Sassoon in Neon

June 2, 2026

Perhaps hair salon signs are among the most common neon advertisements in the city: you can still find all kinds of versions, from men’s and women’s hairdressers to combined men’s and women’s salons, or ones complemented by beauty parlours.

Stepping into one of these places is a real journey back in time: the retro-futuristic hood dryers, and often the staff themselves, feel as if they had remained here from the 1960s.

So if you are looking for a good perm in Buda, you can visit the “Budapest State Men’s and Women’s Hair Salon” at Bocskai út 10 in the 11th district, or find another shop operating under a simple “Hairdresser” sign at Böszörményi út 13 in the 12th district. Unfortunately, neither of these neon signs is still working.

Photo: István Prusinszki

On the Pest side, at Klauzál utca 1 in the 7th district, there is a large salon operating beneath the vertical neon sign reading “Women’s Hairdresser, Cosmetics”. I once went in to offer help with restoring the neon sign, and to my great surprise, the elderly ladies working there were not even aware of its existence. At Bethlen Gábor utca 5, also in the 7th district, there is still a functioning hair salon, but for some incomprehensible reason the neon advertisement has been covered up. Still, at least it has survived, and that is something to appreciate.

Photo: István Prusinszki

At Rákóczi út 8, there is also a women’s hair salon with slightly more distinctive typography on its façade, and it even appears in a photograph from 1961. In the 13th district, you can also visit a salon at Váci út 138/A with a neon sign reading “Women’s and Men’s Hairdresser, Cosmetics”.

Photo: István Prusinszki, Fortepan

Unfortunately, several of the more exciting pieces have disappeared in recent years. One of them was the huge neon sign depicting a woman’s head at Ferenciek tere. Another vertical advertisement belonged to a hair salon and beauty parlour on Hegedűs Gyula utca in the 13th district.

Photo: István Prusinszki

I also loved the dynamic typography of the neon sign on Nefelejcs utca. Although a hair salon opened in its place in 2014, the neon advertisement was still removed, since the new shop no longer served women exclusively. The Turkish owner even appeared in the news during the refugee crisis: unlike many other hair salons in the area, he welcomed people who walked in.

In the 8th district, two neon advertisements for hair salons have also disappeared in the past few years: one was the “Women’s Hairdresser” sign on Verseny utca, while the other was the “Men’s Hairdresser Cooperative” sign on Rákóczi út.

Photo: István Prusinszki

There is even a photograph from 1959 of the shop at Thököly út 22, where at that time the salon was advertised not by a neon sign, but by a simple signboard. The owner, József Halász, started working there in 1963, at the age of 18, by which time the neon sign was already in place. He also recalled later selling the neon advertisement to an interested buyer for 100,000 forints. Since then, of course, the shop itself has also closed down. Sadly, this is a rather typical story – it seems that almost all places like this are destined to share the same fate.