The man who asks how long a haircut takes is usually holding a phone with a calendar open. He has a 1:30 call. He is deciding whether the chair fits in the gap. This post is written for him.
Plan on about 30 minutes for a standard men’s haircut at a walk in barbershop, 20 for a buzz cut, 30 to 45 for a fade, and 45 to 60 when a beard or a shave is added. A hot towel shave at Deja Vu takes about 30 minutes on its own and the Royal Shave about 45. Add whatever the wait is when you walk in, which is the one number no barber can promise, and you have your answer for the calendar.
How long a men’s haircut takes, service by service
About half an hour in the chair for most cuts, and the range on either side depends on what the cut is. These are planning numbers for a walk in barbershop, not a stopwatch. The two shaves are the services we time ourselves, and those are the shop’s own figures.
| Service | Plan on | Price at Deja Vu | What sets the time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buzz cut | 15 to 20 minutes | Fade $35 | One guard, no blend |
| Line up and edge up | 10 to 15 minutes | $18 | Edges only |
| Classic scissor cut | 30 minutes | $35 | Length on top, how much comes off |
| Low or mid fade | 30 to 40 minutes | $35 | Number of guard steps in the blend |
| Skin fade | 35 to 45 minutes | $35 | Shaver work at the bottom plus the blend |
| Kids haircut | 20 to 30 minutes | $35 | The child, mostly |
| Beard trim and grooming | 15 to 20 minutes | $18 | Shaping vs a simple trim |
| Hot towel shave | About 30 minutes | $35 | Towels, lather, straight razor, balm |
| Royal Shave | About 45 minutes | $50 | Extended hot towel steps |
| Men’s hair color | Longer; ask when you book | $55 | Processing time on top of the cut |
Every service on that table is on our services and prices list. The prices are fixed and published, so the only variable you are managing is the clock. The tip is the other number, and our guide on what to tip your barber covers it.
What makes a haircut take longer
Five things, in order of how much time they add. None of them are the barber being slow. All of them are the haircut being more haircut.
The blend
A fade is a gradient cut in steps, and more steps means more minutes. A low fade might take four guard positions. A skin fade takes those four plus the shaver plus the detail work where skin meets stubble. Dense, straight hair takes more steps still, because every line shows. This is the single biggest swing in cut time, which is why a skin fade sits ten to fifteen minutes above a scissor cut on the table.
How much is coming off
A trim on a cut that is three weeks old is fast. Rebuilding a shape from eight weeks of growth is not. The barber is removing more hair and starting the shape from scratch instead of refreshing one that still exists. Regular visits are faster visits, and the schedule by style is three to four weeks for most short cuts.
Add ons
A beard trim adds 15 to 20 minutes; a hot towel shave adds about 30. The Full Refresh package, a fade plus a hot towel shave plus a beard trim for $75, is the longest ticket on the menu and should be planned as a full hour and a bit, not a lunch break.
Hair that arrives dirty or in product
Clay and pomade drag on the clippers and hide how the hair falls, so the barber spends the first minutes working around it. Clean, dry, product free hair cuts fastest. Read whether to wash before a haircut if that is a habit.
Not knowing what you want
Two minutes of consultation is normal. Ten minutes of scrolling for a photo is not, and it is time out of your own calendar. Decide on the train. Our guide on which haircut suits your face makes that quicker.
Walk in wait vs a booked time
Chair time is predictable. Wait time is the variable, and at a walk in shop it moves with the hour. The quietest windows in a Midtown barbershop are the first hour after opening and the middle of the afternoon; the busiest are lunch and the hour before close.
At Deja Vu, walk ins are always welcome and you can also book online. Booking does not make the cut faster, but it removes the wait from the math, which on a lunch break is the part that matters. If you are walking in, call (212) 576-1062 before you leave the office and ask how many are ahead of you. It takes thirty seconds and it saves the one scenario everyone hates: arriving at 12:45 with a 1:30 call and three men in the chairs.
Hours are Monday to Friday 8am to 7pm and Sunday 10am to 5pm. The 8am opening is the quiet hour on weekdays, and a fade at 8:05 has you at a desk on Park Avenue by nine.
The lunch break haircut, timed from Grand Central
Yes, a haircut fits in an hour from Grand Central, with margin, if you book or call ahead. The walk is about eight minutes each way; the 6 train from 33rd Street is about two minutes from the door if you are coming from further uptown or downtown.
- 12:00 leave the office near Grand Central. Walk down Park to 34th: about 8 minutes.
- 12:08 in the door at 101 E 34th St. Booked, or you called at 11:45 and the wait is short.
- 12:10 to 12:40 in the chair for a fade or scissor cut, hot towel on the neck included.
- 12:40 to 12:48 walk back up Park.
- 12:48 at the desk. Twelve minutes of margin before a 1:00 call.
Swap in a line up for a 15 minute visit, or a Sharp Edge package, line up plus beard for $30, for a 30 minute one. Do not try to fit a Royal Shave into a lunch hour; at about 45 minutes in the chair, it wants an afternoon slot or a Sunday. The full walk through, including the subway options, is in our post on the lunch break haircut from Grand Central.
