If you are in Hanoi for a few days of meetings, a haircut is a scheduling problem before it is a grooming problem. You need a slot that starts when it says it will, a service that finishes inside the hour, and a price agreed before anyone picks up scissors. This is a guide to using a hair salon in Hanoi as a business traveller: realistic durations for every service, how to book in English from the airport or the hotel, and how to fit it around a working day in a city where traffic decides everything.
Arriving on a tight connection rather than a full trip? Our guide to an emergency same-day haircut in Hanoi covers the compressed version.
Below: how long each service actually takes, the timing of the Hanoi working day, the price table, booking in English before you land, and the two grooming services worth adding if you have an evening function.
How Long Each Service Actually Takes
The single most useful thing for a traveller is an honest duration, so here they are without padding. A cut, including the wash and a styling blow-dry, is about 45 minutes. A men’s cut is the same. A root touch-up is around 90 minutes. A full colour is two to four hours depending on length. Keratin is two and a half to three. Balayage is four to five.
Those are working numbers, not marketing ones. The wash in a Vietnamese salon is a genuine ten to fifteen minute treatment with a head massage rather than a rinse, and it is included in the time and the price. If you are on a tight schedule, say so when you book and we will keep it short.
The practical consequence: a cut fits in a lunch break or between a morning session and a 15:00 meeting. Anything chemical does not. If you want colour done during a three-day trip, it needs to be a deliberately scheduled half-day, ideally on the morning you arrive or the morning you leave.
Timing It Around a Hanoi Working Day
Hanoi’s rhythm is worth knowing because it decides whether your fifteen-minute trip takes fifteen minutes or forty. Morning rush runs roughly 7:30 to 8:45. Lunch is taken seriously and the roads thin out considerably between 12:00 and 13:30. Evening rush runs 17:00 to 18:45 and is the worst of the three.
The best windows for a quick appointment are therefore mid-morning, around 9:30 to 11:00, or early afternoon, 13:30 to 16:00. Both are quiet in the salon and quiet on the roads. The Hanoi branch is open 9:00 to 20:00, seven days, so an after-work slot is possible, but budget extra for the journey.
We are at 89 Nguyen Hy Quang, O Cho Dua, Dong Da, next to Hoang Cau lake. From the business hotels around Ba Dinh and the Lotte Center it is eight to twelve minutes outside peak hours. From the Old Quarter and Hoan Kiem hotels, ten to fifteen. From the office towers in Cau Giay, ten to fifteen. Give a driver Hoang Cau lake, then the number.
What It Costs
Published prices, agreed before anything starts. Booking ahead removes 30% and checking in at the salon removes a further 10%.
| Service | After booking + check-in | Rough USD | Time to allow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men’s cut, wash and style | 100K | about $4 | 45 min |
| Women’s designer cut | 150K | about $6 | 45 min |
| Basic wash and blow-dry, 25 to 35 min | 70K | about $2.7 | 30 min |
| Neck and shoulder massage, 45 to 50 min | 120K | about $4.6 | 50 min |
| Root touch-up | 400K standard, 500K VIP | about $15 to $19 | 90 min |
| Men’s colour or perm, standard | 450K | about $17 | 2 h |
| Basic combo, cut + colour (S/M/L) | 480K to 780K | about $18 to $30 | 2 to 4 h |
| Standard keratin (S/M/L) | 900K to 1,350K | about $35 to $52 | 2.5 to 3 h |
| Balayage or ombre (S/M/L) | 2,280K to 3,120K | about $88 to $120 | 4 to 5 h |
USD figures use a reference rate of roughly 26,000 VND to the dollar and are estimates. Payment is in VND; card and cash are both fine.
For context, a men’s cut at about four dollars is roughly a tenth of what the same forty-five minutes costs in most Western business districts, and the products on the shelf are the same international brands. That arithmetic is why a lot of regular visitors simply schedule their haircut around their Hanoi trips.
Booking Before You Land
Messenger is the fastest channel and it works from anywhere, with no Vietnamese SIM required. Send a photo of your current hair, a note of the date and the time window you have, and a line saying you are on a tight schedule. You will get back a confirmed slot, a price and a stylist who can consult in English.
Booking ahead does two things at once: it holds the chair, and it takes 30% off. For a business traveller the first matters more. Walk-ins for a cut are usually fine, but “usually” is not a word you want in a schedule with a 16:00 meeting in it.
If you prefer to call, the Hanoi branch is 0348 288 966, though calls are answered in Vietnamese first. The full walkthrough of the Messenger route, including what to write, is in booking a Vietnamese hair salon on Messenger, and the general orientation for first visits is in the first-timer’s guide.
Two details that save time on the day. Tell us on arrival how long you have, so the stylist can plan rather than discover. And if you want the wash kept short, say so; nobody will be offended.
If You Have an Evening Function
Two additions are worth knowing about for anyone with a dinner, a reception or a presentation the same evening. A blow-dry and styling on its own is quick and inexpensive. And the neck and shoulder massage at 120K, forty-five to fifty minutes, is the single best thing available for someone who has just flown in and sat through a day of meetings.
