More than 3,500 barbers in Jeddah raised their prices during Eid Al-Fitr. Prices, which have doubled, depend on the nationality of the barber — Turkish, Moroccan, Asians and Tunisians.

Many barbers and men’s salons hire freelance and part-time barbers to serve as many clients as possible. “The only way for anyone to shave before Eid is by booking an appointment in advance. We don’t accept walk-in clients whatsoever because we give priority to our regular clients,” said Saeed Mohammed, a Moroccan barber at a saloon in Al-Rawdah.

“Men prefer certain nationalities when it comes to grooming and this is why you find many of us display the flag of our countries at the shop entrance. Our charges depend on the nationality of our clients, and during Eid we make sure we have one from all the requested nationalities,” he added.

Men in Saudi Arabia pay up to SR50 for a haircut and SR25 for beard grooming during Eid while they pay SR15 and SR10 on regular days.

“It’s the high season for barbers because Saudi men depend on us completely when it comes to grooming while other men around the world do their own shaving,” said Mohammed. “There is no law that restricts us from playing with the prices and we were never asked about the reason behind raising the prices during the Eid season,” he added.

Eid night is the golden night for barbers where they operate for 24 hours. “This is the reason why we hire freelancers and part-timers. It’s the night where we make the requested money for our Eid spending,” said the Moroccan barber.

“Many men disagree to pay the amount needed for their grooming and leave the shop but we don’t worry at all because there are always desperate men who will take their place,” he added.

Director of Media Center at the Jeddah Municipality Sami Al-Ghamdi told a local daily that barbers’ services and prices are not the concern of the municipality.

“There are no fixed prices for these services; the prices are linked to several factors such as the location of the shop, how advanced the shop and the tools are, the skills of the barber, the level of service and, of course, the reputation of it,” he said.

“The only thing the municipality requires from the shops is to display a list with services and their prices for all clients to see,” he added.