Barbers and Hair Stylists in Thailand

If you are talking about a regular Thai haircut and an ordinary Thai barber, you are talking about something much different than you are probably used to. Such barbers are usually found in small town centers or in market areas in biggers cities. The main difference is that there seems to be no conception of tapering the sides of your hair. What you will get, no matter how long you leave it on top, is a “bowl haircut.”

With a bit of patience, sign language and maybe a photograph, you may be able to convey that you do not want your hair hacked off in a circular fashion around your head. A regular haircut in Bangkok costs about 50 baht and is less in the provinces.

Most population centers, especially near tourist areas, have barbers that know how to give a western style haircut. If the barber, a woman in many cases, speaks English, you have a good chance of getting what you want – at least as good a chance as with a barber who doesn’t know you in your home country. A western style haircut in a tourist area will cost anywhere from Bt 100 to 300.

Note: Just as many massage establishments offer more than massages, so too, do many barbershops offer more than haircuts. A regular barbershop can usually be recognized with no problem. It is easy to see into the shop and note that there are one or two barbers, often cutting hair.

On the other hand, if you see a shop, sometimes even with a barber pole, that is difficult to see into and perhaps has several ladies hanging around, it is probably more than a place for getting your hair cut. In fact, some such places don’t even cut hair.