But law student Mark Lau, 24, says it shouldn't matter. None of these hair stylists speaks English. He didn't want to give his name because he feels his business may not be there much longer: His landlord is apparently selling the house, so he's not sure where he's going to go. However, the problem is that in his area, people think a $3 haircut might not be good quality. He says he had to offer his lower price because 'who would come this way if it was the same price?' The barber who snipped his price yet another buck, to $3, is in a house on Bathurst just north of Queen St. 'Competition is too big.'īut what's lost in the cheap price they make up for in the heavy volume, Li says. 'Chinatown hair salons, there are too many,' says Li Xiaoe, 28, manager of the People hair salon 560A Dundas St. Just how can it be so cheap? The hairstylists say they have no choice: Everyone else is doing it. He calculates that based on average incomes in China and Canada, and the typical price for a cheap haircut, they pay more in China. In that time, 'for everything else the price goes up, but the barbershops in the area, the price drops.' The 62-year-old has been coming for 10 years. 'You can't find another place in Toronto, in North America, cheaper than this!' he says as he gets buzzed. John Jiang travels all the way from Scarborough to Tong Hua. 'I've been to the high-end places – $20, say – and I've found not much difference between the $20 and the $4.' He emphasizes, however, that while there certainly aren't any frills, the haircuts are still good. He's sure the hairstylists 'live off them,' considering the price.

George Cattell, 63, a retired cafeteria worker, says he gives $2 in tips. More on that later.Īt Tong Hua, 187 Augusta Ave., one customer says he feels so guilty paying only $4 for a haircut he offers another $4 as a tip.

– but the barber there might not be around much longer. You can get a $3 haircut west of Chinatown on Bathurst St. Typically they trained in China, where hair is serious business and salons are some of the most common sight on any city street.īelieve it or not, these spots are not the cheapest. But the hair stylists do take time to please the customers. Most of the men who go seem to get the usual: short on the sides, longer on top. At one $4 place, the use of actual scissors is a dollar extra. We're talking a basic haircut here, typically with electric clippers. Usually women's haircuts are a dollar extra.ĭon't expect anything too fancy. There you can find at least three spots with a $4 haircut, another few charging $5, and a handful daring to ask for $6 or even $7. in Kensington Market west to Spadina Ave. Thanks to an intensifying price war, the cheapest haircut in Toronto can be found in a thicket of streets from the southern tip of Augusta Ave. From fruits, vegetables and spices to pots and pans, this may be the best area in the city for cheap, cheap, cheap.īut the best bargain of all is largely unknown to people outside the neighbourhood or those who can't speak or read Chinese. Why wouldn't there be? A haircut is just $4.Įveryone knows great deals can be had in the market and adjacent Chinatown. Yet there's a steady stream of customers at the Tong Hua hair salon in Kensington Market. Inside, the décor is strictly utilitarian.

The models' photos on the door are faded, their hairdos long out of date.

Tong hua sun