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20th December 2016
12:10am GMT
As an industry, hairdressing seems to be totally immune to the effects of either boom or bust, with prices rising steadily since the heady days of the €10 dry cut.
So we've come up with a new tactic: if you're going to drop €50 on getting your shoulder-length hair blow-dried, you may as well get some bubbles for your buck – here are the swish salons that keep the complimentary booze flowing (while they, y'know, rob you blind).
The bubbly's on tap at Preen while you're getting, well, preened. Okay, not quite – it's Prosecco, and it's from a bottle – but fizz is just a perk of the services, which start at €30 for a blow-dry so, y'know, drink up.
It's a relatively new kid on the block, but Sugar Daddy – a barbers and "expert men's grooming salon" – will sweeten the deal with a glass of whiskey while you get groomed.
Nose and brow waxing (ouch!) starts at €15, with a cut coming in at €25.
With branches in Blackrock and on South William St, too, Brown Sugar (Sugar Daddy's older sister) is another Prosecco proponent.
It'll come with a mini cupcake on the side, but all that sugar don't come cheap – the least expensive service on the menu is €30.
Over at Wilde in Donnybrook, things are relatively tame, with a blow-dry starting at €26 – and not only will they offer you a glass of bubbly, you'll even get a chocolate-dipped strawberry for your troubles.
Mane is one of those blink-and-you'll-miss-it salons in one of South William Street's Georgian buildings. It's owned by Andrew Dunne, colour ambassador for Wella, which may be why a blow-dry starts at €30 and a gent's cut at €40.
Better get guzzling, so.
On Dublin's Cow's Lane, Gillian Edgeworth will offer you a glass of wine while they're doing your 'do – for the ladies, a cut starts at €54 but a blow-dry is a mere €23 (if your hair's short and extension-free).
A blow-dry might cost €35, while a cut starts at €65, but at Aviary Lane you'll get a head massage, snacks and your choice of beverages, from wine to Prosecco and beer.
Also in Ranelagh, GMale, as well as winning prizes for most cringe name ever, will give you complimentary beer and let you play XBox in the waiting area – at a fiver, you could do worse than drop in for a beer trim and a bottle of ale.
Pre-drinks, anyone?
And an honourable mention goes to Sugar Cubed, also a part of the Brown Sugar / Sugar Daddy family (clearly booze hounds), which has an in-salon Kopparberg bar.
If you get five bottles in while you're getting your blow-dry (€28), you could almost make a saving...
