Do you tip your barber or hairdresser in France? The rule, the habits

The price you see is the price you pay, and the service is already in it. You don't add a percentage at the end, the way you might at home.

France's consumer authority, the DGCCRF, says so in its fact sheet on tipping on economie.gouv.fr (written 12 July 2021, still online when we checked on 20 October 2026). Its first line names the restaurant, the hairdresser and the taxi, and the sheet makes two points:

• displayed prices must be the ones the customer actually pays, "so service included";
• a tip is an optional sum a customer gives to an employee, and "no profession can demand it".

Hairdressers and barbers have one more rule. The decree of 27 March 1987 on hairdressing prices, still in force, asks every men's salon to show at least ten prices in its window, all taxes included, readable from the street. The same list hangs inside where you pay. So you can read the bill before you open the door.

Three words help you read that list. Here they are, with a rough way to say them:

Some do, many don't, and both are normal. The best recent figures come from the survey "Les Français et les pourboires" by CSA Research: 1,001 French adults, questioned online from 21 to 23 October 2025. In French, the word "coiffeur" covers both the barber and the hairdresser, so the figures below cover both.

• 83% of French adults say they tip at least now and then. 17% never tip anyone.
• Among those who tip, 48% count the hairdresser among the places where they tip most often. That is 11 points fewer than in 2021. The restaurant comes far ahead, at 90%.
• Only 12% of tippers put the hairdresser first on their list.
• Among those who rarely or never tip, 60% give the same reason: the service is already in the price.

So a tip at the barber's is a habit for some French customers, a fading one, and never a line on the bill. Whichever camp you join, you're in good company.

Whatever you like, and nothing at all is fine too. There is no official amount, for a barber or for anyone else: the DGCCRF calls the tip "always optional and left to the customer".

When French people do tip, it's small change. In the same CSA survey, all situations together:

• 59% of tippers usually leave one or two euros;
• 29% leave three to five euros;
• the average tip comes to just over three euros.

The survey doesn't split these amounts by trade, so there is no separate figure for barbers. One more thing if you come from a country where tips are a percentage of the bill: French people think in coins, not in percentages, because the service is already paid in the price.

You can also say thank you out loud, which costs nothing and always lands well. The phrase below works at the mirror, and our guide to asking for a haircut in French gives you the words for the rest of the visit.

Coins are the simplest way. Hand them to the barber when he takes off the cape, or leave them at the till when you pay. That's how most French tippers do it.

Tipping by card exists in France, but it isn't the norm. In the CSA survey, 26% of French adults say they have tipped by card, phone or QR code. Among those who haven't, 30% say nobody ever offered them the option. So a card terminal may simply not ask you about a tip.

Paying by card and would rather add the tip to it? Ask before you pay, wherever you are: the amount is typed in before you tap your card, so it has to be added first.

Keep in mind the order of things: the bill is the price on the list, and the tip, if you leave one, comes on top. It never replaces part of the price.

No. With the Coupe Adulte, the barber goes through five steps, all in one price of €15:

1. He asks what you'd like and looks at your hair: face shape, texture, cowlicks, how you style it.
2. He gives you a shampoo with a scalp massage. It's done every time, because clean hair shows its real shape and cuts evenly.
3. He cuts with scissors and clippers.
4. He cleans the outline with a razor at the temples, the nape and around the ears.
5. He styles your hair with wax, paste or pomade, depending on the look you want.

So there's no product to bring: the styling is part of the cut. At that last step, ask which product he used and how much of it. It helps you style your hair the same way the next morning.

The first step is the one to use on holiday. Tell the barber how you'll wear your hair for the rest of the trip: a swim every morning, a cap in the afternoon, no product in your bag. He then picks a length and a finish that hold up to that, because he hears it before the scissors come out. The whole visit, from the door to the last look in the mirror, is in our guide to what happens at a French barbershop.

Yes. The price in the window applies to every customer, and no French rule asks visitors to tip more. At Lui Coiffeur there's no tourist price either: the Coupe Adulte costs €15 in all 3 salons.

You can walk in, or book a time on the salon's page. You don't need a Planity account to book: you give your name, phone number and email, then confirm with the link we send you by email. Plans change on holiday: you can cancel from the cancellation page or by phone.

Where to find us, with the car parks nearby (OpenStreetMap and, for Draguignan, the town's parking page, checked on 20 October 2026; walking times to the door; tap a car park's name to open Google Maps directions from where you are):

• Fréjus: 1074, Av. de Lattre de Tassigny, 83600 Fréjus. Two open-air car parks within about 150 m (as the crow flies), one of them free and open to all, by the supermarket. Phone 09 51 67 73 04. Our Fréjus page in English.
• Draguignan: 46, Bd Georges Clemenceau, 83300 Draguignan, facing the tourist office. The Victoire and Louis-Go car parks on rue Marx-Dormoy are 1 to 2 minutes on foot, first hour free; the Marché car park (ex-Bontemps), free with no time limit, about 4 minutes. Phone 09 70 98 71 12. Our Draguignan page in English.
• Sainte-Maxime: 15 Rue Pierre Curie, 83120 Sainte-Maxime, in the town centre, near the tourist office and the Préconil roundabout. The Louis Blanc car park is about 3 minutes on foot, the port car park about 10 minutes. Phone 09 53 33 81 41. Our Sainte-Maxime page in English.

Every other service, salon by salon, is on our price list, shown the French way: taxes and service included. And if you read French, the same question is answered for French customers in our article on le pourboire chez le coiffeur.

All three salons keep the same opening hours. The box below shows which ones are open right now.