Hair Care

I color at home, and pay around $40 for a trim every 8 weeks or so. I would LOVE to be blond, but it is just too expensive to keep up. That is a car payment!!

These dollar amounts totally freak me out...like the other person said, that is a car payment (or mortgage payment, even). WOW.

I have only had highlights done professionally, about 10 years ago and I think it cost only $50-60. I loved the results, but when I went back a second time after a couple of months, I was very disappointed that even a professional could not perfectly "match up" the old/new highlights to my satisfaction. I am way too OCD for that business - and went back to dark hair.

Honestly to me the majority of people who go to salons and pay hundreds for their services look no different than those who do their own stuff at home. I know that's an unpopular opinion, but whatever. A friend of mine has long, dark auburn hair and she pays around $200/month for salon services but her hair looks awesome for 3-4 days and then it has the same greying roots and greasy look as it did before she started "professional upkeep".

OTOH, I had a boss whose hair looked exactly like Jennifer Aniston's. Perfectly shiny with about 10 colors of gold-blond-honey going on. It was gorgeous hair and I know she paid dearly for it, probably close to the $500 you mentioned. But I could kind of understand that for her, she was a professional in the public eye and her hair was by far her best feature/asset physically speaking.

I don't color my hair or anything. I usually just get it trimmed, sometimes layered a bit, so my trips to the hair salon are very easy. I used to go to a chain and get a $15 trim. I recently found a local place that does a wash, cut, and dry for $13 and the lady that works there is really experienced, unlike the chains where you get girls just out of cosmetology school. I go about every 5 months. I need to start going more often though. But yeah, I can't relate at all to you guys spending hundreds at fancy salons haha

I'm 59 now and for years I fussed with my hair. It was always fine, and sick straight, golden blonde up until 20 when it darkened to ash blonde. I hated it, so started painting lightened streaks in myself---I've always been artistic. I also paid for permanents for years, which dried out my hair and made it brittle. I started swimming 19 years ago and the clorine dried it out even more. I started putting on a moisturizing pack, a cloth swim cap,and then a slicone one. I swim for an hour and my hair gets a beauty treatment 4 times a week. I then shampoo, moisturize, and put on a linseed oil for shine and suppleness. I no longer get permanents---I decided to live with the hair God gave me. After i began menopause my hair started to get naturally wavey--oh the irony after a lifetime of permanents. Now I have great hair. I stick it in a pony tail and I've done the shading thing--left the roots darker shading into blonde at the ends. I still touch up with lightening streaks myself. My hair is smooth and silky, and I wish I'd done this 20 yrs ago. I get a cut and blowdry every 2 months and leave it shoulder length, with a simple cut. No worries, no hassles, and no expense. My advice is to simplify as much as you can, and do what you can yourself. Best

You can also try a beauty school! An instructor supervises a student, and it's super cheap! I go to this chain of beauty schools: http://www.marinello.com/beauty-schools/santa-clara-ca/Guest-Services.aspx

I spend $180 (with tip) to get full highlights and a cut. My guy used to work with some celebrities in LA and was a national color instructor at Aveda. He does such an amazing job on highlights that I once went 6 months before I had to go again... and my hair grows SO fast.. But he does them in a way that it really isn't obvious when it's growing out. He's super awesome.

Holy cow...I go to a privately owned salon and pay $75 for multicolor high and low lights, shampoo and a cut!

I have a serious amount of very long hair, and I go to a privately owned salon about every three-four months. I get highlights and lowlights, (full foil) a trim and my eyebrows waxed, and buy a product or two and it's a usually about $120. It takes 2-3 hours.

I usually go every 6 weeks and typically my bill is around $170 or so. Usually color, cut, highlights.

Hey all,

How much does it cost you to go to the salon and get your hair done? What do you have done? How frequently do you go? Do you go to a chain or 'private' salon?

I'm asking because I began my little hair-dying-regimen when I was 13. The first time ever I had my dirty blonde hair (which was beginning to darken) bleached, trimmed and had red low lights put in. It was $500 with a tip, shampoo, conditioner, etc at Dillards.
A few things happened and that was no longer affordable (I was going every 3 weeks and it was about $350). I got my hair dyed brown by a friend (natural color) and left it be for a few years.

..then I wanted to be blonde again, went to a cute little privately owned salon, and back to $400-$500 bills. I thought that was extreme, so I went to another guy I knew who does hair and, again, $400. This was for Caucasian hair that has been classified as a blonde (Darkest shade), not super thick hair, going to a lighter base with bleached streaks. It just sounds RIDICULOUS.

Where do you guys go, what do you pay? I don't know if I can keep up this extreme stuff for too long. >_>

That price is INSANE. I used to get the trim/highlights/style and it was around $120ish (without tip) every 6 weeks or so.

oh wow that is excessive. I usually wouldn't pay any more than $280 every couple of months but now that I have gone balague/ombre it's a lot less maintenance, only need to retouch the colour up top which is only like $70

*kitten* that *kitten*! I go to fantastic Sams (chain salon) to get my hair cut $15. I color my own hair, the dye cost anywhere between $5-20, depending on what I'm doing. So for less than $50 I look fabulous!

Yesterday I colored my hair dark brown, with alpine green highlights, $5 for the punky colour, $3 for a box of brown dye, and $7 for the highlighting kit. I just had my best friend pull my hair through a cap and I was able to do the rest. All together I spend $30 for a haircut and dye job.

Ive been a hairstylist for over 30 years and i think the prices some of these places charge are over the top. Im old school as far as prices but am very up to date on color as its one of my specialities. I also own my salon and have 2 other stylist working with me. My personal view is id rather have my clients be able to afford to have their hair done more often so i am more in the under $100 range for full hilites haircut style.

I dye my own hair: about $8 for Feria at Walmart. I also cut my own hair. Nobody else touches my hair, because no one else does it right.

So reassuring that some of you guys pay more than me. I used to have really short hair and paid $5 to a men's hair cutting school, the the results were spotty. I live in an expensive neighborhood, but I finally decided that I really wanted to go to a women's stylist and it started costing me around $75 pre tip. Then I switched to someone else who charded about the same, but they included washing and blow drying. Last time I went there, the guy (who does a great cut, btw) suggested I add some color. I'm 67 and have very little gray, but my hair has lost it's brightness, so I agreed with him, chose this really pretty color and it's going to cost another $90, so I'll be payingabout $165 before tip. It took my breath away! The last time I dyed my hair I had a special deal where the stylist was leaning to color and they only added $15 for color.

I just heard about a new stylist on the lower east side who has a place called "Crops for Girls". He specializes in short hair, but feminine. don't know what he charges, but I'm going to check it out. I like short hair because it's easier to take care of and I'm always leaving the gym soaking wet and have to wash my hair every day. With it longer now, I have to spend a lot of time on my hair. So money plus my time, I'm really disgusted with myself. ;-)