The haircut, the basic of all hair grooming acts, can come anywhere between practical frugality and stylish squandering. When it comes to hair spending, there are many people who confessed not willing to pay for a cent to cut strands that will grow back anyway. It’s quite easy to understand – a scissor, a comb and a friend with 20-20 vision is all you need. One can even ditch the comb and the friend for a DIY haircut. In contrast, there are those who have actually spent an equivalent to a home down payment just to tame their mane.
So what is the price of a haircut people are willing to pay? We rounded up a list of individuals who have consciously and willingly spent extravagantly for a not-so-simple haircut, a mix of men and women who represent the hair-raising price range that extreme tightwads merely consider ridiculous luxury.
While men get an equal share of the roster in this list, we believe that thousands of dollars more have been spent by anonymous hair divas from the time of Farrah Fawcett’s ‘70s angel waves to Kate Middleton’s Chelsea Blowdry today.
What are the most expensive haircuts ever, and whose heads do these mega manes adorn? Here’s our list, from the so expensive up to the so overpriced.
10. Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez’s haircut demands are exclusively entrusted to the able hands of world renowned hairstylist Oribe. His fee comes up to $400 for even the simplest trim at the ends of Lopez’s week-old new growth. Oribe also do not do any haircoloring, his art is focused on the cut, so there’s got to be more that’s being paid for his specialty and mastery.
9. Jennifer Aniston
Next on our list does not come as a surprise – Jennifer Aniston, who once made the world stop with the now iconic The Rachel cut she sported in Friends. The sitcom made its six lead stars not only famous but rich as well, but Jennifer went on being really popular with her ageless look, thanks to her $600 per service haircut from stylist Chris McMillan, who actually created The Rachel for her. And whatever the season may be, Aniston maintains the layered bob effect.
8. Rhianna
Rihanna definitely gets a spot for the most expensive haircut due to the frequency of the hair services she requires from celebrity hairstylist Ursula Stephen. Rihanna reportedly requires almost a week of continuous hair care, topmost of which is cutting her hair here and there to achieve the ever-changing daring styles she sports on and off stage. The fee comes up to almost $2,000 a week!
7. Michael Douglas
The year was 1969, and 25-year-old actor Michael Douglas was prepping up for his role as Carl Dixon for the movie Hail, Hero!As a student who quits school to join the Army, a scene in the movie required him to have his long mane cut, to the tune of $1,000 (that’s $6,000 today) paid to the “amateur barber” who did the job. Douglas was said to be unhappy with his new haircut, but a nomination as best newcomer of the year from the Golden Globes Award made up for the lost strands. He lost to Jon Voight who starred in Midnight Cowboy though.
6. David Beckham
Recently retired soccer superstar David Beckham got his rich, somewhat long mass of hair cut and softened as requirement for his endorsement contract with Brylcreem, the hair cream for gents’ sleek, smart hairstyle. The price: $6,000. The look is to give Brylcreem a lift of modernity, promoting it not just as men’s hair cream for classic well-groomed hair but for modern, sporty men as well.
5. Beverley Lateo
The next on the most expensive haircut list cost $16,000 that was paid for to the locks of Italian billionaire Beverley Lateo from Pisa. The job was done by hairstylist to the stars, Stuart Phillips in his Covent Garden Salon in London. Apparently, Miss Beverley couldn’t find a suitable haircutter to give her long layers some fresh makeover, so Phillips of British magazines and ladies-who-lunch fame got the offer. It was not just indiscriminate spending after all, as the client got a service deluxe for her trip, including a limousine service, a champagne lunch and a luxurious massage, among others.
4. Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah
The haircut of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei is on our fourth most expensive list, as the royalty pays an average of €24,000 (or roughly $31,000) to his favorite “barber” Ken Modestou from the salon of Dorchester Hotel in London. To get his job done, Modestou is flown first class to where the Sultan is. The fee may be so much to drool for those whose annual income sums up to that figure, but for the sultan whose estimated net worth is $17 billion, it’s just a drop of water in the ocean. Lucky Modestou has been in charge of the sultan’s royal mane for 16 years.
3. First Lady Mamie Eisenhower
Flashback to the mid-1950s Washington, when First Lady Mamie Eisenhower started a trend that garnered mixed reactions. It’s the Mamie Bangs, and one either loved or hated it at that time. The First Lady got her famous bangs from Elizabeth Arden who cut and styled it for her in Paris. Mamie reportedly loved it so much she had Arden care for her haircut (or fractional haircut as it covered only half of the forehead) from thereon.
We will place Arden’s cutting and styling fee as easy guesswork (given her renowned skills and her client’s social status), and so it is justifiable to assume that it was a megabuck bang. Also, knockoffs of the Mamie Bangs (ready-made bangs that were the craze back then) flew off the shelves at $15 to $25 each piece, and that’s the 1950s.
