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My Hair Salon Dilemma

Well, today is my hair salon day. I counted my money in my “Other” category and I do not want to spend all of it on my hair. I love my hairdresser but she is expensive.

Usually I get a cut, color, highlights and style which has cost me up to $140. Sometimes I just get roots done along with the cut and style. What she charges is never consistent. We will see what she charges today.

Today I am focused on what I can get done so as to not spend all of the money in my “Other” category. I definitely need a cut and style and roots done. But I think I am going to let the highlights grow out. 

Then I will see if I like the color of my hair this time. If not, I may experiment with coloring it again myself. If that works out, I may just get a cut and style every 6 weeks. So I will be on the lookout for a great deal at one of the drugstores on hair color. 

I am also going to quiz her on what she charges for roots or a full color. I am going to admit to her that I am on a budget. Honesty is always the best policy.

I am off to the hairdresser now and will report back to you when I get home. 

What do you guys spend on your hair at the salon? Am I paying the norm? I am not sure. 

I am trying to build up my “Other” category, not spend it down every month but it is hard with the cost of the hair salon.

I’m back after a side trip to Rite Aid which is right next to my hair salon.

My hairdresser colored my roots today, cut, and styled my hair. She charged me $ 75. and I gave her a 20% tip of $15.00 so total OOP was $ 90. Am I tipping too high?

I usually get my hair cut every 4 weeks but I pushed the next appointment out to 6 weeks. We will see if the roots last that long. If not I have root spray that I can use. I feel like I am addicted to going to her. She does such a great job. I did decide to grow the highlights out and let her know.  

While I was right next to Rite Aid, I stopped in and did a couple of great deals. For all of you who have husbands who use Gillette Mach 3 razors, the Day Logic razor 3 blade, 5 ct. fit them. They are on sale this week for $8.00 each and when you buy one you get $8.00 in bonus cash to use next time you buy something. The deal is limited to 2 so I got them both at once. So tomorrow 2- $8.00 bonus cash credits will show up on my account. So next week, I can use it toward an $8.00 order after my coupons are applied. I can save the other one for the following week or do a $16.00 plus coupon order. I love free money from the drugstores. Just always remember to give the cashier your Plenti Points card after your coupons have been scanned. The $8.00 automatically comes off when your card is scanned so I don’t do it till the end of the order to make sure I am at $ 8.00 or a bit over. Rite Aid is supposedly trying to fix this so that you have more control over when you use those credits. You must use any credits though within 60 days of earning them. 

The candy bars were on sale for $ .50 each so I used 2 of the $ .50/1 Q’s from our Smart Source this past weekend making them free.

27 replies on “My Hair Salon Dilemma”

I can't help you there. Shortly after I graduated from college, and started working fulltime in banking, I decided I didn't want to spend my free time, or my $ on a hairdresser, so I let my hair grow long, cut my bangs myself, and wore my hair back in a clip, or up in a bun for work. Enter baby #1, and my role as fulltime SAHM, and I had even less time to fuss about my hair. It's now over 30 years later, I still have teens/pre-teens at home, and I still don't set foot in a salon. I have let the bangs grow out, and DH trims the ends when I feel them getting ratty. I use drugstore brand (Clairol) hair color when I think of it/feel the urge/find the time. It's about $10/box, and works great for me.

Hi, I don't color my hair any more. It was hard to let grow out but I did it 3/4 of the way I almost caved. I have got used to it and many complements. I have short hair and trim and style 4 to 5weeks. Pay 22.00 plus tip and she is really good. changed a lot til I found her. I am on a tight budget and this works for me.Joyce

Hi Joyce,

That is wonderful Joyce. I have thought about doing this but I know that my hair is white under this color. I am afraid it will make me look washed out. But I still am keeping it as an alternative.

Hi, I live in the same area as you do, and use a hairstylist on Transit Road, in Amherst/Clarence area. I go every 6 weeks, and alternate between a getting full color or full color/cut. So I am cutting about every 12 weeks or so. The cut/color/style is $85 I think, and the color alone is $45 I think. Plus a tip of course. I never just do the roots. Highlights would be extra obviously, but I only did that once, just to see how it would look. Anyway, I think you could be overpaying. I and many of my friends go to this salon, and we really like our hairdresser- Sherri

Hi Sherri,

I know exactly what salon you are talking about. My DIL went there when they lived here. Don't your roots grow in during those 12 weeks? I spent $75. plus a $15.00 tip for $90. OOP today. That was a root color and cut and style.

I am going to give your 12 plan some thinking though. Thanks.

My hair is snow white under the color. My cousins have snow white hair, too. I am too washed out without color, so I would have to start wearing makeup, another pain and expense. When I worked, I had my hair cut once a month, first Tuesday at 1 pm…lol. Then, my hairdresser quit because of hand surgery and I am too chicken to try out another after about 25 years with her. I paid $15 for haircut. I washed and dried my own hair and left without any styling after the haircut. I hate having my hair shampooed and usually always hate how it is fixed. Hairspray breaks out my head and face, and I have allergies.

Now that I have had no hairdresser for 16 months, I have anyone I can get to trim the ends. I cut bangs and sides and actually like it better than the layered cut.

I use Nutrisses Garnier once a month or every five weeks–no 40 and no 415. I alternate which I use as I have more natural color when I do. My hair does not get too dark or too red. If you use a toothbrush on front part of hair at edge of face, the hair color gets better coverage of those little fine hairs and I feel like the color lasts longer since there is not so much white at the edges. Right now, I am at about $10 month on my hair.

You can probably end up with free hair color using coupons in the paper and PP.

