A men’s haircut in Vietnam costs 15,000 to 50,000 VND (about $0.60 to $2) at a roadside barber, 70,000 to 100,000 VND at a neighbourhood shop, and about 250,000 VND ($10) at a European-style barbershop for expats. Women pay more and should choose the salon with care, because skill varies far more than the price does.
A haircut is the easy part of settling in, and your visa date is the part worth handing off.
How much does a haircut cost in Vietnam?
Prices follow three tiers, and the figures below come from published shop listings in Saigon that are a few years old, so treat each as a floor and ask before you sit down.
- Roadside barber: 15,000 to 50,000 VND. Locals pay this, and foreigners should expect a slightly higher quote.
- Neighbourhood or mid-range shop: 70,000 to 100,000 VND. One modern shop starts near 70,000 VND, and Woodland Barbershop lists a haircut with wash and styling at 100,000 VND.
- Expat barbershop: from 250,000 VND for a haircut with beard trim at Le Barbier de Saigon, and 500,000 VND for its one-hour facial.
Where should you get your haircut?
Go to a neighbourhood barbershop for a basic cut, a roadside barber for a cheap quick shave, and an expat barbershop for any style that needs explaining.
A roadside barber is the cheapest and quickest, with one chair, a mirror and a plastic stool. Hanoi’s Old Quarter has few of them because the pavements are too narrow for a chair, and away from the 36 streets they are not hard to find. They suit a short back and sides or a clean shave, and I would not give one a complicated style.
For a neighbourhood barbershop, look for the sign “cắt tóc nam”, which means men’s haircut. The room is private, and the pricier ones wash your hair. Results vary, but they are usually decent for a basic cut, and a private room gives you space to explain what you want.
An expat barbershop is the answer if you want a fade, a pompadour or any look that needs explaining. Le Barbier de Saigon is popular with expats in District 2, and Woodland Barbershop has English-speaking staff. You pay the higher price and get a barber who already understands a photo.
What do you say to the barber?
Show a phone photo of the cut you want, because it beats any English description. Then add a few words in Vietnamese:
- Cắt tóc nam means a men’s haircut.
- Cắt ngắn means cut it short.
- Tỉa means trim only.
- Gội đầu means wash my hair.
- Cạo râu means shave the beard.
- Bao nhiêu tiền? means how much?
Show the length with your fingers on your own head and agree the price first. Use tỉa when all you want is the ends tidied, because cắt ngắn tells the barber to take real length off.
When your visa runs shorter than your stay
If you are choosing a regular barber, you are probably staying for months, and the clock to watch is the 90-day e‑visa. This is where most people stall: the portal at evisa.gov.vn rejects many foreign cards at the payment step, and a wrong entry point on the form can cost you at the airport. You can file it yourself when you hold a card the portal accepts. At BestBus Vietnam I file the 90-day e‑visa, pay the state fee with a card the portal takes and choose the entry point for your route, so tell me your expiry date on WhatsApp and I will check which route fits.
What else does a Vietnamese barber do?
Often a lot: a face shave, ear cleaning, a head massage and a hot towel shave. At one roadside chair in District 1 the face shave starts with an ice-cold towel and a cold water spray to soften the whiskers, and the barber also cleans ears. A shave there took about 15 minutes, which is a cheap way to try a Vietnamese barber before you trust one with a haircut.
You can say no to any extra. Say “không” with a smile and the barber moves on.
How do you avoid a bad haircut?
Settle the length, the style and the price before the clippers start, because most bad cuts begin with a misunderstanding. Bring a photo from the front and the side, and ask what the price includes, because a wash, a shave or a head massage may be a separate line.
Check the tools, the cape and the mirror as you walk in. Take the first cut conservative, because hair grows back and a second pass is quick if you want it shorter.
Women, long hair and Western hair
Women pay more: a decent cut has been quoted from around 100,000 VND at a local salon, while expat-recommended salons charge about $10 for a cut and more for colour. The bigger issue is skill. Western and Asian hair behave differently, so even expat-recommended places need guidance on how much to remove.
Do not say “take off whatever it needs”, because you will get more cut than you expected. Bring a photo, and book colour only after a plain trim has gone well.
So where should you go for your first haircut?
Start with a neighbourhood barbershop near your home, with a photo and the price agreed in advance. Try a roadside barber once for the shave, and move to an expat shop only when you want a particular style. If you are budgeting a first month, the Da Nang cost of living page shows what rent and food run next to these small costs.
A haircut is booked in an hour, but a visa that expires on a weekend or a payment the portal refuses is the part that spoils a week. You can do it yourself, and if you would rather not, send me your visa expiry date and the city you start from, and I will quote you a visa run, the one-day border trip that renews your stay, or the e‑visa for those dates.
