And then there's always Supercuts
April 30, 2012 6:55 AM   Subscribe

LonghairFilter: Man with shoulder-length hair ISO $0-$20 trim in NYC.

I have shoulder-length hair and would like to keep the length more or less, but, after 1+ years of no touching-up, it's just a big giant mess up there and I'd love to get a nice trim.

Years ago I went the Bumble & Bumble Free Cut route but would rather avoid that this time around (long wait + not-so-great cut). I've been searching Craigslist/beauty for free cuts, SalonApprentice.com (which has a ton of options but none that really fit me), a few other places, but I'm not coming up w/ anything solid. The few hits I've found about cutting men's long hair usually come with the addendum that the model have his hair cut down to a short length.

All I'm really looking for is a place where I can sit down in the chair and say, "Hey, I have this long mess and I'd like to keep the long and get rid of the mess." And I'd rather not pay more than $20 for this. I know that I can probably walk right into Supercuts and get this done, but being NYC, going to Supercuts feels a bit like passing up a slice at Joe's of the Village and heading straight for the nearest Domino's.

Sooner is better than later, and I don't mind making an appointment, provided that I can get the haircut within the next week or two.

Thx in advance!
posted by NolanRyanHatesMatches to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (9 answers total) 3 users marked this as a favorite
 
Try Styling House. 12A Pell Street. (212) 608-2588. Ask for Johnny. He's the owner and very good. Tell him your price range. He's off on Tuesdays. ; )
posted by Yellow at 7:01 AM on April 30, 2012 [1 favorite]


If you're looking for an option closer to the $0 of your range, I've had good luck with this barber college on 39th St. midtown. mute speakers prior to clicking to avoid aural assault. Took forever, due to the preciseness of the student barber, but the supervisors were amiable and the finished product, at $3, was superior to cuts costing ten times this price.
posted by Gordion Knott at 7:10 AM on April 30, 2012 [1 favorite]


I've been going to Astor Place Hairstylists for 20+ years and have never been disappointed. I don't have long hair, though.
posted by dfriedman at 7:29 AM on April 30, 2012


I went to Astor Place for decades too but they really only do buzz cuts and fades well. Village Cuts on 4th Street is a step above, and cuts are $20.
posted by nicwolff at 7:51 AM on April 30, 2012


Pell and Doyers in Chinatown has a zillion barber/hair styling places.
posted by chengjih at 8:00 AM on April 30, 2012 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: Yellow, thanks for the tip-- I might check them out! If you want me to drop your name so he knows where the new business is coming from, feel free to let me know!

Gordion Knott, I'll give them a call. Browsing their website (left the audio on-- it's late enough in the day to listen to a barbershop groove), it looks like the student cuts run around $15, which is still cheap enough for me. I don't mind the cut being a time-suck itself; I'm just looking to set up and get the cut within the next week or two, rather than making the appointment now and getting the cut a month from now.

Yeah dfriedman and nicwolff, that's my main hurdle I've found: for men's cuts, most of the barbershops specialize in shorter cuts rather than keeping hair long.

chengjih, I had no idea there was a little Haircut District in Chinatown. Some initial searching tells me that it probably wouldn't be tough to walk around Pell/Doyers for ten minutes and find something good and cheap.

Regardless, it looks like there's enough to go on here. I'll update after the cut!
posted by NolanRyanHatesMatches at 8:28 AM on April 30, 2012


>it looks like the student cuts run around $15

Hmm, they charged me $3 a few weeks ago--granted, the price was located on a handwritten notice taped to the window. Sounds like it was a temporary special.
posted by Gordion Knott at 10:56 AM on April 30, 2012 [1 favorite]


Best answer: There's also a barber school at 29th and 8th Ave:

http://americanbarberinstitute.com/home/services-price-list

But the Pell/Doyers Chinatown places are basically the same price, and are more experienced (so they may be able to do more complicated things). You only have to content with the possible language barrier.
posted by chengjih at 11:59 AM on April 30, 2012 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: HUGE IMPORTANT FOLLOW-UP UPDATE: Decided to follow chengjih's suggestion and went to the American Barber Institute and walked away very happy.
  • Really cheap ($7)
  • No appointment necessary, and the cut started about five minutes after walking in
  • I asked for a trim + elimination of all the weird nappy hair that grows around my hairline (something a previous barber had told me was a bad idea), and barber was really attentive to making me happy.
  • Lots of fun barbershop chatter (imagine if, rather than two or three barbers gabbing, there were thirty or forty instead).
  • He talked me into layering my hair a bit, which looks great a few days later.
  • Most importantly, I thought the trim was fantastic and I walked out of there very happy.
I actually walked away so happy that I forgot to tip, which I didn't realize until I'd ordered lunch a few blocks away. I called to double-check that students were to expect tips (some barber/salon places do, some don't); they were, so I trucked back up there an hour later and gave him a nice tip. Hopefully he didn't curse my name too much in the interim.

Either way, I'd definitely go back. Sad that I couldn't test out the other suggestions, which look like they'd be fine, too, but the cut at ABI was fantastic. Thanks chengjih/everyone!
posted by NolanRyanHatesMatches at 6:54 AM on May 3, 2012


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