How To Save On Hair Care
Unless you are fortunate enough to have an easy-care style like my handsome husband (who is bald :)), hair care can be a significant area of your budget. You want to look good, but if you are in a lot of debt or have a tight budget, it just doesn’t make sense to spend $200 a month on your hair.
I personally have very high-maintenance hair: it’s curly (which makes it difficult to cut) and it turns red in about half a second (which makes it difficult to color). I have tried cheaper DIY alternatives, but they have never worked out for me (especially the time I put “Sun-In” on my hair the week before my wedding-ha!)
My solution to avoid complete hair disaster has been to find a stylist at a chain salon who came highly recommended, does a good job, but doesn’t charge me an arm and a leg. To save more, I wait longer between appointments and use the email coupons that the chain offers. To make more room in the budget, I save my birthday money and any miscellaneous money we have left over.
A few months ago I asked my readers on Facebook how to save on hair care and received some terrific responses. My readers chimed in with everything from Kool Aid hair dye to marrying a man who’s mom is a cosmetologist–haha!
Here are a couple of the more traditional ideas:
“Buy a hair trimmer and do it yourself. My husband suggested this years ago because a cut cost him $10 and a trimmer only cost about $40. We now use that same trimmer for all the males in the household and have saved a lot of money.“–Julie
“I trade services with my stylist. I get a $100 cut and color every six weeks for nothing!”–Kristen
“Get a demi-colour. Fades rather than grows out. And use a good hydrating shampoo so your ends don’t go nuts.”–Krystle
“A beauty school usually offers cuts and colors for less than a stylist charges and the student is supervised and their work checked before you leave.”–Jessica
“Keeping it longer with a simple cut. Can go 3-6 months in between haircuts.”–Melissa
You can read all of the helpful ideas here.
How do you save on hair care for your family? Leave a comment. 🙂
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I haven’t seen this mentioned at any of the budgeting sites I go to, so I guess I need to start getting the word out. I use something called a creaclip to give myself long, layered haircuts. I’ve been happily using this tool for two years now with no regrets. The company that manufactures it has hundreds of video tutorials on youtube for all kinds of different styles, lengths, and hair types. My hair is like yours, Kimberlee–curly and unruly. Since my haircut budget is essentially zero (the nice shears and creaclip have paid for themselves at this point) I allow myself to “splurge” on the only shampoo and conditioner I have found that really keeps my hair healthy and shiny: the Organix line. However, I find ways to keep my costs low by buying it from pharmacies when it’s buy 1 get 1 free (a few times a year), and trying to get it in the 50% more free bottles. When I can combine the two I REALLY stock up. I love your blog, by the way. Thanks for sharing your wisdom!
Thanks so much for that tip Megan! I have never heard of the creaclip. I will have to check it out.
I have been reading up on how you save money and I would like to say first and foremost THANK YOU! Next I would love to share with all the women who read this one of the BEST ways to save on feminine hygiene. It is called the Diva cup and it can be found in health food stores or online at http://www.divacup.com I started using the Diva Cup 3 years ago and I have to say that it has transformed how I view ” that time of the month” ! It is a surgical silicone cup that warms up to your body temp and catches the flow. It inserts like a tampon but it is REUSABLE! There are no chemicals in this cup and it actually reduced my cramps and the length of my period! I no longer have to buy tampons because you only buy one and reuse it ever month! The amount of money I have saved is amazing and I never have to worry about rushing to the bathroom if I am out and about! Ladies, I am a mother of two boys and happily married and DO NOT work for this company! I just LOVE it! Hope this helps those that find “that time of month” a pain and a financial drain!
I make my own beauty products and recently started selling them on Etsy, so I save a lot on Beauty products that way. I have had a hard time finding a good homemade shampoo recipe, but I have come across some that look more promising recently. There is a good one on the blog One Good thing by Jillee. I use a dry shampoo and wash my year a couple times a week (This is better for your hair anyways, and less drying). I use the dry shampoo Satin Sugar Hair and Body Powder but you can use Cornstarch or Babypowder. To save money on Hair cuts I go to the Aveda Academy Salon, where you can get your hair cut by a master’s student. They charge $45-50 depending on how much experience they have. I always go 6 months between visits too.
