What to Look for in a Barber Chair

Barber chairs are integral to the barber shop experience not only for client comfort but also efficiency of service and quintessential appeal. Whether you’re opening a new barber shop or updating your equipment, it’s important to get the best value possible when buying barber chairs.

Pay attention to the details that make a barber chair a good investment: reliable performance, quality materials, durability, a design aesthetic that fits your shop, easy assembly and warranty protection.

Minerva Beauty makes it easy to find high-quality professional barber chairs that boost your brand image without breaking the bank. This guide covers everything barbershop owners need to know before buying barber chairs, including style, utility and value.

Types of Barber Chairs

We recommend starting by defining your barbershop aesthetic, then shopping for barber chairs that complement your interior design.

Modern Barber Chairs

Modern barber chairs are designed with clean lines and minimal ornamentation. Our Jupiter Barber Chair has a sleek look that goes well with a modern or industrial barbershop interior and comes in many different colors.

Shop the Jupiter Barber Chair in 48 different colors & textures!

Classic Barber Chairs

Classic or traditional style barber chairs will never go out of style and look right at home in many different types of barber shops. If you like to change up your decor periodically or haven’t quite settled on an aesthetic yet, then you can’t go wrong with a classic barber chair.

Vintage Style Barber Chairs

True vintage barber chairs can be prohibitively expensive, but you can still create authentic vintage vibes with our vintage-style barber chairs that sport modern-day features (like high-density foam cushioning).

All-Purpose Chairs

While an all-purpose salon chair may not be what first comes to mind when you think “barber chair,” these versatile workhorses fit the bill for barbering services with reclining seats and removable headrests. This may be your style if you’re looking for a more minimalist chair for your barber shop.

From left to right: the Coppola II Barber Chair, the Sovereign Styling Chair, and the Noble All-Purpose Chair, all available in multiple colors.

Custom Barber Chairs

When it comes to equipping your shop with barber chairs, you don’t have to settle for black, brown or red (though there’s nothing wrong with those popular choices). Many of our barber chairs are available in multiple colors, and the Jupiter Chair is made to order in your choice of color and texture.

Typically we’re able to provide custom color combinations using options from our color charts - just reach out to one of our representatives to order your custom barber chair.

Barber Chair Features

It’s important to consider different aspects of barber chairs that affect client comfort as well as workflow to make sure you’re satisfied with how your chairs perform in your barber shop.

Height

You want to make sure the height and travel range of your barber chair will accommodate clients of different heights and also be practical for your barbers.

The travel range is the distance between the floor and the top of the seat cushion. Added to the chair back height, this gives you an idea of the minimum and maximum height of the chair.

Barber Chair Heights

Chair	Travel range	Chair back
Jupiter	22-29”	19”
Wraith	22-29”	21”
Zagato	22-29”	23”
Pagano	22-29”	23”
Lusso	22-29”	23”
Coppola	22-29”	23”
Battista	22-29”	24.5”
Presidential	22.5”-29.75”	20”
Figaro	23-30”	19.75”
Traditional	23.25-30.25”	19”

All of these height ranges will be comfortable for the majority of customers. Taller barbers will be more comfortable working with a chair toward the higher end of the range, while shorter barbers will appreciate having a chair that sits a little lower.

Footprint

The footprint of a barber chair is how much floor space the chair takes up, measured from its widest points side-to-side and front-to-back (in the reclined position with the footrest extended).

You should measure your workspace and make sure there’s plenty of room to walk around the chair, even when it’s fully reclined.

Barber Chair Footprints

Chair	Side to Side	Front to Back	Front to Back (reclined)
Jupiter	25”	46”	56”
Zagato	25”	46”	56”
Pagano	25”	46”	56”
Lusso	25”	46”	56”
Coppola	25”	46”	56”
Wraith	25.5”	39”	56”
Traditional	26”	40”	53”
Battista	26”	42”	56”
Presidential	27.75”	44”	56”
Figaro	28”	43.5”	62”

Depending on the layout of your barber shop, you may need to shop by size to make sure you can comfortably fit the number of chairs you want. You can use our 2D space planner to visualize your layout.

