Bald is beautiful
Yesterday I bought a hair clipper so I can cut my own hair at home. For the past nine years, I’d visit the hair dresser once every five weeks and get the “Caesar” cut. Now every couple weeks I’ll do it myself and get the “really short?” cut which seems to be very trendy at the moment.
So bye bye to having to make inconvenient appointments days in advance. It’s amazing, Finland has more hair saloons that people, yet I can never get an appointment right away. And a special bye bye to those expensive prices - Even with the recent tax breaks on haircuts, my local mall charges me 25 euros ($34 US) for 15-20 minutes work - my local mall back in the states charges me $11 US (8 euros). Normally I’d never be such a cheap bastard to cut my hair at home, but I’m just tired of these high costs.
With this recent trend in home haircutting for men - what’s better for the barbers/hairdressers, charging less or losing me as a customer? I doubt very much that Finnish hair professionals are getting rich off their careers, so what makes a $34 haircut in Finland cost only $11 in the states?
Stop bitching you bitch.
Grow some hair (if you can) and visit:
The Barber Shop
Fredrikinkatu 19
00120 Helsinki
phone: 09 671 197
He is from England and speaky da Englés. Only.
The haircut? He’ll take a good half hour, doing exactly what you want, and won’t stop until you’re happy with it.
20 euros.
No bitching.
Comment by RAVE THE SLAVE — Sun, Apr 22nd, 2007 @ 10:05 pm
oh, his name is Rody Maher.
Comment by RAVE THE SLAVE — Sun, Apr 22nd, 2007 @ 10:06 pm
Taxes, social security, the fact that barbers in finland need to make enough money to eat meat every day for starters…
Comment by Somedude — Sun, Apr 22nd, 2007 @ 10:29 pm
Call me Baldwin. Some years ago — never mind how long precisely — having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would move to Finland…
Comment by Hank W. — Sun, Apr 22nd, 2007 @ 10:37 pm
No bitching.
I’m not driving all the way downtown to save 5 euros on a haircut. Plus, if I want a haircut, I want it from a beautiful young girl.
Comment by Phil — Sun, Apr 22nd, 2007 @ 10:47 pm
Welcome to the club, Phil. My grocery store is one block away and on this one street there are five barbershops, all fairly expensive. Go around the blocks and the number of shops triples. I take it as proof that capitalism doesn’t work.
Comment by a — Sun, Apr 22nd, 2007 @ 10:51 pm
I doubt very much that Finnish hair professionals are getting rich off their careers, so what makes a $34 haircut in Finland cost only $11 in the states?
It’s a mysterious force that keeps the cost of a haircut high which is the same mysterious force which makes everything else here expensive. Coincidentally, it’s the same mysterious force that protects members of the Bush Administration from prosecution and keeps me from winning the lottery.
Comment by gopha — Sun, Apr 22nd, 2007 @ 11:07 pm
Euro sux. I used to get my haircut for less than 100 markkas, markkas of The Republic of Finland and not some damned ‘mummo’. How conveniently it was rounded off to 20 euros overnight. Bloody 20% increase…
Comment by Antti rn — Sun, Apr 22nd, 2007 @ 11:26 pm
When I visit Helsinki, I always wondered about why there are so many barbers/beauty parlours in Helsinki.
When I lived in London or Manhattan, you had to walk for several blocks before you saw one. In Helsinki, two or three could be right next to one another - and the population density is much less.
Comment by Peter — Sun, Apr 22nd, 2007 @ 11:35 pm
For some psychological reason there must be a strong entrepreneurial spirit in hairdressers. There really isn’t any chain of salons/barbers in Finland. Errr…I guess HairStore, but that isn’t that big. Similar situation in US, there’s Hair Cuttery, but still alot more independent stores.
Comment by Phil — Mon, Apr 23rd, 2007 @ 12:48 am
“what makes a $34 haircut in Finland cost only $11 in the states?”
Well it’s not the taxes, because the recent tax cut changed nothing.
Comment by Anonymous — Mon, Apr 23rd, 2007 @ 1:00 am
Yeah, lots of overpriced salons. Most of them empty except on Friday nights. Same deal with restaurants—overpriced and empty.