I’ve cut my husband’s hair for 5 years and my kids have never had anybody else cut their hair (except for grandma!) I also cut my own hair. I buy shampoo/conditioner and body wash at sam’s and we don’t use very much- I’d say less than $100 a year for sure with all of our body care for our family (minus deodorant).
I typically go to Sally’s buy the hair color and color my own hair. Though I am only coloring it one color, I usually ask a friend or my mom to help and get away with paying about 10 to 15 for the hair color and solution. Ask one of the ladies there at the store to make sure you are buying the right solution based off what you color you are coloring your hair. The first time you will have to buy gloves, a small bowl, “paint” brush and applicator bottle but there after you only need the color and solution if you buy only enough for a one time use. As for cutting my hair I can’t find anyone I like that isnt charging what I think is fair so I wait and use sulfate free shampoo which seems to help with less split ends and better hair condition. I typically put off getting a hair cut as long as I possibly can. Oh and I use coupons to buy my sulfate free shampoo and conditioner because its typically more expensive.
I am so glad I read this! My husband has recently been laid off, so I don’t want to spend money on a hair cut even though I desperately need one. I found a local beauty school that does hair cuts for $8!!! YAY! I am going to do it after family pictures, just in case they don’t do a superb job. I really care about my hair, so I’m nervous but at least it grows back.
When I realized that it was costing us $1,080 a year just to get my husband and son’s hair cut every three weeks, we bought our own clippers! My husband learned how to cut hair in college from his football teammates, so he already knew what to do. He cuts our son’s hair every two weeks, and I cut his hair every Sunday afternoon. Both have really short hair, so it is not that difficult. I only get my hair cut once a year for a cost of $35. I have always been fortunate to have very thick and healthy hair. I only wash it every other day to keep it from drying out, and rarely use hair products other than shampoo. Doing your own hair is a great way to save money!
Yes. Back then I was really upset, but now I would probably hug the girl who did it because I know she felt bad.
I had to laugh about the Sun-in. I got cheap highlights before my wedding and had two big white stripes down each side of my head like the bride of Frankenstein! Cost twice as much to fix it…hide it.
It’s all funny now, right? 🙂
I use baking soda and vinegar to wash my hair (even my hairstylist is impressed with the results). Check out “no poo” and no shampoo and such online. That costs probably $10 to shampoo my family for a year!!! Also my husband cuts his own hair with trimmers and i do the boys hair… So my hair is the only one that goes to the salon every 6 months or so…
I have seen the no shampoo posts, but just haven’t been able to go there yet. 🙂
I haven’t had a salon haircut in about 5 years. I have very curly hair and it always looked the same when I left, just shorter. Since I spent so much time and money trying to keep the frizz down in humid Florida, I finally decided to see what would happen if I grew my hair out.
My hair is almost classic length and looks sooo much better. The added weight keeps the frizz down and my husband loves, loves, loves it.
I use a clarifying shampoo every other day after my runs, but only up by my roots and then I rinse and condition the rest. When I get out of the shower I rub either olive oil or grapeseed oil over the ends to keep them moist. Maybe once a year or so I have my dh cut about an inch off the bottom just to even it up a bit.
I go to a very fancy salon… But always go to the cheapest stylist ($41 instead of the average of $60). I’ve never gotten a bad haircut! I grow it out for Locks of Love, so the time between cuts is around 3 months.
My salon offers charity days now and then for various causes. They only take cash, but it takes my $41 haircut down to $20! Those days I like to invite family and friends to go with me so we can have a girly afternoon.
I like the charity day idea. I will have to see if local salons do something like that.
We use our own hair trimmer on my husband’s hair. And we recently stopped using shampoo and hair products altogether. There are many sources on the internet for methods to wash your hair without harmful chemicals and at a MUCH lower cost. We use a diluted baking soda mixture to rinse the scalp and hair, and then a diluted apple cider vinegar mixture to keep hair manageable. I have wavy waist length hair and need only wash it with baking soda once a week. A few times a week I rinse it with hot water as I am a very physically active person and like to rinse out the perspiration after running. My hair is much happier, looks and feels better, and costs pennies per month to keep clean. I also love that I am not exposing my hair and skin to further chemicals that only tend to dry out my hair and make it frizzy.