The seven day rule: letting a cut settle
A haircut looks its best around day three to seven, not in the chair. The first day it is a little too sharp, the hair has not found its direction, and the neckline is fresh enough to look severe in a suit. By the end of the first week it has settled, which is why barbers tell men with a wedding or a headshot on Saturday to come in the Tuesday before.
This matters for timing in a second way. The thirty minutes in the chair is not the whole cost of a haircut. There is a week of the cut becoming itself and then two to five weeks of it slowly leaving. If you have an event, count back a week. If you have a weekly client meeting, a cut on Thursday looks right by the following Thursday and still fine the one after.
The fastest haircuts on the menu
The buzz cut and the line up, in that order of how much they change your look. If the calendar truly has only twenty minutes, these are the two honest options.
Buzz cut
One guard over the whole head, a taper at the neck and sideburns, a hot towel to finish. Fifteen to twenty minutes. It is the simplest cut a barber does and it looks intentional on almost every man, especially one with a thinning crown. It is booked as a fade and the price is the same $35.
Line up and edge up
Hairline, sideburns and neckline sharpened with trimmers and a razor. Ten to fifteen minutes, $18. It does not change the cut; it makes a two week old cut look like a two day old one. Men who are between full cuts and have a big meeting take this one.
What is not fast, no matter who tells you otherwise: a skin fade. Anyone promising a fifteen minute skin fade is skipping steps, and the steps are the fade.
How to make your haircut faster
You control more of the clock than the barber does. Four habits, each worth five to ten minutes.
- Book or call ahead. The wait is the only part of the visit that can be zero.
- Arrive clean and dry, no product. Clippers run faster through clean hair, and the barber does not have to guess at the shape under the paste.
- Know the order. Height of the fade, shortest guard, what to do with the top. Three sentences. If you are unsure, say “same as last time” if it is the same barber.
- Keep the schedule. A cut every three to four weeks is a refresh; a cut every eight is a rebuild, and a rebuild takes longer.
And one thing that does not help: asking the barber to hurry. A rushed fade shows lines by Wednesday and you are back in the chair for a $18 line up you did not plan on. Thirty minutes done right is faster than twenty minutes done twice.
How long each package takes
A package is two or three services in one sitting, so the time is roughly the services added together, minus a little because you are already in the chair and already prepped. The prices are fixed; the minutes are planning numbers.
| Package | What is in it | Price | Plan on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sharp Edge | Line up plus beard trim | $30 | 25 to 35 minutes |
| Classic Combo | Fade plus beard trim | $48 | 45 to 60 minutes |
| Father and Son | Fade plus kids haircut | $60 | 50 to 70 minutes |
| Royal Treatment | Royal Shave plus beard trim | $60 | About an hour |
| Full Refresh | Fade plus hot towel shave plus beard trim | $75 | 75 to 90 minutes |
The Sharp Edge is the only package that fits a short lunch. The Classic Combo fits a long one if you book. The other three are afternoon or Sunday services, and the Full Refresh in particular should be treated as an appointment with yourself: an hour and a half, phone away, hot towels on the face and the neck. Details and the savings on each are on our package list.
One planning note for fathers. The Father and Son package is two haircuts, and a six year old does not sit for thirty minutes the way you do. Come on a Sunday morning when the shop opens at 10am, bring something for the kid to hold, and plan on the hour. For a first cut, our guide to a calm first haircut for kids covers the rest.
Plan your visit to Deja Vu Barbershop
Deja Vu Barbershop is at 101 E 34th St between Park and Lexington in Murray Hill, two minutes from the 6 train at 33rd Street and about eight minutes from Grand Central. Every barber is New York State licensed, with more than fifteen years of experience on the team, and every haircut ends with a hot towel on the neck. Published prices, no upselling, and the whole menu in the table above.
Hours are Monday to Friday 8am to 7pm and Sunday 10am to 5pm, closed Saturday. Walk ins are always welcome, or book online. Call (212) 576-1062 to check the wait before you leave the office.
Questions readers ask
How long does a fade take compared to a regular haircut?
Plan on 30 to 45 minutes for a fade and about 30 for a scissor cut. The extra time is the blend, and a skin fade sits at the top of that range because of the shaver work at the bottom.
Can I get a haircut on my lunch break?
Yes. From Grand Central it is about eight minutes each way, and a fade or scissor cut is about 30 minutes in the chair, which leaves margin in an hour if you book or call ahead to skip the wait.
How long does a hot towel shave take?
About 30 minutes for the hot towel shave and about 45 for the Royal Shave, which adds extended hot towel steps. Add a haircut and plan on an hour or more.
Is there a wait if I walk in?
Sometimes. The first hour after the 8am weekday opening and the middle of the afternoon are quietest; lunch and the hour before close are busiest. Booking online removes the wait from the math.
What is the quickest service if I only have twenty minutes?
A line up and edge up, about 10 to 15 minutes for $18, or a buzz cut at 15 to 20 minutes for $35. Neither is a full haircut, but both make you look like you just had one.