Understanding the Hairstyle System in Sun and Moon
The barber shops in Alola let you change your trainer's appearance between routes. It's not a big deal mechanically, but people spend a lot of time on it. I've seen players waste half an hour walking between towns just to try out different looks. The Mirror Coat Braid is one of the more distinctive options available, and it shows up in guides like The Ultimate Guide To Pokemon Hairstyles In Sun And Moon Mirror Coat Braid And More because it looks sharp on female characters. Hairstyles unlock as you progress through the game. Early ones are cheap or free. The ones people actually want cost a few thousand Poké Dollars and sometimes require reaching certain milestones. I spent too much time on Route 3 and Route 7 trying to find the barbers before realizing they only appear in towns and cities. The shop locations are: Malie City, Hau'oli City, Poni Plains, and a couple of others. Check the map screen, not the overworld blindly. One edge case that caught me out: if you switch from the male to the female sprite (or vice versa), some hairstyles don't carry over properly in the save file. I lost my Mirror Coat Braid once because I didn't realize the game treats hair slots separately per gender. Workaround is to take a screenshot of your hair codes before switching, or just note down the slot number in the menu.
How to Access the Hairstyle Menu
Walk into any barbershop. Talk to the NPC behind the counter. The menu opens immediately. You'll see a grid of hair options with prices next to them. Some are locked and grayed out. Select the one you want, confirm, and walk out. There's no minigame. There's no animation sequence beyond a quick character turn. What beginners miss: the game saves your hairstyle preference across all playthroughs. If you start a new game, your previous hair choice carries over unless you change it. That's useful if you want the Mirror Coat Braid on a fresh run.
Cost Breakdown and Unlock Requirements
Most basic cuts run 500 to 2000 Poké Dollars. Fancy styles like the Mirror Coat Braid sit around 3000 to 5000. A few exclusive ones cost more or require specific conditions, like beating the Pokémon League or completing the Island Challenge. I remember one player complaining that their hairstyle didn't show up after beating the Elite Four. It turned out they hadn't talked to the right barber. Some barbers have different inventories. The counter-intuitive part is that the most expensive hairstyles aren't always the best looking. The Mirror Coat Braid is popular because it's clean and readable on screen, not because it costs the most. Don't overspend on something flashy just to try it. Test it first. Most barbers let you preview before confirming.
Get the Full Details
The Mirror Coat Braid Specifically
This style gives your female character a long braid that hangs down the back. It's one of the few hairstyles that actually looks like a braid rather than just longer hair. The male version has a similar option but it's less distinctive. If you're going for a clean, practical look, this is the one to pick. The braid renders well even at small sprite sizes. That matters because you'll see your character a lot during battles and overworld exploration. Some other hairstyles look fine in the menu but distort or disappear when you're zoomed out. I noticed this with a couple of the wilder options. The Mirror Coat Braid doesn't have that problem.
Common Pitfalls
First, you can't combine hairstyles. Picking one replaces whatever you had before. There's no layering system. Second, colored hair options are separate. If you want to dye the braid, you use the color menu, which is a different tab in the same shop. Third, if you're playing Ultra Sun or Ultra Moon, a few hairstyles are exclusive to one version. Check which version you have before buying. There's also the issue of save corruption people talk about online. In my experience, changing hairstyles never causes a problem. The bugs usually happen when you edit saves with third-party tools. Just use the in-game barber and you're fine.
Alternative Approaches
If you don't want to spend time on barbers, you can stick with the default hair for your chosen gender. It's functional and gets the job done. Some players prefer that for speedrun-style playthroughs where appearance doesn't matter. Others go all in and rotate styles every time they visit a new town. Neither approach is wrong. It depends on what you care about. For people who want detailed breakdowns of every available hairstyle, the guide I mentioned earlier covers all of them with screenshots. It's thorough without being fluff. Worth a look if you're planning a completionist run or just want to find the perfect look.