But Phil, you should have bought one of these….
http://www.flowbee.com/
110€ including shipping. Pays for itself in about 6-Finnish haircuts. Mine’s paid for itself many times over—even considering 9€ haircuts in Germany.
I’d look like a dick if I were bald. Just don’t have the facial features for it. The Flowbee lets me set the length up to six inches.
Best haircuts I’ve ever had. And perfect every time. No joke.
Comment by Kristian — Mon, Apr 23rd, 2007 @ 1:47 am
“what makes a $34 haircut in Finland cost only $11 in the states?â€Â
Lower taxes and much higher discretionary income (as winter often reminds us) means that people in the US can afford to get their hair cut more often and that salons are willing to operate at higher volume. It can be demonstrated using the Tax Wedge graph:
“After a tax is introduced, a new equilibrium is reached where consumers pay more , suppliers receive less , and the quantity exchanged (i.e. haircuts) falls.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_wedge
In Helsinki, salons do most of their business on Friday evening; due to the high tax wedge, they are happiest with small volume at a high price. That’s according to the graph above.
Conversely, in the US the chairs are always full throughout the week.
Also, lower taxes means that the salon owners don’t have to go so deeply into debt when starting their shops. That means the entry barrier for starting a business is lower. It creates more true competition…..unlike the faux-competition between the many (empty) salons in Helsinki.
Comment by Kristian — Mon, Apr 23rd, 2007 @ 1:58 am
The price of haircuts is damn high in Finland and it is amazing that it is as high in a nice place as one on a back street. So I just go to get my hair cut at the World Trade Center. At least the price fits with the location. Plus, they take their time and do a good job, often with no/little waiting.
Comment by Fred Fry — Mon, Apr 23rd, 2007 @ 3:34 am
It’s my wife who cuts my hair. She charges me 50 euro (shampooing included) .
My wife is totally unskilled, just she wants the money.
Comment by strudel — Mon, Apr 23rd, 2007 @ 7:21 am
Why have pity with the hairdressers. They just recently got a 14% “salary increase” from the Finnish governement. For a haircut of 25 €, they get 3.5 € more in their pockets than last year because they only have to tranfser 8% VAT compared to the previous 22% to the tax office:
“The value added tax has been changed temporarily at the beginning of 2007 so that the value added tax for barber and hairdressing services, as well as small repair services, is cut from 22 per cent to 8 per cent. Small repair services include bicycle, shoe, leather product, clothes and linen repairs. The amendment will remain in effect until the end of 2010. (from Enterprise Finland. I would quote it properly if I only kenw how to format comments here)”
Naturally, Finns don’t complain about that. They are so used to bending over in silence that they no longer care. It’s time that all these foreigners found that out as well!
Comment by AbnerMarsh — Mon, Apr 23rd, 2007 @ 11:05 am
Most of the hairdressers didn’t lower prices, because this VAT reduction is what they’ve been waiting for over ten years. VAT was imposed on hairdressers in 1994, and at that time they didn’t raise the prices, so this is the long awaited return to better times. According to Suomen Hiusyrittäjät, when VAT first came in 1994, the number of jobs for hairdressers was cut in half. That is the reason why the “entrepreneurial spirit” is so strong: all employees got kicked out and everyone became entrepreneurs. Anyway, if you want to know more just google “kampaaja arvonlisävero” or anything like that (couldn’t find much in english though, but you get the gist of it).
Comment by hobbes — Mon, Apr 23rd, 2007 @ 11:41 am
” So I just go to get my hair cut at the World Trade Center. At least the price fits with the location. Plus, they take their time and do a good job, often with no/little waiting.” - Fred Fry
I have heard from a former employee of the WTC place (if you mean the one closest to the restaurant) that the barbers there are told to work as fast as they can and when the hairstylist said “I can’t do a good job in ten minutes,” the owner said “Finns never complain, don’t worry about it.”
I still recommend going to the Barber Shop on Freda (address above in comment number 1).
