oh, and do you think I?ll look good with fringe--the wispy, side-swept kind?"
Vague as it is, that?s all I have to ask Frederique. I swear she even winks as she says in her French-accented English, "Yes, I know exactly what you want." As she starts to snip away at my long, brown locks, I know my hair is in good hands.
It?s a trait nearly everyone looks for in a hairstylist: the ability to envision the look his or her client hopes for, and to make it materialize out of thin (or thick) hair. And in some circles, people are willing to pay huge sums to have the top talent handle their tresses.
Video: The $600 Haircut
The average price for a haircut in the U.S. is about $45, according to the Professional Beauty Association, a trade organization based in Scottsdale, Ariz. Frederique?s haircuts at Prive in New York City?s Soho Grand Hotel are moderately priced--at least by upscale Manhattan standards--at $125.
But if you're paparazzi fodder, needing to look as impeccable as possible from every angle, you might have your hair done by Frederique?s boss, Laurent Dufourg. He charges clients, who include Cameron Diaz and Salma Hayek, $350 and up.
And, he?s not the priciest around. If you can even get an appointment with Orlando Pita, owner of Orlo, in New York City, you will be expected to cough up $800. His clients include Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow.
"I think it?s worth it," says Trina Albus, owner of Ripe, an event planning and concierge service in Manhattan. She?s a regular at the Sally Hershberger salon in New York, where clients get their hair cut by Hershberger herself for $600. "For a celebrity hairstyle, it?s definitely worth the money."
Those celebrities include Hershberger clients Sandra Bullock and Meg Ryan, upon whom she bestowed a signature shag . But, movie stars aren?t the only ones looking to spruce up their style; more than half of her client?le fly in from other parts of the world--and many of them are men. They include chief executives of large companies, lawyers and other businessmen who "don?t even flinch" when it comes to dishing out the dough for their hair. "It?s funny because they get into a tizzy when I?m finished with them," says Hershberger, who sports her own signature rock-star style--messy, edgy and short.
The stylist, who got her start with Olivia Newton-John during her "Let?s Get Physical" tour in the 1980s, compares a perfect haircut to getting a cosmetic service such as botox, which can cost $600 a pop. And, like other enhancements, a good haircut can make a person look younger and thinner, and even highlight--or distract from--certain facial features.
"The line that I get over and over again from my clients is, 'oh my God. I look 10 years younger,'" Hershberger says.
Besides, is forking over the equivalent of the monthly payment on a very expensive car for a haircut hair so different from spending $1,000 on a hotel room, or $15,000 on a custom suit? After all, high-priced stylists argue, they wouldn't charge such vast sums if clients weren?t willing to pay.
"It?s only crazy if you are not getting your money?s worth," says renowned stylist Frederic Fekkai of his $600 haircuts. "You could argue that a first class airline or a four-star hotel is too expensive as well, if the service isn?t there."
Of course, it?s easier for celebrities to justify super-expensive haircuts--their jobs are highly dependent on being camera-ready and looking their best. But it is also that celebrity cachet that creates so much demand that stylists can charge hundreds of dollars for a trim.
So who are the highest-priced hair experts in America? We scoured the country to rank them, and found they were concentrated in New York City and Los Angeles--when they aren?t styling fashion shoots, runway shows or socialite weddings, that is. Some of their names have become synonymous with beauty, and remain well-known for years. Hopefully, that won?t be the amount of time it takes aspiring clients to get in their appointment books.
"It?s all a matter of priorities," says Cristophe, the owner/master stylist of Cristophe Salon in Beverly Hills, Calif., where his clients pay $450 per haircut and will pay $500 starting in September. "A haircut can tremendously affect your lifestyle, because the physical appearance is what you are selling to the world."
"Can you make it a bit choppy? Oh, and do you think I?ll look good with fringe--the wispy, side-swept kind?"
Vague as it is, that?s all I have to ask Frederique. I swear she even winks as she says in her French-accented English, "Yes, I know exactly what you want." As she starts to snip away at my long, brown locks, I know my hair is in good hands.
It?s a trait nearly everyone looks for in a hairstylist: the ability to envision the look his or her client hopes for, and to make it materialize out of thin (or thick) hair. And in some circles, people are willing to pay huge sums to have the top talent handle their tresses.
Video: The $600 Haircut
The average price for a haircut in the U.S. is about $45, according to the Professional Beauty Association, a trade organization based in Scottsdale, Ariz. Frederique?s haircuts at Prive in New York City?s Soho Grand Hotel are moderately priced--at least by upscale Manhattan standards--at $125.
But if you're paparazzi fodder, needing to look as impeccable as possible from every angle, you might have your hair done by Frederique?s boss, Laurent Dufourg. He charges clients, who include Cameron Diaz and Salma Hayek, $350 and up.
And, he?s not the priciest around. If you can even get an appointment with Orlando Pita, owner of Orlo, in New York City, you will be expected to cough up $800. His clients include Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow.
"I think it?s worth it," says Trina Albus, owner of Ripe, an event planning and concierge service in Manhattan. She?s a regular at the Sally Hershberger salon in New York, where clients get their hair cut by Hershberger herself for $600. "For a celebrity hairstyle, it?s definitely worth the money."
Those celebrities include Hershberger clients Sandra Bullock and Meg Ryan, upon whom she bestowed a signature shag . But, movie stars aren?t the only ones looking to spruce up their style; more than half of her client?le fly in from other parts of the world--and many of them are men. They include chief executives of large companies, lawyers and other businessmen who "don?t even flinch" when it comes to dishing out the dough for their hair. "It?s funny because they get into a tizzy when I?m finished with them," says Hershberger, who sports her own signature rock-star style--messy, edgy and short.
The stylist, who got her start with Olivia Newton-John during her "Let?s Get Physical" tour in the 1980s, compares a perfect haircut to getting a cosmetic service such as botox, which can cost $600 a pop. And, like other enhancements, a good haircut can make a person look younger and thinner, and even highlight--or distract from--certain facial features.
"The line that I get over and over again from my clients is, 'oh my God. I look 10 years younger,'" Hershberger says.
Besides, is forking over the equivalent of the monthly payment on a very expensive car for a haircut hair so different from spending $1,000 on a hotel room, or $15,000 on a custom suit? After all, high-priced stylists argue, they wouldn't charge such vast sums if clients weren?t willing to pay.
"It?s only crazy if you are not getting your money?s worth," says renowned stylist Frederic Fekkai of his $600 haircuts. "You could argue that a first class airline or a four-star hotel is too expensive as well, if the service isn?t there."
Of course, it?s easier for celebrities to justify super-expensive haircuts--their jobs are highly dependent on being camera-ready and looking their best. But it is also that celebrity cachet that creates so much demand that stylists can charge hundreds of dollars for a trim.
So who are the highest-priced hair experts in America? We scoured the country to rank them, and found they were concentrated in New York City and Los Angeles--when they aren?t styling fashion shoots, runway shows or socialite weddings, that is. Some of their names have become synonymous with beauty, and remain well-known for years. Hopefully, that won?t be the amount of time it takes aspiring clients to get in their appointment books.
"It?s all a matter of priorities," says Cristophe, the owner/master stylist of Cristophe Salon in Beverly Hills, Calif., where his clients pay $450 per haircut and will pay $500 starting in September. "A haircut can tremendously affect your lifestyle, because the physical appearance is what you are selling to the world."
