Men's haircut prices up 5.5% in a year, adding to consumer burden

Park, a 29-year-old office worker, visits a men's-only hair salon once a month. A haircut and perm together run him about 85,000 won ($58). "I have to get my hair done every month, and spending more than 80,000 won each time is a real burden," he said. "These days, going to the salon sometimes feels like a luxury."

The strain is even greater for Kim, a 20-year-old university student. Kim recently stretched his salon visits from once a month to once every two months because of the cost. "As a student, spending 20,000 to 30,000 won on a single haircut is a lot," he said. "I hold out as long as I can and only go when my hair gets really messy."

Consumer pressure is mounting as summer — a season when people get haircuts more often — gets underway. The average cost of a men's haircut in Seoul stood at 13,231 won in June, up 5.5% from 12,540 won in the same month last year, according to the Korea Consumer Agency's price information portal. Gangwon Province recorded the highest price nationwide, at 16,444 won — a 4.2% increase from 15,778 won a year earlier. South Jeolla Province (15,556 won), Daejeon (15,600 won) and Gwangju (15,200 won) also exceeded the 15,000-won mark.

Women's salon prices are also climbing. The average cost of a women's haircut in Seoul reached 24,462 won in June, up 3.3% from 23,692 won in the same period last year.

Rising labor and raw material costs are driving the increases across hair and beauty services. The prices of consumables used in salons — including perm solutions, hair dye and shampoo — have gone up, and growing burdens from labor and rent are feeding through to higher prices for customers.

The prolonged war in the Middle East has heightened supply concerns for naphtha, adding to cost pressures across the beauty products industry. Naphtha is an essential input in manufacturing the plastic containers used for shampoo, conditioner and hair treatments. Surfactants have also been affected by rising crude oil prices.

The higher prices are fueling demand for budget-friendly salons. Blue Club, a men's-only chain that keeps haircut prices in the 10,000 to 12,000 won range, is a prime example — it has opened 15 new locations this year alone. Tomato D&C, the company that operates Blue Club and an eyewear chain, posted operating profit of 2.46 billion won last year, up 47.3% from 1.67 billion won the year before.

"Amid persistently high inflation, the costs of running a salon — including labor and materials — have risen in tandem, which would have intensified pressure to raise prices," said Choi Cheol, a professor of consumer economics at Sookmyung Women's University. "Since beauty services are an area where consumers can adjust their spending to some degree, we may see more people gravitating toward cheaper options."