10 Tips to Saving Money at the Hair Salon (While Still Looking Fabulous)

Finding a hair stylist that makes your hair look incredible can be like finding a diamond in the rough. You could look for years and years. Once you finally achieve this incredible find, you will likely stick with that person and follow them anywhere! However, getting your hair done is nothing short of a small fortune at times. Many of us get coloring besides cuts, along with conditioning treatments, and the occasional party hair style, which can all add up rather quickly. After finding your perfect stylist to give you that ultimate color and cut, you need to maintain it roughly every 8 weeks. Sometimes you won’t get out of the salon without a bill that is at least a few hundred dollars. As much as you enjoy the pampering, it might not be a habit you can continue that often as it becomes more of a novelty than a necessity. Therefore, looking into ways to save money on your hair is a top priority.

After finding the salon that you are going to stick with, make sure you sign up for all rewards programs and promotions that they may be offering. By sticking to one salon and earning points for all your visits, these points will add up and give you points towards certain rewards that could redeem for different discounts or free services. Additionally, you can see if the salon has a referral program. If you refer a friend, most places will give you a discount on your own hair services. Many times this is not limited as the more clients you bring in, the more times you will get discounts on your own services. Besides these, salons will run discounts and specials throughout the year. It is important to pay attention to these times and schedule an appointment when they are occurring. Some salons even have coupons that they advertise. Taking advantage of these will help you save a few dollars.

Tips on saving money at the hair salon

• Skip the conditioning treatment – many times the salon you go to will offer you a deep conditioning treatment for only an extra ten dollars or so, which they apply when you are being washed. However, do not feel obligated to say yes to this treatment. The bill will add up quickly and you want to save money by not getting this service.
• Get a dry cut – to avoid having to tip an addition person, come to the salon with clean, dry hair. Ask your stylist to give you a dry cut, this way you do not need to get your hair washed, and thus not tip the assistant a few dollars. Not all stylists will do dry cuts, so it is important to ask about it when booking your appointment.
• Root touch up at home – although you will definitely want to go to the salon to get your hair cut, you might want to save a little money by doing your regrowth, or root, touch up at home (from a box). Most touch ups will cost no less than thirty dollars, so by doing this at home, you can save tremendously.
• Don’t buy product­s – most salons will offer an incentive to their stylist to push the products they use on your hair to boost product sales. The more products the stylist sells, the more money they will get in return from their boss. Instead of buying the products they recommend, right down the name, look up the product and then try to purchase it online at a discounted price. Most products are marked up more in a salon than they are online.
• When choosing your stylist, do not pick the master stylist – each salon has its own type of leveling system in order to identify which stylists have been on the floor the longest, who is new, and what services they may provide. Since the options are rather large, it is good to have a “map” of the salon and its employees, this way you know exactly what you want, etc. Sticking to a regular level stylist and not a master level will save you money before you even sit in the chair.
• Skip getting a blow dry – when getting your haircut, you need to have it washed so that it is wet. When it is wet, it allows for the stylist to easily trim the ends off. Since a hair wash is required to get this service, once your stylist is finished cutting your hair, they will blow dry your hair. You do not need to pay for an additional blow out as it is part of the entire service that you are purchasing. One the other hand, if you were going to the salon for just a color service, the majority of the salons will not include a blow out with this type of service. If you are okay with leaving the salon with wet hair, especially when the weather is warm outside, you can save some money by not adding on the additional service of a blowout.
• Opt out of a glaze – after receiving a color treatment, whether it be a single process or highlights, most salons will give you a glazing treatment. This treatment is to give your hair some extra shine and a color boost. However, this treatment is usually an extra $15-20. A lot of the time a salon will just do this treatment instead of asking, as they just make it apart of the coloring process. Yet, you will be given an added charge for it, so you need to tell them no ahead of time.
• Hair coloring – there are a few ways to get your hair colored that can save you some money. First, if you have never colored your hair, or are considering lightening/darkening your hair tremendously, do not break the base! Breaking the base is when you get a single process color to give your whole head one color. Once you do that, you will have to maintain the regrowth every few weeks, and if you do not, it is very obvious. Instead of breaking the base to make a drastic change, just have your stylist do a double foiling of highlights on you. This will prevent you from adding the price of a single process and the need to continue to come back regularly for maintenance. Additionally, if you only usually get foils for some highlights, you can make a change and ask for balayage instead. This process gives a more natural highlighting look, and therefore lasts longer because you cannot easily see the regrowth. You will not have to go to the salon as often as if you had foils, thus saving money on less salon visits.
• Haircuts – once you get a haircut, your stylist will have you walking out with your hair looking perfect. However, to maintain that look, your hair needs to remain the same – whether it be length of the layers, length in general, weight, bangs, face frame, etc. The more complicated the cut, the harder it will be to maintain it if it begins to grow out. If your hair style grows out quickly, you will need to go back more often to get a trim and upkeep the look. As a result, getting a non-complicated haircut will keep you from having to get trimmed as often and instead of going every 6 weeks, you can push it to every 8-10 weeks.
• Beauty school­ is a hit- even if you found a hair stylist you really like, you might want to also look into your local beauty school as they provide services for a highly discounted rate. Since the students there are still learning, if you have them complete a service, you can get it for almost nothing. You don’t need to get every service there, but if it is something easy like a color touch up, you can get that done for a lot less and then just get your haircuts at the salon you like.

When you think of a hair salon, budget doesn’t usually come to mind as this is when we usually pamper ourselves. However, you do not need to go in debt over your hair services. Look into your salon first for discounts and rewards program, which are always a big hit. Each salon usually provides their newer staff with education classes, which they need models for. The hair services are usually free and can be a great way to use your salon, but get a great deal on services.

Getting the look you desire, is definitely within reach. There are so many ways that you can save on different salon services in order to ensure that your bill does not skyrocket. You just need to make sure you pay attention to all services being added, or that you make an appointment during certain promotional times, etc. Either way, following some of these tips will leave you with amazing hair that is affordable!