9 Tips That Will Save You Hundreds on Hair Care

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Believe it or not, hair care is one of my biggest personal expenses. And I would bet that most women would probably say the same thing.

Most of us buy product, dyes, shampoo, conditioner, hair tools, serums, hair elastics (where do they all go anyway?), and more. So here are some tips and tricks on how to nurture your locks without going broke.

1- Learn to cut your family’s hair. Buying a professional kit (found here) costs as much as two hair cuts. Investing in these kits and watching good tutorials can have you cutting your boy’s and girls hair pretty well. This will save you considerably. If your spouse or kids absolutely refuse to let you cut their hair, look for coupons for hair cuts.

2- Air dry your hair for as long as possible. I always towel dry my hair pretty good, put in some product and then get ready or do other things. I usually let my hair dry by itself but if I do need to speed up the process, I get ready and the very last thing I do is grab my round brush and blow dry. This saves me a considerable amount of time. I understand not all hair types can handle this routine, but by blow drying for 5 minutes as opposed to 45 (yes I have THICK hair) saves on time and electricity. It’s also easier on your hair (fewer split ends and deep conditions).

3- Unplug your hair tools. Just having your appliances plugged in (even if you aren’t using them) uses/wastes electricity.

4- Use a professional. Professional dye lasts longer than box dye. Not only that you can tailor the color so the regrowth isn’t as noticeable  (which buys you more time between colors).

When I first used a box dye my hair came out orange-ish. Then I had to pay a professional to color correct it (which is even more expensive than a regular color). I learned my lesson and stayed away from box color… until 5 years later I decided to try dying my hair again. Only this time I went to a salon supplier and got the professional dye, brushes, developer etc. that my stylist uses. The result: I looked like a ZEBRA. Seriously it was ridiculous. Although I laughed for hours (and still do when I think of it) it was a costly mistake. I tried fixing it by having a cheaper stylist (brand new out of beauty school) dye my whole hair brunette. She didn’t treat my hair or blend the colors so my hair ended up being all sorts of browns, greens and oranges. YIKES! Instead of having her redo it (because I didn’t trust her skill) I paid TOP dollar – over $200 – for a professional color correctionist to fix it. She did a great job and it was worth the money. She had to use 4 different colors to match it all up and it took her 3 hours.

But in total when all was said and done that whole experience cost me $400.00 to ‘dye’ my hair. That is over 2 years worth of professional hair coloring and cutting for me. So now, I recommend everyone search out a good colorist with great reviews and a competitive price and if they are really good, stick with them. You may also be able to negotiate or get a discount if you refer your friends to her/him.

Also, when/if you color your hair, have them weave some of your natural color in. This makes it so the regrowth isn’t too noticeable and you can wait longer in between treatments. Once the roots start becoming noticeable I blow dry my hair upside down and get lots of volume on the roots which hides them pretty well. I can go about 6 months in between colors and cuts.

5- Coupon and/or buy on sale. Hair products and accessories (with use of coupons and sales) are usually under $1.00 if not free for me. I try to buy the higher quality stuff as well. If I have it in my budget I love to buy Biolage, but if I don’t, I’ll go with a store brand like Dove, Panteen ProV, or something similar. My sister uses really cheap shampoo but high quality conditioner. That also saves her money without sacrificing too much on quality.

6- Don’t wash your hair everyday. Unless you exercised hard that day, skipping a day is actually healthy for your hair. My stylist says the maximum you should be washing is every other day. Washing daily is hard on the hair because it strips it of its oils.

7- Buy high quality hair tools in the first place. After buying and trying 10 different styles and  brands of curling irons, I about gave up on them. My hair won’t hold a curl for the life of it. I had to re-curl 3 times on my wedding day because even with moose and gobs of hairspray, the curls wouldn’t stay. I got my absolute favorite hair tool EVER at a garage sale. It’s the Jose Eber wand. Using this curling wand my hair held the curl for the entire day! The next morning when there was still some curl in it I thought I was witnessing a full on miracle!! It took me until almost thirty to realize that my hair CAN hold a curl.  So even if you don’t have the money to buy it brand new, check the classifieds, ask your hair stylist if she knows where you can find a great deal, etc. After buying 10 different curling irons I wish I had just bought this Jose Eber to begin with.

The same goes for hair that is hard to tame and is always needing a good straightener. Using a top of the line straightener like this BabyLiss will save you over time than buying lots of cheaper ones and having them break or not work.

8- Rinse in cold water. One of the hair stylists I went to while I was in high school taught me to ring out my hair really well in between shampoo and conditioning. The less wet the hair, the better the conditioner will work (and stay) on the hair. Once its on, let it sit for at least a few minutes. Then turn the water to cool or cold and rinse your conditioner out. Hot water will really rinse it all away while cool water allows the conditioner to stay on the strands and moisturize them even after you get out of the shower. This made it very healthy! She and I noticed a huge difference in how healthy my hair was after doing this for a few months. I also don’t condition the very top of my head (which saves in conditioner) but also helps my hair to not get oily as fast.

9- Don’t color your hair at all. My sisters and mom don’t color their hair. This has saved them considerably. Although it’s not for me, my friends and family who choose not to color their hair save the most!

How do you save on your hair?

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