1500 Days to Freedom

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Thursday Rant: $40 at the Salon, but no hair cut?!?

by 35 Comments

Mrs. 1500 here.

blowing away cashMr. 1500 and I moved to Douglas County in Colorado last year. Douglas County is a very expensive county, and we didn’t do adequate research before we moved here (a first, because usually we research the heck out of anything big like this.) Less than 3 months after moving here, we put the house back on the market, we hated it that much. Perhaps you remember a previous post about our wasteful neighbors? I honestly don’t think we could have found a less-like-us neighborhood that the one we moved to. Maybe Beverly Hills.

Anyway, I was reading the Denver Post recently, and saw an article about getting your hair blow-dried at a salon. Not a blow dry after a cut or color, but just going into the salon for the express purpose of getting your hair blown dry. What?!? I read on.

Getting your hair colored and cut can be expensive and time-consuming, but a salon blow-dry is one of modern life’s affordable and quick luxuries… As the economy improves, women are returning to salons for express services like manicures and $40 blowouts…

Wait! Did that just say $40 blowouts? Yup. This article is calling a $40 blowout “…one of modern life’s affordable and quick luxuries…”

I DON’T EVEN PAY $40 FOR A HAIRCUT, AND THAT COMES WITH A BLOW DRY!

The article goes on to mention 3 different blow-dry salons in the Denver area, and a quote from the editor of American Salon magazine “There are only 24 hours in the day and with so many things consuming our time, a blowout is a quick way to get a beauty service…” Like you HAVE to get a beauty service, and you don’t have time so you get a blowout just to get SOMETHING?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

She goes on to say “When your hair looks great, you’re going to feel good about yourself.” Yes, I agree with that statement. The twice a year I go to the salon, I feel really good coming out. I even feel the urge to put on makeup after a salon visit. But that feeling doesn’t last, because I have to wash my hair at the least, every two days. And I have to sleep on it that night, effectively messing it right up.

I can’t believe there is even one salon that offers this service exclusively, let alone enough customers who use this service to necessitate 3 of these in the Denver area.

So much money wasted on such frivolous things. Can you imagine what that money could do for your retirement? Who cares what your hair looks like, really. Did anyone ever die, and at their funeral, the eulogies said “She had great hair.”? Probably not.

 

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  1. I don’t know if there was ever a “she” who was remembered for their great hair, but Uncle Jesse from Full House certainly will be.

    I read someone’s post the other day about why they don’t get their hair colored at the salon anymore. Basically it came down to the cost, blah blah blah, they were spending $150ish every month or two. On their hair. They ended up realizing they were spending too much, so now they pay $70 + tip…….

    My wife, who has great hair 😉 pays $13 for her haircut at Great Clips every 4 or 5 months. People say to her all the time “your hair looks great where did you have it done?” I can’t imagine paying more than $20 for someone to cut/style hair. It’s unreasonable, frivolous, and not something I support.

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  2. Oh come on Mrs. 1500, you know you enjoy a good blow out!! Haha. Joking aside, that’s insane. My wife is learning how to cut her own hair. We are going to take a good video of it when she finally summons the courage to give it a try! Myself, I’ve never paid for a haircut. Never Will!

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    • Whenever Mr. 1500’s hair starts getting too fluffy, he breaks out the trimmers and takes off most of it, then I come around and trim up the bits he missed. We have saved so much on hair cuts just on him. Those $18 trimmers are one of the best investments we have made.

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  3. Wow, I’ve seen it all…$40?!? That’s the total I have spent on hair clippers to do my own hair over the last 15 years. I understand wanting to look nice and all plus something to enjoy, but REALLY…$40?? Mrs. Frugal Rules gets her hair done at a beauty school here in town for $8 several times a year and it looks great. As I think about it, $40 could be used on so many different and MUCH wiser things, not to mention…GASP…retirement maybe?!

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  4. Well, I do draw the line somewhere with regards to beauty services (and that would be one of them) but I do struggle to give up a quality cut. Typically speaking with haircuts you do get what you pay for. Most of the cheaper retail chain stylists haven’t been doing it for very long or aren’t considered good enough to work at an upper end salon. I try to stretch my cuts to no more than 3 times a year and it’s one of the reasons I don’t have short hair anymore and I don’t color it for that reason as well (but I’m only 34 so I’m not graying yet) but I’m not sure that this is an area where I’m willing to cut back. btw, I’m sure you’re wondering – my cut is $45 plus tip.
    I do cut my husband’s, son’s (5) and daughter’s (6) hair myself and I always have.

    Reply

    • I completely understand the desire for a good haircut, and if it isn’t every 3-4 weeks, there is no reason not to spend a reasonable amount on a haircut.

      I also don’t think $45 plus tip is outrageous, especially since it is 3 times a year. I, too have an unfussy cut that can go for ages without a touchup, specifically chosen because it is easy to do and doesn’t need the updates.

      Thanks for reading!

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  5. I saw a similar article – I think in the WSJ recently. Couldn’t believe it. I spend about $40 it $50 on a haircut every 2 years. The last hair cut was donated, though I’m considering selling the next batch (and donating cash instead) to get a tax deduction. But I have another ear before it’s long enough to do either.

    I actually often ask that the hair stylist refrain from blow drying my hair when it gets cut because the heat is so damaging. If you’re using heat regularly on your hair, of course you’ll have more breakage to trim off than if you don’t even own a blow dryer. Why pay someone to damage your hair?

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    • That is another great point! Heat damages your hair, so why go, sometimes every week and pay someone $40 to damage it? That just seems ridiculous.

