How much money do you spend on your hair?

[laststraw]

I was talking with my friend the other day, and she said she spends over $200 a month on her hair. Granted, she has beautiful hair, but $200 a month?!? I guess she goes into the beauty salon once a month and also uses expensive products on her hair. it seems like a ridiculous amount to spend, but she says all her friends spend that much and even more. Is this true? Does everyone spend that much on tier hair?

[LittleMissSplendid]

Funny you mention this. I've always gone to the hair salon myself and never paid that much attention to what was spent each month. Now that I'm tracking my expenses I'm noticing it does add up quickly and even trying to reduce costs by say going to a beauty school or diy isn't always going to save much because there are some things you just need to pay an expert for. I've also been purging old documents that give me some insight on what I have spent on things in the past and yep its pretty safe to say I spend a few hundred a month in the hair salon and on hair related products.

Is this normal? This probably depends on ones circle of friends. I'd say more than half my gal pals spend this much or more, while the rest spend far less. Those that spend less tend to avoid highlights, straightening treatments, trendy hair cuts, and spa like treatments that aren't really necessary but do make you feel/look good. Other things that can increase the price include having longer hair and tipping preferences.

[cardtrick]

$10 a month. I'm a guy...

[rennigade]

I shave mine down myself with a hair trimmer so $25 for the past 4 years.

My wife goes to one of those hair school places where the students actually cut your hair. The students on on their last year so they know what they're doing...and theres an instructor there at all times. I think it costs her $20 and she goes every 2 or 3 months.

If you star to get coloring and highlights...you can get into some big money. That stuff is expensive.

[frugalredhead]

My trims cost $27 without having it blow dried (I figure why bother because I always get it cut after work and am just going home anyway!) I have longer hair so I only go every 3-4 months, instead of the "recommended" 6-8 weeks. I use relatively cheap shampoo, but my hair is long and thick so I do go through shampoo pretty fast. I occasionally put mousse in it, but often don't use any styling products at all. So between the trims and the hair products, I'd say I spend $10 a month.

People with shorter hair definitely need trims on a more regular basis, and I haven't gone gray yet, so getting it colored would add to the expense too. Hopefully I have a little more time before that happens

My husband actually spends far more than I do - $12 for a trim every 2 weeks.

[LuckyRobin]

I go to a decent salon once a year and get a $35 with tip haircut, usually cutting my hair to my shoulders after it has grown to my waist. I do buy good shampoo. I haven't colored it in ages. I don't use conditioner as my hair has plenty of natural oils that condition it just fine. I don't use product or a hair dryer or curling irons or flat irons and the person who cuts my hair always exclaims over its excellent condition. It looks healthy and shiny.

I might do more if I had a professional job, but the animals here on the farm don't really care and my husband likes the simple style of long layers. So I think maybe $100 a year between the cut and 3 to 4 bottles of really good shampoo in the 32 oz size.

I taught myself a long time ago how to do fancy up-dos and different braidings, so if I need a more sophisticated look for any reason I can easily come up with it without having to go to a stylist to achieve it.

[wjcalderon]

I cut my really short hair myself.
I color my hair at home, but because it's so short I only use half a box each time.
I use Suave shampoo and conditioner and don't wash my hair every day.

Altogether, I probably spend about $4 a month.

[MonkeyMama]

I don't use product or a hair dryer or curling irons or flat irons and the person who cuts my hair always exclaims over its excellent condition. It looks healthy and shiny.

Exactly!

I pay on average $20 per year for a couple of haircuts. I always have a lot of compliments on my hair because it is so healthy.

I personally don't mind short hair (as a look), but from a practical standpoint it's way too much of a PITA. Not even from a financial standpoint, but there are just so many things I'd rather do than get my hair cut every 4-6 weeks and have to style it every day. My hair style has come about from that standpoint. The side bonus is that it costs very little money to maintain. (Just had to say that my hair habits weren't financially motivated, but more time-saving and practically motivated).

[HappySaver]

I love the feel of freshly cut hair so I can't imagine going too long without cutting it.

I used to get it cut every 10-12 weeks because that lined up with my highlights. I was paying $150 per visit, about 5 times per year.

Now that I've stopped coloring my hair and I'm cutting it myself, I cut it every 6-8 weeks. Basically, as often as my hair will let me. Why not? It's free. Oh, and I have medium-length hair. I couldn't cut it myself if I had short hair.

One-time initial cost was $25 for a good pair of scissors designed to cut hair. I agree with using good-quality shampoo, and not finding any other product necessary. I did invest in a good quality hairbrush a while back and that was well worth it.

[elessar78]

I'm a guy that keeps my hair pretty short so I need it cut every 2-3 weeks. About $18-20 with tip so it's anywhere from $350-$520 per year.

[autoxer]

I'm a guy and I splurged on a set of professional clippers about 6 years ago. It may have seemed silly to spend $110 on a pair of clippers, but averaging that over the last 6 years, it is less than $2/month. I now use them just about every week.

[krantcents]

I get a haircut every 4 weeks and it costs $40 with tip. I tried less expensive people and was unhappy with the cut. I attribute the cost to living in Los Angeles.

[cypher1]

Guy also who cuts his own hair (5 years now), every 2 weeks. I should probably get my clippers sharpened. I'm pretty sure the last time I paid for a haircut was 11-12 years ago.

[TheKayla]

As a girl, I spend $0 on my hair at salons. I buy my own shampoo, conditioner, and Henna for hair, and that's all I use, besides the occasional coconut oil for a treatment that I usually have in my pantry anyway. I have long hair, so I just trim the ends myself. If I had a more styled cut, something other than basic layers (SUPER easy to do by yourself), then I would probably spend ~$20+tip for a haircut with someone who knew what they were doing every 6 weeks or so.

I typically dye my hair myself with natural Henna, use coconut oil in it, and otherwise take good care of it by not over-shampooing. IMO, most the products are ridiculously overpriced, even though a lot are indeed great on your hair. If you ever go into Sally's, you can see the base price for all of the products they use in-salon, and buy them for yourself. I use Ion, salon-quality products and they are $8 for a huge container of it, but if my hair used those products in the salon, it would tack on another $15 to the bill!

Going to the salon for anything besides a necessary haircut is nice and comforting every now and then, but definitely an overpriced luxury. Some people who can afford it are just into it as their choice of luxury.

[disneysteve]

I spend very little.

I cut my own hair with a clipper. I bought that about 5 years ago for around $30.

Other than that, just shampoo and conditioner and I don't buy anything fancy or expensive. I use Aussie products and almost always have a coupon when we buy them at Target or WalMart. And we buy the large bottles to get the lower unit price.