Comment by RAVE THE SLAVE — Mon, Apr 23rd, 2007 @ 12:40 pm
Geez….just be glad you aren’t a woman. I had my hair cut twice in all the years I lived in Helsinki….both times I asked for a simple trim of my long hair and both times the price came very, very close to 100 euro. I just got most of my hair whacked and it cost me $35 with dry and style.
My husband used to go to the WTC barber because they used straight razors for the beard trim….they usually did a nice job as I recall.
Comment by hfb — Mon, Apr 23rd, 2007 @ 2:52 pm
Financially, there’s no reason to be an employee in a hair salon. Taxes for keeping an employee are ridiculously high. Only when you’re an enterpreneur, then it starts to pay - but not much even then.
Comment by sepisp — Mon, Apr 23rd, 2007 @ 2:55 pm
Geez….just be glad you aren’t a woman. I had my hair cut twice in all the years I lived in Helsinki….both times I asked for a simple trim of my long hair and both times the price came very, very close to 100 euro. I just got most of my hair whacked and it cost me $35 with dry and style.
What the hell?!?! I just got my hair washed, trimmed, dried, and styled at Stockmann of all places and it cost me 35 €. What kind of freak-ass salon did you go to? Did the stylist have solid gold scissors or something? Seriously, close to 100 €? Surely you kid, or maybe you jsut got played.
I do agree, though, that 34 € is still way too much for a wash, trim, dry, and style. I fondly reminisce about the days in Turku where that cost me about 20 € and the quality was good. (I happen to belong to the rare breed of Finns who do complain.)
Comment by Anzi — Mon, Apr 23rd, 2007 @ 4:54 pm
“I have heard from a former employee of the WTC place (if you mean the one closest to the restaurant) that the barbers there are told to work as fast as they can and when the hairstylist said “I can’t do a good job in ten minutes,†the owner said “Finns never complain, don’t worry about it.—
- Maybe that is not the right place for a Finn to go to, but I reccomend it for foreigners.
Comment by Fred Fry — Mon, Apr 23rd, 2007 @ 5:02 pm
DIY is the only way to go. Welcome to the club Phil, us poor bankers can’t afford to use barbers either.
Comment by Jukka — Mon, Apr 23rd, 2007 @ 5:40 pm
Shaving your head is just the first step in admitting you’re going bald. Or the last.
Comment by RAVE THE SLAVE — Mon, Apr 23rd, 2007 @ 7:51 pm
PS I was a member of the clipper club for about 10 years. I still have a little bald spot, but more than enough hair… And no, it’s not a comb over.
Comment by RAVE THE SLAVE — Mon, Apr 23rd, 2007 @ 7:52 pm
I must be lucky then. My barber:
- is cheaper then average (about 17 euro IIRC)
- is a nice vietnamese young lady
- no need to make reservation
- 5 min walk from home
Comment by Urmas — Mon, Apr 23rd, 2007 @ 8:54 pm
hfb:
The “WTC barber” lives in an extremely expensive appartment close to where I live. So, I suppose he doesn’t offer MARKET PRICES, even though his prices are relatively cheap. But then, these “economic libertarians” on this site complain about taxes, day in day out, but have no complaints whatsoever on hairdressers making big money.
Comment by Thomas — Mon, Apr 23rd, 2007 @ 10:26 pm
Any real barbers in the Turku area? Since I moved back to finland I’ve resorted to cutting my own hair simply because I don’t like the hair salon atmosphere, I need a real barber shop with the manly conversation and pictured of Pacino, Pesci, Liotta and De Niro all over the walls
Comment by Haider — Mon, Apr 23rd, 2007 @ 11:14 pm
Thomas - Hey, if they do a good job for cheap why should anyone have problems with them making a good living as they’re likely working twice as hard to get there.
The place I got my hair cut was just off Esplanadi…it wasn’t horrible, but for 100 euro I should have botten a pound of weed to go with it or something.
Comment by hfb — Tue, Apr 24th, 2007 @ 12:02 am
hfb: Hey, if they do a good job for cheap why should anyone have problems with them making a good living as they’re likely working twice as hard to get there.”
Careful hfb. According to Thomas’ elementary cognizance, the barber shouldn’t earn more than he. Even if the haircut costs Thomas 50€.
