Debate: Is it worth it to charge more for beard trims than haircuts?

I've been going back and forth on this since last month when a guy in my shop charged $30 for a beard trim and had two clients walk out. But then I saw a barber in Austin, Texas posting on Instagram last week charging $45 for the same thing and he's booked solid. Idk, maybe it's just me but trimming a beard takes more precision than a lot of haircuts I do. Has anyone else tried raising their beard prices and seen it work or flop?

3 comments

3 Comments

aaron_mitchell1mo ago

A beard trim is just a beard trim. All this stuff about precision and technique is just a way to justify charging more because you think it looks harder. A haircut takes just as much skill, maybe more since you have to blend and shape the whole head. If people are walking out over $30, that's on you for not reading the room. Austin doesn't apply to most places, that guy is an outlier. Thirty bucks is already steep for something that grows back in a week.

adams.uma1mo ago

And nobody's talked about how a beard trim done badly can mess with your whole face shape way more than a bad haircut. A bad haircut you can hide under a hat or style different. A botched beard line takes weeks to fix and you're walking around looking like a sloppy mess the whole time. Plus guys with heavy beards are spending more on product and maintenance than most women do on their hair, so $30 isn't some huge ask for someone who actually knows what they're doing.

shane_hayes1mo agoMost Upvoted

Yeah, it's a gamble but it can work if you back it up. I'd try splitting the difference at $35 for a few months and see if people actually stick around. If you're losing clients left and right, drop it back down, but if they pay without complaining, bump it again.