2. John Paul Dejoria
In January 2005, John Paul Dejoria, a hair care guru himself and co-founder of the hair care company John Paul Mitchell Systems had his trademark ponytail cut off at a whopping price of $40,000! The extravagant chop was executed by Liza Geebons who is famous not as a hairstylist but as a TV personality. Although Dejoria is worth $4 billion, his family and friends also contributed to the haircutting “fee,” which went to the International Red Cross for the benefit of the victims of the tsunami in Asia.
1. Anne Hathaway
Hatha-haters can hate Anne Hathaway all they want, but it does not change the fact that the actress is as lovely as one can be, whether in her princess hairstyles or in her post-Fantine pixie do after starring in the 2012 film version of Les Misérables. And it was this destitute Fantine hair that got Anne’s haircut into our list of the most expensive.
Why? Director Tim Hooper wanted a really savage haircut using a knife to make Anne’s languishing Fantine look realistic. West End actress Nicola Sloane was entrusted with “hacking” the hair in the scene where Fantine sells her hair in exchange for an embarrassing sum. The award-winning actress cried buckets after the shoot for the murdered hair which she’s been growing for three years. But contrary to Fantine’s fate, Anne’s brave act in the service of her art was rewarded with a hefty (reportedly) $8 million paycheck!That makes it the most expensive haircut in Hollywood to date.
And how much are you willing to pay for a haircut?
Key Insights
- Varied Spending on Haircuts: Haircut spending ranges from practical to extravagant, with some people paying thousands for a haircut.
- Celebrity Haircuts: Celebrities like Jennifer Lopez, Jennifer Aniston, and Rihanna spend hundreds to thousands of dollars on haircuts regularly.
- Historical and Unique Haircuts:
- Michael Douglas’s haircut in 1969 cost $1,000, which is about $6,000 today.
- David Beckham’s endorsement-related haircut cost $6,000.
- Ultra-Expensive Haircuts:
- Italian billionaire Beverley Lateo spent $16,000 on a haircut.
- Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei pays approximately $31,000 for each haircut, which includes first-class travel for his barber.
- John Paul Dejoria’s ponytail was cut off for $40,000, with the proceeds going to charity.
- Anne Hathaway’s dramatic haircut for her role in “Les Misérables” was part of her $8 million paycheck.
- Luxurious Services: High-cost haircuts often include additional luxurious services such as limousine rides, champagne lunches, and massages.
FAQ
- Who holds the record for the most expensive haircut? Anne Hathaway holds the record for the most expensive haircut due to her $8 million paycheck for her role in “Les Misérables,” where her hair was cut dramatically for a scene.
- Why did Michael Douglas’s haircut cost so much in 1969? Michael Douglas’s haircut cost $1,000 in 1969 because it was for his role in the movie “Hail, Hero!” and was considered a significant change for his character. Adjusted for inflation, that amount is equivalent to $6,000 today.
- How much does Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei pay for his haircuts? Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah pays approximately $31,000 per haircut, which includes first-class travel for his barber from London to wherever the Sultan is located.
- Why is Jennifer Aniston’s haircut so famous? Jennifer Aniston’s haircut, known as “The Rachel,” became iconic during her time on the TV show “Friends.” Her stylist Chris McMillan charges $600 per haircut to maintain her signature layered bob.
- What additional services did Beverley Lateo receive with her $16,000 haircut? Beverley Lateo’s $16,000 haircut included a limousine service, a champagne lunch, and a luxurious massage as part of the deluxe service offered by hairstylist Stuart Phillips.
- Who cut John Paul Dejoria’s ponytail and for what purpose? TV personality Liza Geebons cut John Paul Dejoria’s ponytail, and the $40,000 fee was donated to the International Red Cross to aid tsunami victims in Asia.
- How often does Rihanna get her hair cut, and how much does it cost? Rihanna gets her hair styled almost weekly, with the services of celebrity hairstylist Ursula Stephen costing nearly $2,000 per week.
- What was unique about Anne Hathaway’s haircut in “Les Misérables”? Anne Hathaway’s haircut for her role in “Les Misérables” was uniquely performed with a knife by actress Nicola Sloane to portray a realistic and dramatic transformation for her character, Fantine.
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By Jenny Chang
Jenny Chang is a senior writer specializing in SaaS and B2B software solutions. Her decision to focus on these two industries was spurred by their explosive growth in the last decade, much of it she attributes to the emergence of disruptive technologies and the quick adoption by businesses that were quick to recognize their values to their organizations. She has covered all the major developments in SaaS and B2B software solutions, from the introduction of massive ERPs to small business platforms to help startups on their way to success.