For grey coverage before a function, the root touch-up at 400K standard or 500K VIP takes about ninety minutes and is far quicker than a full colour. Men’s colour runs 450K standard or 700K VIP after the men’s 30% discount.
What we would not recommend on a same-day basis is anything that lightens hair. Bleaching is unpredictable in duration and occasionally in outcome, and the day of an important meeting is the wrong time to discover that your hair needs a second session. If you want a real change, book it for the morning you arrive and give it the whole slot.
Everything chemical carries the published warranty: perm and straightening 90 days, bleach and colour 30 days, haircuts a 7 day free adjustment. If you travel to Hanoi regularly, that warranty is genuinely usable on the next trip.
Where the Four Nhat Tam Branches Are
Nhat Tam runs four salons in northern Vietnam, and the price list is identical in all of them.
- Hanoi: 89 Nguyen Hy Quang, O Cho Dua, Dong Da. Phone 0348 288 966. Open 9:00 to 20:00.
- Thai Nguyen: 579 Luong Ngoc Quyen. Phone 0982 252 691. Open 8:00 to 19:00.
- Hai Phong: 113 Luong Khanh Thien. Phone 0984 397 804. Open 8:00 to 19:00.
- Ha Long: 25/4 Street, Hong Gai, roughly 50 metres from the clock tower. Phone 0984 397 804. Open 8:00 to 19:00.
Only two line items differ between the capital and the provinces: a basic wash is 70K in Hanoi against 60K elsewhere, and a scalp exfoliation is 50K against 100K. If you are travelling on, we have English guides for Hai Phong, Ha Long Bay and Thai Nguyen.
Nhat Tam price list, after the standard discount
How the discount works: book ahead and 30% comes off, check in at the salon and another 10% comes off, so the usual saving is up to 40%. Haircuts, men’s services and feather extensions run on their own rules.
- Women’s designer cut:
250K VND→ 150K VND, about $6 - Men’s cut:
200K VND→ 100K VND, about $4 - Basic combo, cut plus colour, perm or straightening (S/M/L):
800K to 1,300K→ 480K to 780K VND, about $18 to $30 - VIP combo (S/M/L):
1,500K to 2,200K→ 900K to 1,320K VND, about $35 to $51 - Balayage or ombre (S/M/L):
3,800K to 5,200K→ 2,280K to 3,120K VND, about $88 to $120 - Standard keratin (S/M/L):
1,500K to 2,250K→ 900K to 1,350K VND, about $35 to $52 - Steam ION and vegan combo:
1,500K→ 900K VND, about $35, one price for every hair length
Reference exchange rate used on this page: 1 USD is roughly 26,000 VND. Every USD figure here is an estimate and moves with the market. VND is what you actually pay at the counter.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does a haircut take in Hanoi?
About 45 minutes for both men and women, including the wash and a styling blow-dry. The wash in a Vietnamese salon is a proper ten to fifteen minute treatment with a head massage rather than a quick rinse, and it is included in the time and the price.
Can I fit a haircut into a working day?
Easily. A cut fits into a lunch break or between sessions. The best windows are mid-morning, 9:30 to 11:00, or early afternoon, 13:30 to 16:00, because both the salon and the roads are quiet. Avoid 17:00 to 18:45, when Hanoi traffic is at its worst.
How much is a men’s haircut in Hanoi?
200K on the list and 100K after booking ahead and checking in, roughly 4 US dollars, including the wash and a styling blow-dry. Men’s colour and perm are 450K standard or 700K VIP after the separate 30 percent men’s discount.
Can I book from abroad before I arrive?
Yes. Messenger works from anywhere and needs no Vietnamese SIM. Send a photo of your hair, your date and your time window, and mention that your schedule is tight. You will get a confirmed slot and a price back.
How do I get there from the business hotels?
Eight to twelve minutes from the Ba Dinh and Lotte Center area outside peak hours, ten to fifteen from Old Quarter hotels, and ten to fifteen from the Cau Giay office towers. Give the driver Hoang Cau lake as the landmark, then the street number.
Should I get colour done on a short trip?
A root touch-up at around 90 minutes is realistic. A full colour needs two to four hours and balayage four to five, so those need a deliberately scheduled half-day. Avoid bleaching on the day of an important meeting, because it is the least predictable service in both time and outcome.
Pham Nhat Tam, Founder, Nhat Tam Hair Salon
Nine years in the trade, starting in Thai Nguyen on 31 July 2017. Has trained more than 150 stylists, and the group has served over 520,000 guests across four branches: Hanoi, Thai Nguyen, Hai Phong and Ha Long.
Booking Around a Hanoi Trip
Send a message on Messenger with your dates and the window you have, or call 0348 288 966. Mid-morning and early-afternoon slots are the ones that hold to time. The Hanoi branch is at 89 Nguyen Hy Quang, O Cho Dua, Dong Da, open 9:00 to 20:00 daily.
If your trip continues to the coast, we have branches and English guides for Hai Phong and Ha Long Bay. Everything else is on the English guide hub.
Ready to book?
Three ways to reach Nhat Tam Hair Salon, all of them fine in English