English Major, who is contemplating cutting her hair by herself, is a braver soul than I.
I used to trim my bangs when I was younger, but now that I’ve had nice haircuts at a little salon near my school, it’s hard to go back to Supercuts. I get 3 or 4 haircuts a year… usually I get long layers so it doesn’t require constant maintainence. Given all of that, I’m not willing to chance a fiasco with my scissors-wielding self.
I’m going to the salon this afternoon to update my layers. I guess hair is one area where I can’t scrimp on too much.
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See, I wouldn’t even be balking if it were $43—I usually paid around $50 for amazing cuts in Portland, and delightedly, but it’s more expensive in New York, especially since I won’t trust a non-curly-hair-specializing salon with my curls. My choice is amongst the salon I used for special occasions (i.e., when my parents were paying) (or a salon of similar reputation & price), which will run me around $150, a salon I’ve never tried (which will cost me around $60 as well as angst), and cutting it my own self. So far, I’m leaning towards the $60 cut. And that doesn’t include any coloring!
It’s expensive to be high-maintenance in New York.
My first-ever job was a shampoo girl at a family salon in my neighborhood. It made me a believer in good hair product. I started using a couple different products because I could get them at-cost, and I could see daily the difference it made in people’s hair. Right now, I use Matrix Biolage products for my long, super-thick, baby-fine hair. LOVE it. The biggest difference I noticed between using grocery store brands like Salon Selectives or Herbal Essences, and using my salon brands, is that my hair just doesn’t get as tangled as it used to. Even a day in the waves/sun/salt abuse at the beach isn’t so bad…with a little work, I can get my hair combed neatly. It used to be a huge fight with knots and tangles.
If you try to stock up at the 2 for $20 sales on the liter bottles, you can save yourself a bunch of money on hair product. Salons usually run the best promotions for the holidays, once in the spring, and back-to-school.
The ones that I’d still pay full retail for:
Matrix – Biolage – normalizing shampoo, daily leave-in tonic, mousse
(matrix amplify was awful. all their other products are great)
Redken – All Soft line, Glass smoothing serum
I started getting organic products from the Whole Foods near me and although it’s pricier than the stuff I used to get at the supermarket or Target or wherever, it’s both less expensive than the salon brands and actually nearly as good. The difference between any of them is not huge at first, but by the time I’m done with a salon brand or organic bottle, my hair still responds to it the same way it did when I used it the first couple of times (instead of something like Pantene where my hair feels awful as I’m finishing up the bottle).
But I also would never cut my own hair. Too risky, and since I only get it done 2-3 times a year, not worth scrimping on. (Also with the long layers.. perhaps the lowest maintenance style there is!
English Major – Yikes, NYC is expensive! There was recently a NY Times article that says curly-haired women spend more money than straight-haired women… I guess you’re living that story! I hope you find a good place that doesn’t break the bank. Good luck!
Margo – Thanks for that comment! I’ll have to email you and ask for more recommendations!
I have thick, wavy hair that tends to frizz up sometimes – got any good recs on what kind of shampoo to use? Does Biolage dry up your hair?
Strange Bird – I’m interested in organic products as well (when I’m at Whole Foods, it’s like I’m a kid in a candy store). Do you have any specific brands/products you like?
I nearly went for the $60 haircut but I decided to let someone in Chinatown cut it for $20 including tips. I walked into some random place that looked nice on the inside and took a chance.
I did cut my own hair once and I did such a bad job. My hair was really thick and frizzy back in high school and well i ended up cutting one side too short and the other was too long. People asked me if I got my haircut somewhere the next day and said it looked good … heh.
He did a fabulous job of turning my dry, thick and wavy hair into a sophisticated layered cut.
I thought of buying Trade Joe’s shampoo and conditioner … I think it has Jojoba oil which is good for the hair? I should read Paula’s book on “don’t go to the cosmetics store without me.” But my male roommate also uses Trader Joe’s and I don’t want to mix up the ones we use. I thought of buying Matrix biolage and Paul mitchell recently … it’s only $15 a liter bottle at Costco or 2 for $20 like StrangeBird said, which is a great deal.
If you could post some reviews, that’d be great. I’ll do the same if I decide to try Trader Joe’s. It’s cheap though … almost the same as drugstore prices … $2 bucks a bottle.
Heh heh… You should read my blog post last March about cutting my own hair. SingleMa just about had a fit.
Consider donating your hair if any of you ladies grow your hair long. I contributed my hair to Locks of Love.
I agree with Margo, you can’t skimp too much on hair product. However, you’ll find that a lot of the products which make your hair feel great have silicone in them, which builds up over time and eventually dries it out. It’s why I stopped using Pantene Smooth and Sleek.
I use Aloe 80 Organics (I think is what it’s called) Daily Shampoo/Conditioner. It also smells really good (lemon, rosemary and … something else? I forgot!).
I find that doing some “dusting,” which is trimming off split ends as they occur, make it possible to go much longer between expensive haircuts without looking ragged.
Have you ever used Burt’s Bees shampoo bar? It’s supposed to be heavenly. I wish I could try out each of the things on the organic shelf, one by one!
(And since someone recommended Locks of Love for the long-haired and charitable-minded, let me add my anti-rec for that organization: it’s a for-profit group that makes very few actual wigs. Mostly, they sell your hair and make a killing.)
I have to admit that I pay way more than I should ($50+) to get my hair cut, despite the fact that it’s long and straight, with no layering, so it’s probably one of the universe’s easiest cuts that I could get a friend to do for me. But I figure it’s only once a year, so it’s worth the indulgence (I love having someone else wash my hair). On the subject of shampoo and conditioner, I am currently loving the Garnier Fructis Length and Strength line – they make my very fine hair super soft and not at all tangly. It’s particularly noticeable on the tips. My best money saving trick in this area is that I convinced my husband to let me try cutting his hair. It’s been a year now, and as far as I can tell, no one notices the difference. (I did send him to a professional before our wedding.) The savings are huge, because he used to pay to get a haircut every 4-6 weeks.
I can’t cut my own hair, or anyone else’s It would be a disaster.
But, we are grad-student poor, and since I like my expensive salon I try and space my cuts about every four to six months. If I desperately need a trim I’ll go to a cheap place in between, but JUST for a trim, nothing fancy.
However, to save money I do go cheaper than cheap with shampoo (VO5) and then use my all-time favorite Biolage for conditioner. It took my husband two months of me doing this before he agreed to try such a cheap product, (VO5). He is a hair snob-but I am so happy to report that it is working out super well. And trust me when I say that I have ‘difficult’ hair and I never thought I could use a cheap product.
That being said, I think hair care is as important as using soap when you bathe. It’s just a personal hygiene requirement for me which I don’t fight too much just to save some money.
I pay 100 a week for my hair- LA