Now I don’t dye my hair at all, I got a free haircut last month (WOOT!) as a promotion, and I kind of just let it run free until 6 months has passed..

The trick is I usually put my hair up in a bun, so I don’t really need to “deal” with it, and my hair is pretty thick/wavy but also straight at times so I don’t need to do much to it to make it look gorgeous.. *hearts her hair*

NOW: I moved to a bigger city with TWO hair colleges! I get my hair cut there for $12. I then color it myself for about $8 every six weeks. So… maybe $100 a year. And I usually get drugstore stuff on sale now.

I found this post interesting, because I too lately have started feeling the urge to splurge and go back to my pre-university, carefree days of expensive salon treatments. Sure, I loved it, who doesn’t?! But what I like and what I can JUSTIFY spending $100 on are two different stories.

A final thought, hair is one of the biggest appearance things; you can have the outfit, the makeup, etc, down pat but if the hair is wacky… done. LOL. If you want to skimp on the products, makeup, or buy discount clothes, you might be able to get away with it, but a bad dye job (greenish brown hue, or plum purplish undertones) is a dead “cheap” give away. Almost worth spending the money on.

However I used to get partial highlighs, and that made it about $650 ($160/visit plus an extra visit a year – I have darker blond hair, really fine, so I didn’t need touch ups that often).

I pay $40 for my haircut including tip.
I also will do a semi-permanent rinse in my hair (no more than twice/year). I do this at home, which costs me about $8 each time.
I take advantage of sales, coupons and rebates at drugstores like Walgreens and Rite Aid, so I rarely pay more than $2 for a bottle of shampoo or conditioner. I probably go through 3 sets a year. I do the same for styling products. I probably buy 3 different kinds each year
Total:
$40×2 = 80
$8-2 = 16
$4 (shampoo and conditioner) x3 = 12
$2 x3 = $6
80+16+12+6 = $114/year or 9.50/month. Not too bad!

My last appointment totalled $162. Normally, it had always been a little more expensive when I would get a trim, too (usually $120 including tip). So, I inquired–the color and highlights were $90, the cut was $50, and rest was tip. And, I said, “But, no, I didn’t get a cut–I got a trim!” She said, “No, it was a cut.” I have long, straight hair. It’s the easiest style in the world to cut–just straight across the bottom. A child could do it. Being that I wasn’t changing the style at all, I considered what she did a trim…not a cut. But, resistance was futile. I paid the extra charge and have not gone back since.

I decided I’d try the color/highlights on my own from box colors. How much do you think it cost me? Oh, about $21. And, I’ve gotten so many compliments on my hair from perfect strangers as a result! So, the change has been a blessing in disguise. Highlights don’t require a degree in brain surgery after all.

I’ll just get a friend to trim my hair for free.

My wallet is grateful, too. I’ve gone from $1450/year to what will be more like $250/year.

I used to do supercuts every 6 weeks when I was in grad school, but I told myself that when I graduated, I was NEVER going back to cheapy haircut places again. I love when people play with my hair and take a long time to luxuriously shampoo and condition and cut my hair, so I make it a priority in my budget.

Then again, I now get my hair cut 3 times a year or so, at $45-$50 a pop, so I think I’m spending LESS now (supercuts was ~$20 with tip, 8-9 times a year). So, ~$150/yr from haircuts.

I stock up on shampoo/conditioner when CVS has a free or 2 for one sale and I have a coupon, so I spend less than $20 a year on that. Other than that, I don’t use any product in my hair. I haven’t bought new hair clips or bands in a few years…

So my total is somewhere between $150-$200/yr.

And by straight, I mean, get-up-take-a-shower-air-dry-air-pull-a-brush-through-it-out-the-door straight.

If you are interested in straightening, go to an Asian salon and get their “magic perm,” it might also be known as thermal reconditioning. Be prepared to spend $150-$400 for it, depending on the location, the stylist, and your hair’s length and thickness.

To the question, though: I don’t think I spend all that much on my hair in a year. One of the things I love about having long hair is that I can get away with only cutting it 2 times per year (maybe 3 if there’s a special occasion). It goes something like this:

2 haircuts @ $18 + tip = $55ish
Shampoo & Conditioner (bought at the dollar store) = $12ish
Spray gel (not bought at the dollar store, I’m picky) = $30ish

Total annual upkeep: $97ish

That doesn’t count the best hair purchase I’ve ever made, a CHI ceramic straightener, bought for ~$125 about 4 years ago and used almost daily since. I do feel like the money I save on cheap haircare is eaten up with the time investment I make by straightening almost every day. Oh, well! That’s the price of being beautiful, eh?

Add in some 99 cent shampoo and conditioner about once a month and I’ll spend at most $120 per year.

Being a guy has its perks.