Mr. Topper’s

I am really concerned about the possibility that Mr Topper’s Original Barber Shop for Men and Women is engaging in misleading advertising. The advertising boards from the shop, one of which is attached the external railing state, «HAIRCUTS GBP9 FOR MEN AND WOMEN,» with other advertising declaring that it offers a «GBP9» haircut. On further inquiry from a staff member, however, when I asked about a basic trim for my hair, I was advised that the GBP9 haircut applies to men only, and that as a woman I would be required to pay GBP20 for the most basic haircut. Not only is this discriminating against women, but it shows the advertising placed for reading by people on the street, to be misleading.

If you need a basic trim, and I’m talking no frills, nothing fancy, quick and easy decent but not amazing haircut, you can’t go wrong with Mr. Topper’s.
If you want anything special, go somewhere else.
I was actually looking for JR’s, which I know is in the area and had been too before, but for the life of me could not find. I gave up and went into the well placed and well marked Mr. Topper’s. It’s the white building on Goodge Street with the giant sign above it’s door reading «Haircuts. The original £9!»
(It must be stated that the original sign said £6 and they meant it. But as times go on, prices go up, so now it’s £9.)
You walk in and it’s sensory overload. About 10 barbers are working in a very small space. There are three chairs for sitting in while waiting your turn (but they’re almost always not full as turnaround time at this place is insanely fast). And there’s loud, loud techno blasting you in the face. Boom boom boom.
I sat in a chair and was called over to a barber within about two minutes. She asked me what I wanted and I said basic guy’s cut, just taken down as it was too long. It was £12 for the full wash and cut and £9 for a machine-​heavy cut with scissors at the end. I really only needed it trimmed down so I went for £9.
It was a quick and easy cut. She took down the hair, made it look nice, blow dryed it out and I was done in 10 minutes. I paid £10, got back a pound and was on my way.
Again, simple. If I needed a new style or something fun, I’d go elsewhere. But for the takedown cut I wanted, this will do just nicely.

Positive experience. Walked in without an appointment (not sure if they take them, anyway) and took the first available barber (is a barber a male by definition? If so, is there a female equivalent of barber?). Only waited about seven minutes. My woman barber listened to what I wanted and got right to business. There was techno music playing just a notch above background level, and my haircutter seemed to be working in rhythm to the beat. Suffice it to say, she worked quickly. First clippers on the sides, then scissors on top, with the fine detail clippers earning their keep intermittently. Within about 10 minutes I was all set. She worked some styling paste/​sticky goo into my hair as a finishing touch which, I might add, I really like. She rang me out at the bargain price of £7, I gave her £1 tip, and I was back out into the street.

What’s not to like about a good, no frills haircut for £7? There’s nothing sexy about the shop and the employees don’t look like über-​metrosexual hair stylists but it’s not that kind of place.
I was a bit worried at the end of the haircut because my hair looked uneven but it’s because he had blow dried my hair and it was just hard to tell. After I showered, it was clear that the barber had done an excellent job and everything was just fine.
I felt bad about only paying £7 for my hair cut but I’ll try to reward them by going to them more often than I usually would.

Mr. Toppers is a perfectly decent hair cutting establishment. I walked in on a Saturday afternoon and was taken right away by a kid that couldn’t have been a day over 18 and was probably a student in the area. The sign is a bit misleading, it advertises haircuts for 7 pounds but then when you go in there’s a small sign explaining that it’s 15 for women. Which is still very cheap, especially if you’re happy with the result.
My hair was in a weird growing out stage, and I just wanted the back shaped a bit to prevent a mullet from coming in. The stylist knew exactly what I needed and knocked it out in 20 minutes. During the cut, he kept giving me suggestions about products to use and what styles would look best — and miraculously wasn’t trying to up-​sell me on any products. He listened to what I wanted and delivered it efficiently. And honestly, it was better than a lot of expensive haircuts I’ve had.
I’m not sure if this place is always so great, or if I just had a super-​gifted stylist. I would assume it’s hit or miss depending on who you get, but this kid was super awesome. Would definitely go back.

A few years ago hairstyle became a dead word to me. Now the only word that means anything is haircut, and even that doesn’t mean much to certain parts of my head which stubbornly refuse to grow any hair at all.
The upside to this is that getting my haircut is now neither a chore or an expense. Mr Toppers is my usual because it’s no-​fuss, it takes about 10 minutes and only costs £6. That’s faster and cheaper than anywhere else I know, and those are just about the only things that matter now. The staff are young, fun and typically hungover and they play decent music and make good chat. What could be better?
Would I swap this for hour-​long visits to Italian-​named £50+ salons to get interesting new hairstyles? Trust me, if it got me my hair back I’d pay twice that, but until that day of magic Mr Topper’s is just great.

Its not the most shi-​shi salon in the world, by all means, it is cooler only because it is not trying. Mr. Toppers will give you a haircut for £6! I took my boyfriend there just to get his hair half decent and he walked out with a buzz cut head of hair. The girls that work here are really fun and lively, students mostly those are trying to make some cash and they have fun while chopping off male and female hair. They will blow-​dry and straighten your hair as well which works wonders if you need to look like you went to the salon but don’t want to spend a fortune.