Spacing

You’ll want to make sure there’s enough space between and around barber chairs so clients in the chairs won’t feel crowded, and so people can move around the shop easily.

There should be at least:

• 59” between barber chairs, measured from center to center
• 48” between the extended footrest and the frontmost part of the barber station
• 36” between the barber chair and the nearest wall

There may be state and/or local regulations that dictate spacing requirements for barber shops and furniture, so check your regional administrative codes to make sure you’re in compliance.

Remember that our barber chairs can swivel 360° so you'll need to make sure a fully reclined chair won’t bump into anything or block high-traffic areas when turned.

Seat Size

Barber chair seats range in size from 19-26” wide (measured inside the arms) which will accommodate most customers. To create a more luxurious experience, or for clients who are bigger, you may want to choose a chair at the wider end of the range if your layout allows it.

Barber Chair Seat Dimensions

Chair	Width (inside arms)	Depth (front to back)	Seat Cushion (thickness)
Wraith	20”	18.5”	4”
Battista	19”	20”	4”
Jupiter	19”	20.5”	3”
Zagato	19”	20.5”	3”
Pagano	19”	20.5”	3”
Lusso	19”	20.5”	3”
Coppola	19”	20.5”	3”
Figaro	19.75”	19.5”	5”
Presidential	21.5”	20.25”	5”
Traditional	26”	18”	5”

Upholstery

When it comes to barber chair upholstery, the best materials are commercial-grade vinyl and faux leather (which is also vinyl). Vinyl is an ideal barber chair material because it’s:

• Durable enough to withstand constant use in a busy barber shop
• Stain and water resistant
• Easy to clean
• Non-porous, which makes it less likely to harbor bacteria compared to fabric or real leather
• Available in a variety of colors
• Fade resistant
• Cost-effective

All of Minerva Beauty’s barber chairs are upholstered in premium smooth vinyl except for the Jupiter Chair, which uses Skai (a premium vinyl faux leather).

Recline

The ability to recline is the main difference between barber chairs and salon chairs. Barber chairs need to be able to recline back to a 45-degree angle for shaving, facial hair grooming and neck shaping.

Reclining barber chairs are also essential for barber shops that have wet stations or pedestal sinks instead of separate shampoo stations.

Headrest

Unless your barber shop has separate shampoo stations, you need to make sure your barber chairs have removable headrests so you can use them with a shampoo sink. All Minerva Beauty barber chairs have a removable headrest.

Footrest

It’s important for barber chairs to have a sturdy footrest to keep clients comfortable, especially when the chair is reclined.

Most of our barber chairs have a flip-over footrest which helps reduce the overall footprint when the chair isn’t being used, and makes cleaning the floor easier.

Our barber chairs also have a cushioned leg rest for added support when reclined

Accessibility

Footrests can make it more difficult for customers with a disability to get into and out of a barber chair. Our all-purpose Atikus chair is designed with a foldaway footrest for improved accessibility—it also reclines and has a removable headrest, making it ideal for both barber shops and salons.

Weight Limit

Our barber chairs are rated to 450 lbs, which will be enough for most clients. To accommodate guests who are heavier, you’ll need to shop for a heavy-duty barber chair.

Armrests

Barber chairs are available with armrests that are flat or curved, and with varying degrees of padding. Take your clients’ preferences into account, and choose barber chairs with more cushioning on the armrests if providing a deluxe experience is part of your brand.

It’s also important to look for barber chairs with open armrests because there are fewer crevices for hair to get stuck in, making them faster and easier to clean.