Comment by Kristian — Tue, Apr 24th, 2007 @ 1:24 am
“According to Thomas’ elementary cognizance,”
- You give him too much credit.
Comment by Fred Fry — Tue, Apr 24th, 2007 @ 2:56 am
“You buy furniture. You tell yourself, this is the last sofa I will ever need in my life. Buy the sofa, then for a couple years you’re satisfied that no matter what goes wrong, at least you’ve got your sofa issue handled. Then the right set of dishes. Then the perfect bed. The drapes. The rug. Then you’re trapped in your lovely nest, and the things you used to own, now they own you. ~Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club, Chapter 5″
Welcome to the club.
Comment by tim73 — Tue, Apr 24th, 2007 @ 11:50 pm
Kristian:
“Careful hfb. According to Thomas’ elementary cognizance, the barber shouldn’t earn more than he. Even if the haircut costs Thomas 50€.”
I’m not sure what you are trying to promote here? Are you saying that hair-cutters earning more than SW engineers is something worth striving for. So be it. I’m not saying this isn’t optimal, I’m only IMPRESSED by your choices. This is surely the NEW economy the NEW government will impose. Right.
Comment by Thomas — Wed, Apr 25th, 2007 @ 12:13 am
If you want a good quality haircut on the cheap, go to parturi-kampaamo Irmele in Sörnäinen. The last time I was there (a few years ago, admittedly), my hair-cut cost 11 euros and took 15 minutes. Excellent quality. The shop is about 100 meters from the Metro station, in Vilhovuorenkatu (if I remember correctly). There are no appointments and works on first come -first served basis. That’s why I usually went there at 7.30-8 o’clock in the morning. The shop used to open at 7 o’clock, but that may have changed.
Comment by Fat Bastard — Wed, Apr 25th, 2007 @ 9:08 am
both times I asked for a simple trim of my long hair and both times the price came very, very close to 100 euro.
The master of anecdotal evidence is back! As a matter of fact it’s probably impossible to find a hairdresser with such insane prices - unless the customer is conned. But hey, I don’t say that it can’t happen to stupid people! The normal price is something like 20-40 euros.
And please don’t forget that she is a racist hate mongerer. hfb (about the Finns and Americans): “I’ve not seen a single violent, pooping, pissing or passing out in the street drunk since I left the so-called happiest nation in the EU, another baseless claim that mere observation doesn’t support, […] Maybe it’s genetic, too.â€Â
Comment by Anonymous — Wed, Apr 25th, 2007 @ 10:11 am
No, 35., she just doesn’t like to step in your poop.
Comment by RAVE THE SLAVE — Wed, Apr 25th, 2007 @ 10:56 am
Boston is a nice middle-class bubble, I’ve been told. Everybody knows that most big American cities are very dangerous places, but not Boston!
A bit googling reveals that you shouldn’t be deceived by the decent appearance of the city. At least if you’re used to the Finnish ways: going about anywhere without fear, not expecting a drug-crazed maniac jumping on you and what have you. In fact, Boston is a very dangerous place.
Unfortunately scatological statistics are hard to find. Nevertheless I’m pretty sure that public pooping never occurs in Boston, though. Apparently a Bostonian sicko has the good sense of relieving himself in private before cutting your throat.
Comment by Anonymous — Wed, Apr 25th, 2007 @ 11:13 am
No, 35., she just doesn’t like to step in your poop.
Why on earth do you think I’d let her into my toilet, sicko?
Comment by Anonymous — Wed, Apr 25th, 2007 @ 11:20 am
38:
Because, among other things, you poop in the street. You think it’s a toilet. That’s the problem.
Comment by RAVE THE SLAVE — Wed, Apr 25th, 2007 @ 3:05 pm
“At least if you’re used to the Finnish ways: going about anywhere without fear, not expecting a drug-crazed maniac jumping on you and what have you.”
Incorrect.
The only place I have been attacked by a drug-crazed maniac was in Pasila. I think that’s in Helsinki, right? I used to live in Boston, never been attacked there. Nor stepped in human poop.