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  6. Personally, I wouldn’t pay for a blow out but I will pay $40 for a good quality cut every two months. My hair is too thick and too temperamental for DIY, and I’ve had bad experiences with low-cost salons. As someone who is dating, networking and job hunting, I do care about what my hair looks like.

    Kudos to people who can DIY or get minimal cuts and look great. That’s not me, alas!

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    • I don’t envy your tempermental hair. I was blessed (cursed?) with stick-straight hair that pretty much does nothing. Since making peace with that fact, I have no-nonsense hair. I don’t think $40 is too much to spend on a cut, as long as it isn’t every week!

      Thanks for reading!

      Reply

  7. I used to have long hair that got trimmed maybe once a year (if I bothered to remember). I cut it short last March and I found myself having to go almost once a month. And that right there decided me that I was going back to long hair – even if it sucked for the year or so it would take to get it all one length again that would fit into a ponytail. $20/year vs $20/mth was just way too much for me.

    I did Daughter Person’s first haircut myself. I’m no longer allowed to cut her hair after that incident (no blood involved), so she and hubby go about every 2 months to get their hair cut – at the cheap place, the two of them plus tips costs us $35.

    Reply

    • I am so glad to read I am not the only one who gets inexpensive haircuts. Many of my friends spend big bucks on their hair, and honestly, it doesn’t look any better than mine.

      Thanks for reading!

      Reply

  8. I read that same article, but I think originally it was a subject in the NY times. Either way that is crazy! I could see in NY wanting to get out of your house in the morning and being pampered while you text or read twitter, but in Colorado I would have to decline on the extra money spent. I cut my own hair, do my own nails, and am debt free and would like to keep it that way. I do, however, splurge occasionally and let others cut and style my hair, but if I did it every day or month it would no longer be fun for me.

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    • I do not possess the talent to cut hair, mine or anyone else’s. Shhh, don’t tell Mr. 1500 that – I cut HIS hair! I applaud anyone who can cut their own hair.

      Like I said above, I don’t have any problem with spending a small amount, or even a not quite so small amount two or three times a year. It is the ridiculous $40 every week for someone else to blow dry your hair that is the issue.

      Thanks for reading!

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      • Oh, Mrs. 15oo does a fine job. I thought long and hard about whether to do this, but it’s time that I show my face/hair on this site. Here you go.

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  9. Oh, I love the way it looks when they spend time on it, doing that roll under brush/hair dryer thing that I can absolutely NEVER do on my own. But to pay $40 just for that? Not gonna happen. And I don’t think I am being cheap, either. I am a stay at home mom. My most exciting day is going to the gym AND the grocery store before the older one gets home from school. I don’t need to spend $40 frivolously.

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  10. EXACTLY! And honestly, I don’t even do that unless it is so cold outside it will freeze. And even then, really I don’t bother.

    But what gets me about the story is there are 3 different salons that cater to just blow outs. Three different people thought this would be a good idea, and went so far as to open up a salon and tell people this is all they would do, AND there are enough clients for those three salons to survive!!!

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  11. $40 for just a blow-out is absurd! $39 wouldn’t be so bad though 😉
    Joking aside, I know I could find cheaper, but I pay $50 every 4-6 months for shampoo, cut, style, and blow-dry. I use to have blonde highlights but those got real expensive real fast. Now I just go with the hair color I was born with 😛

    Reply

    • Right now I have my hair highlighted a couple of times a year to blend in the “greys” (and I use that term loosely because the hairs are pure white against dark brown.) However, my relatives have either a lovely white/silver mix or a great salt-and-pepper look, so my goal is to go natural once I reach that stage. I just hate being stuck between looks!

      Reply

    • Wow, I can completely relate. I haven’t been to the barber in 12 years and I’ll never go back again: Drive to Cheapcuts, sits there for 45 minutes reading boring sports magazines, make stupid banter with the haircut woman, pay the $15 and drive back home. Repeat next month.

      No thanks.

      Reply

  14. Haha, I am one of those people who spends $200 every 3-4 months for a cut and colour. I love my stylist and he does an awesome job with my colour. It’s usually a creative colour and requires actually placing foils in certain places (think blues, purples, reds, pinks… not necessarily all at once and not necessarily symmetrically) so it’s not like I’m getting an all-over colour.

    It’s frivolous but everyone needs something! It makes me feel good.

    That being said, I used to get my hair cut and coloured for free at hair schools back when my income did not match my creative aspirations. But I can afford to go to my stylist now and I’m happy to support his business.

    Reply

    • Everyone has their guilty pleasure. You do spend a lot, but it is still much less than a $40 weekly “blow out.”

      Mine is motorcycles. I just sit there and drool over fast machines with sexy lines. I don’t currently have one, but maybe someday…

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  15. A good set of clippers goes a long way! Friends cut my hair in college then Mrs. Bonner sharpened her clipping skills on me. I don’t think she’ll ever let me try and cut her hair because I’d probably just line it all up nice and even, make a few cuts across the bottom and call it good. Oh well, the two times a year she goes to Supercuts for a standard cut isn’t too much by normal standards.

    Reply

  16. My friend and his wife live in NYC and she is very image conscious (like ridiculously, over the top image conscious). She gets this done at least once a week, if not more and her salon costs more than $40 to get this done. Luckily they can afford it; however, it’s my opinion (based on absolutely no fact at all) that if they couldn’t, she’d do it anyway.

    I love the way a blowout looks and, thanks to Pinterest, I was able to find some great DIY tips. I spent about $10 on the products and now, I can do them whenever I want. And I don’t have to wait for someone else to finish their turn!
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