Cheap and fast haircut in Taipei

How I got my hair cut in no time for almost no money

Few days ago it was time to get a new haircut, because I was starting to grow a mop up there. My girlfriend and I went out to have a look around our neighborhood in order to find a good and affordable hairdresser. I'm actually very particular, when it comes to these things. Being a loyal customer, I usually choose one parlor and visit it regularly. In Taiwan's big cities, there are three things you will see almost on every corner: Food stalls, convenience stores and hair salons. It's amazing how many of the latter are close to where I live. One of them stood out immediately, because there was a big signboard that said: Extremely fast hair cut for 100 NDT (that's only 2.5 eur!). I was a little skeptical at first, I thought the price was too low and was afraid that the final result may not meet my expectations. After some time of hesitation and pondering, I finally gave green light to my girlfriend and we entered the shop.

That's how F100 looks from the outside. It's small and cozy.

And this is something I haven't seen before: A hair cut vending machine?

They ask you to insert 100 NTD into the machine and you get a number. After that you'd have to wait, but since there was nobody waiting before me, it was my turn right away. I sat down and my girlfriend explained to the girl, how I want my hair cut (which is always the same: short and thin). And then she put on her mask and started to snip snip like crazy.

She was very fast and skilled, I was impressed.

In the end, she vacuumed my head and I felt I was like a carpet.

You would not believe it, but in a little more than 10 minutes she was finished! How good was that? I can't stand hairdressers that need too long or those who talk to much. Especially in the small town near my home in Slovenia, where I usually went to cut my hair, they would constantly ask me personal stuff and gossip about other people, which made the whole session a long and unbearable torture (you can read more here).

But not here in Taipei: 極速剪髮 or F100 is a new concept, that came over here from Japan. Their philosophy is to cut hair for the cheapest price and as fast as possible. And they only cut and trim. No dying, no perming, no crazy hairdos... And what's best: They don't talk, they don't waste time. They are the McDonald's of hairdressers and I have to say I really like the concept. Currently they have 85 salons in various cities around Taiwan. There are also some other hair salons with a similar concept and pricing. One of them is QB cut, oftentimes found around Taipei's MRT stations.

I do have to add, that the cut wasn't perfect, but I don't want to nit pick, It's still good enough to make me return in the future and get my hair cut for a bowl of beef noodles. Who can beat that? So far, I haven't seen anybody else. Have you?