Mid Sussex towns rank among country’s best for top haircuts
New research by hair transplant specialists has revealed that two Mid Sussex towns have the best haircuts in the country.
Barbers in the Mid Sussex council area average 4.82 stars out of five against a UK average of 4.75, which puts the area among the 25 highest of the 258 council areas ranked across the UK.
Therefore research showed that people in Haywards Heath and Burgess Hill have some of the best haircuts in the UK.
UK Hair Transplants did not judge anybody's hair for the research and instead rated every area on its barbers, UK Hair Transplants checked the Google listing of every barber shop in the UK on November 1 2026.
The Mid Sussex area has 40 barbers in the ranking with 6,625 reviews between them, and one of those barbers (2%) averages under 4.5 stars, compared with 13.1% of barbers across the UK.
Of all the reviews left for barbers there 2.4% are one or two stars, compared with 4.1% across the UK, and four barbers in the area have a perfect 5.00.
In October, UK Hair Transplants also analysed the most recent five-star reviews with a written comment for the area's 18 highest-rated barbers, taking up to 15 for each barber and 270 reviews in all, to see what customers there praise most. The haircut itself came first, with 189 of them (70%) praising the barber's skill, attention to detail or getting exactly the cut they asked for.
Friendly and welcoming staff came up in 148 of the reviews (55%), being a regular who would not go anywhere else in 52 (19%), how good the barber was with children or nervous customers in 39 (14%) and a clean and professional shop in 30 (11%), with many reviews praising more than one thing.
One customer wrote: "Always a great haircut. The chat is top notch. And the price is reasonable. I wouldn’t go anywhere else," while another said: "These barbers are artists behind the clippers. Nothing but straight fire. Would highly recommend." A third wrote: "Best barber around. Haircut is always to a high standard and all staff are very welcoming," and a fourth said: "Real welcoming atmosphere and great haircut to go with it. Will definitely be coming back."
Elsewhere in Sussex, Wealden 4.78, Horsham 4.80 and Brighton and Hove 4.83.
Across the UK, Newham in east London is bottom of the UK Hair Transplants ranking on 4.54 and Lincoln, the Vale of Glamorgan and Teignbridge share top spot on 4.85.
Dr Adam Ali, Hair Transplant Surgeon at UK Hair Transplants, said: "People in Haywards Heath and Burgess Hill can be pleased with this one, because a good barber matters more than most people think. They see the back of your head every few weeks and you never do, so they're often the first person to notice a crown getting thinner or a hairline creeping back.
"It's clear from these scores that people in Haywards Heath and Burgess Hill trust the person cutting their hair. Someone who's cut your hair for years knows what it used to look like, so they can tell you honestly when it's changing."
He added: "Plenty of men are too embarrassed to bring it up, so just ask what they can see back there next time you're in the chair, because the earlier you know your hair is thinning, the more can be done about it."