Reflective metal finishes & the negative space created by open armrests can help a small barber shop feel more spacious

Easy to Clean

As already mentioned, you should choose a barber chair with vinyl upholstery and open armrests so it’s easy to wipe down and remove hairs between clients. Other factors that make a barber chair easy to clean are a gap between the seat and chair back, and smooth (rather than tufted or seamed) surfaces. A chair base with a rubber seal also makes it easier to clean the floor around the chair.

Easy to Assemble

Unless you enjoy assembling furniture and have the extra time to do it, you should look for barber chairs that require minimal assembly. All of Minerva Beauty’s barber chairs have only minor assembly requirements—just tighten a few bolts with the included Allen wrench and you’re good to go!

Style

Besides each type of barber chair (modern, classic, or vintage) there are additional style considerations, including:

• Upholstery color
• Seat back shape
• Upholstery seams or tufting
• Metalwork accents
• Metal finish
• Integrated or extended headrest
• Towel holder

When choosing the right chair style for your barber shop, keep in mind not only the impression that the chairs will make on clients, but also your own preferences and the overall aesthetic. You’ll be spending a lot of time looking at these chairs, so make sure you pick something that pleases your eye!

Barber Chair Pricing

One of the most common questions about barber chairs is: why are they so expensive?

Barber chairs typically cost more than salon chairs, and for good reasons: barber chairs fully recline, which requires an additional mechanism and a more heavy-duty chair frame. These components make barber chairs much heavier than salon chairs, which means they also need a more robust hydraulic base. Minerva Beauty barber chair frames are made with either solid steel or solid aircraft-grade aluminum.

Barber chair recline and height adjustment have to work smoothly day in and day out, so they need to be made from quality materials and undergo extensive testing to make sure they’re safe and durable enough to provide a long service life in a busy shop.

How to Get the Best Barber Chair for Your Money

The first step is determining your budget for barber chairs, and then buying the highest quality you can afford. High-quality barber chairs range in price from around $600 to $4000+. Features like a flip-over footrest and design details like metalwork accents will affect the final cost of a barber chair.

You want to shop for the best value you can get, not just the lowest price. Steer clear of cheap barber chairs made from lower-quality materials if you want to avoid common issues like cracked or faded upholstery, stiff or noisy adjustments, less comfortable cushioning and more frequent replacement.

Value-Priced Barber Chairs

Minerva Beauty offers multiple high-quality, warrantied barber chairs that cost less than $1000.

• Under $600: Our Traditional Barber Chair delivers classic looks, reliable functionality and an extra-wide seat to accommodate a wide variety of clients.
• Under $800: Our Figaro Barber Chair offers polished chrome accents, a flip-style foot and leg rest, and comes in black or gray.
• Under $960: Our Presidential Barber Chair has dual reclining mechanisms, steel-reinforced heavy-duty armrests, and comes in black or tan.

All-Purpose Chairs for Barber Shops

Another way to save money on barber chairs is by going with an all-purpose chair. Our all-purpose chairs combine some of the key features of barber chairs (recline mechanism and removable headrest) in a more compact package, and often at a lower price point compared to barber chairs.

The Noble and Phaeton all-purpose chairs each cost less than $500 and have a tufted seat back, U-shaped footrest, stainless steel release handle and removable headrest. They recline back, come in multiple color options can be paired with a variety of hydraulic bases (a great solution if you need a specific height and travel range for your chair).

Warranty

All Minerva Beauty barber chairs and all-purpose chairs are backed by our hassle-free manufacturer’s warranty: 1 year on the chair top, and 2 years on the base and hydraulic pump.

Financing

We also offer two different types of financing to make it easier to equip your shop with the barber chairs you need right away, and pay comfortably over time.

Shop Barber Chairs & Accessories Online

Now that you know what to look for, explore our full selection of barber chairs, and don’t forget to pick up some floor mats, barber towels and shears and clippers to complete your setup!

If you have a question about barber chairs that wasn’t covered in this guide, please reach out to us—our sales team does not work off commission, so you’ll receive the same level of service whether you’re ready to buy today or not.