I said that wrong. I use hair color every other week. sometimes it extends to 17 days instead of every fourteen. Still, I alternate the color. The roots in the top of my head, at a natural part are too white to not color often.

I cut it every other visit so the color gets done every visit which is every 6 weeks, gray does show on top and sides at about 4-5 weeks but not too much. Sherri

I refused to go to the hairdresser more than once every 6 months. I touched up my own roots with a touch up kit. I have totally grey hair and I have mine colored and foils put in. Now I have my sister do it. My hair is shoulder length so cutting it every month does not make sense. Get a style that needs less styling and touch up your own roots.

This is something I struggle with too. We moved to our area recently and I have tried several hairdressers, while trying to find one that I like. The one I have decided on is pricey, too, I think, but is probably the going rate (or less) in this city. I had let my gray grow in and someone called me out on it at a party, so I decided to color again. I did it last week and for just a gloss, all over color and cut , was $80… no highlights. (I only tipped $10, but don't tell my husband!!lol he doesn't think I should tip at all) It hurts my heart to pay that kind of money every few weeks. The gloss that she put on my hair, is a semi permanent, that is supposed to wash out, versus grow out. I'm hoping this will help keep the roots from being so noticeable. There are two girls that sit behind me in church, who do their own hair color, and theirs always looks nice. I think I'm going to investigate more into what they use and try to maybe start coloring my own. Isn't it awful what we put ourselves through? lol

All I can say is shame on the someone who called you out on your gray hair. I went gray about 10 years ago (50), and I have to say it took me about 5 years to get used to seeing my reflection in windows and photos. I had always had dark hair, and it took some getting used to before I felt really comfortable with myself. I’m lucky enough to have salt and pepper gray hair, so I still have some color around my face. I do wear more makeup than I used to, but I’m not sure it’s because of my hair or just because my complexion needs the extra help. I spend about $55 getting a really cute, sassy cut about every 6-8 weeks. I get lots of compliments, mostly from other women who say wish they had the courage to go gray, but for whatever reason don’t feel comfortable with it. Have you ever thought about getting low lights in your hair? It might add some color without having to go with the whole color/highlight routine.

Hi Little Penpen,

It is awful. I was in a similar situation as you. It took me 7 years to find a decent hairdresser. All of the others never did the cut properly that I wanted. They were cheap and inexperienced. So this is a huge struggle for me. I have the money to pay her but don't want to pay that much a year for my hair. I would rather either invest it or spend it elsewhere.

Hi Liz this is Chris. I don't know anything about hair color b/c I have always not colored my hair. I used to frost it back in the '70s when that was popular, though. LOL! Luckily my hair is not all white like yours. I guess I have learned not to sweat it since my chemo when I had to wear the little hats and it took awhile to grow back in and changed a lot. We have a Great Clips nearby where the ladies do a nice job on short hair styles. I try to go every 4-6 weeks. Recently I got my hair cut in a pixie style and I like it. It is a wash and towel dry and fluff and go type style. I do tip the 20%.

It seems that the salons and hair color are extremely expensive, my neighbor pays $140 every six weeks for cut and color and the black she getsr washes her out and the cut is not very well done. That said, I am extremely frugal in my hair care. Shortly after I first met my now husband I told him I had gotten a really bad haircut at the salon that I paid way too much for over eights months earlier and while I would be happy to never set foot in a salon again, I needed a haircut. This was as he was playing with my hair and he said yes your ends look rough, but I can give you a trim if you would like. Mind you this was just after he made dinner for me and I was estatic to learn he was a really good cook. So I asked him if he was serious and he said yes, he done it for friends and explained how he would section it, trim the layers, etc. so Saturday AM I was back at his house and said I am here for my appointment when he answered the door. So this brave lady took a seat, he put a towel around my shoulders, the combed out my hair, sectioned and meticulously trimmed each layer. I was feeling relaxed but nervous as I heard the shears snipping away at my hair. When he finished , I made a mad dash to the bathroom mirror to check his work. I was elated, he gave me the best haircut I could remember getting, and it was free! I told him he was now my stylist and years later no one has been allowed near hair since. We have our routine, every other monrh he puts a glass of merlot out for me. Capes me, combs out my hair, sections and trims my hair. I always wanted my hair long, and it now reaches my elbows. I get compliments on my hair. Hubby gives the children their monthly haircuts and now cuts my mom’s as well as a couple of my friend’s hair as well. He does my color every month, touching up my roots with henna as I told him colorist is part of the job description. He won’t do my mom’s or friends hair with the color, he said we can do each others, he will still give them haircuts though. So my annual cost is well under a hundred dollars with great results. He bought a flat hone for sharpening and he can sharpen the convex blades of his expensive hair shears so they stay sharp as well as doing his knives he likes razor sharp for cooking. My mom tried one his knives one day and said she needs to throw hers out and get some sharp new ones. He explained the knives were fine, just bring them over and he will sharpen them. She was estatic that her knives cut better than when new. So it is great to have a hubby who is handy with tools.

Hi Keri Hatgirl,

Your Hubby sounds like a sweet heart. You are so lucky that he can cut your family's hair. My Hubby always cut my sons when they were growing up and he did mine right up until about 11 years ago. His back will no longer allow him to do it. Hence, I have to go to the salon. BTW, welcome to my blog.

I will continue to get my highlights every 3-4 months and monthly hair cuts. I like the blondish in my hair, otherwise it is very dark and dreary. It matters to me how my hair looks, and affects how I feel. Vanity, I know…. it is what is is.

My hair is pure white and I get more compliments on the color than I ever did when I kept it colored. I just changed to a darker frame glasses and a bit brighter makeup. I also wear brighter colors around my face. Black actually looks good on me now.

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