But I have seen human poop on Helsinki streets. Go figure. In Helsinki I’ve seen men unzipping and letting the urine splash by bus stops, in public parks and at busy pedestrian intersections.
I have seen women squatting in bushes here too, presumably peeing. But perhaps this is some mating ritual?
I am no prude, nor am I anti-Finn…I am actually half Finnish by birth. But there is a bit of poopoo peepee going on in this “metropolis.” http://tinyurl.com/3ds72n
Comment by RAVE THE SLAVE — Wed, Apr 25th, 2007 @ 3:12 pm
Because, among other things, you poop in the street. You think it’s a toilet.
A genuine weirdo! Please keep your perverted fantasies to yourself.
And sure, Boston is much less violent than Helsinki
Comment by Anonymous — Wed, Apr 25th, 2007 @ 3:43 pm
Isn’t Paris supposed to be the fine-ass capital of the world, where nobody, except their dog poops on the streets. Well, somebody had definetely pooped by the Blaise Pascal tomb and I kid you not.
Despite the place, I think it has not been some finnish tourist…
There was this letter to the editor in some Kajaani local paper few years ago:
“The dog owners tell us that the dog poop decomposes biologically and shouldn’t trouble anyone. Well, I have been monitoring one poop for six weeks now and it hasn’t gone anywhere”
Comment by Antti rn — Wed, Apr 25th, 2007 @ 4:11 pm
LOL
Comment by Anonymous — Wed, Apr 25th, 2007 @ 4:13 pm
I wonder how racist a statement one is allowed to make without some racist weirdo willing to defend it. “Finns are drunks who can’t control their bowels.” … “Yes, yes, say no more.”
Comment by Anonymous — Wed, Apr 25th, 2007 @ 4:25 pm
44.:
Well, I don’t hear an overwhelming rejection of the issue. Leave it at that, scat-man.
Comment by RAVE THE SLAVE — Wed, Apr 25th, 2007 @ 9:09 pm
By the way, your ad server shows the ad “You Can Fight Hair Loss and Win.”
Comment by sepisp — Wed, Apr 25th, 2007 @ 11:51 pm
Got my hair cut at The Barber Shop for the first time today. What a great place. Rody the owner is one of the nicest and relaxed people you’re ever gonna meet. It’s not often one has a genuinly good chat when visiting a business of any kind these days.
Left feeling satisfied a cheered up. On top of that the haircut was just perfect.
Strong, strong, strong recommendation.
Comment by moose — Mon, May 28th, 2007 @ 9:46 pm
Got my hair cut by myself for almost 10 years now. Cheap & fast. And short cut is the most pleasant and requires no hairproducts at all.
In the army it was even shorter (shaved) but nowdays I prefer 3mm-10mm.
Comment by Ville — Wed, May 30th, 2007 @ 11:12 pm
What Finland needs is an army of antlike new immigrants, what we call Asians here in California. They will very quickly open up shops and restaurants, do massage, haircuts and nail treatments, for very cheap prices. They will drive the Finns in these fields out of business, of course, but that is what the Finnish welfare state is there for: to allow highly educated citizens to drop out while the worker bee immigrants pick up lots of work, a lot of cash, and build a nestegg outside the country.
I was very impressed with one Chinese/Malaysian restaurant, hole-in-the-wall type as we have in San Francisco, there in downtown Helsinki opposite an old school, now an arts/drama center for children. The waiters could speak a chopped up Finnish from their one year in Helsinki, although they were native Malaysian Chinese. The place was busy, packed with young Finns. The need for places to eat, quick and fast, is a huge one.
IF Finns want the benefits of a multikulti lifestyle, then skip the Somalis or the Russians or other welfare scammers (one has enough in the native population????), and focus on the Asians. They will lift up the economy, be quiet and decent citizens, produce children who study and obey the laws, and who will ultimately outstrip the locals simply by refraining from alcohol abuse.
What more could a nice little white country, more or less ethnically intact, wish for?????
Go for it, Finland! Dare to become California!
Mary Mekko
Comment by Mary Mekko — Fri, Aug 31st, 2007 @ 4:16 am