What do you do to your hair, how often, & how much does it cost? UPDATE pg6

I don't color my hair at all, and my best friends mom is my hair stylist. I get it cut about every 3 months, unless I'm wearing bangs or a specific style that needs more upkeep. She doesn't charge me since she considers me family and she does mine from her house, but I usually pay her about $40 each time. Sometimes a little more if my finances are looking good.. And she usually does my eyebrows too, unless I breakdown and run to the nail salon, and pay someone $10 to do them.

I buy REALLY good Shampoo, conditioner, and leave in product that usually costs me 40-60 bucks 2 or 3 times a year.

I think your costs are about average to what most people pay, especially people who color or highlight.

I have naturally kinky curly hair and get it flat ironed at a salon maybe 2-3 times a year. I also get a trim/cut while I'm there, so it all costs me about $80-120 each trip. That's pretty much it.

I'm not dismissing anybody who chooses to spend their money on hair care- I was just trying to make a point about priorities.

If having nice hair makes you look good and feel good and is more important than "x" other thing of equivalent value, than go for it! And I will probably be jealous of how beautiful you look. For me, I wear a bun literally every day (I have never worn my hair down at work) and my priorities for my time and money are elsewhere. Nobody else can determine what is important for you as an individual. However, most financial advice books suggest to begin cutting costs with eliminating "luxury services" which includes frequent haircuts, getting your car professionally cleaned, cable tv, etc. So it's not an unreasonable thing to consider reducing, but it can't be you FH's decision. It has to be your decision. And if you reduce that, he should be willing to reduce something of his of equal value (like getting drinks with guys every week or something similar)

Your expenses don't sound like too much to me. You could stop getting highlights if you felt comfortable doing so but I think we all have that thing we do that makes us feel better about ourselves. I just started getting into a normal routine with a hair salon. I pay $42 for a haircut and tip. I went last week and going again in 5 weeks. Then after that I might go a few weeks longer. I'm evening out a bob and growing out my hair right now.

I get highlights/lowlights done twice a year to disguise my silver and brighten up my hair. I get a cut 4x/year. Cut with no color is $60 with tip. Cut and color is $140 with tip. I buy Purology shampoo and conditioner liters on their semi-annual sale. I buy 2 conditioners and 1 shampoo, twice per year at $58/litter. I have waist-length hair. My annual budget for hair is $748.

I also get eyebrow threading every 6 weeks for $15 after tip. So that's an additional $150 annually.

I stretched my cuts/colors this year since my hair lady went on maternity leave. I got two cuts + color this year. I find that using shampoo made for color makes it last longer, so that I don't have to process as often. I know what products work for me so I buy multiples when they're on sale or when I have a coupon. I only buy enough for one "back-up item" in my closet. But I do find it saves money in the long run.

I get my hair done every 8-10 weeks--cut and all-over color comes to about $150 plus tip. I do a gel mani/pedi every month, which is $80 including tip, and I also do monthly waxing and massages. Massage Envy membership is $60/month; I have the waxing packages at European Wax Center so it works out to be about $50.

My personal care budget is higher than some people's (like, for example, my younger sister, who cuts her own hair and gets a pedicure when I offer to take her to get one), but that was a conscious decision H and I made because it is one way to help manage my mental health issues. Like MFB said, self-care is incredibly important, and if this is something that really matters to you and helps you feel good, you should keep it in the budget.

I'm the odd one out here. I get a cut every few months, it's about $40 with tip. Ive never colored my hair, not even highlights. I've had a manicure exactly once in my life. I get pedicures before big events, like vacation. I don't wear much makeup, what I do wear is drugstore makeup.

The majority of my non-work time is spent either on a horse, teaching riding lessons, or at the barn in some fashion though, so hair and nails isn't really my priority!

If hair costs are important to you, there must be another area you could cut spending. Do you stop for coffee a lot? I'm guilty of this and it definitely adds up. Or eating out for lunch? FH and I are BOTH guilty there and it gets expensive.

I get highlights and a trim 3 times a year. I hate getting my hair done lol so I try not to do it often.

I get my nails done once a month for 50 bucks. Makeup I spend probably 20 a month.

eta- I may start getting lash extensions so that might be another expense. I got my eyebrows microbladed as well but that will last 2 years

For the wedding I stopped my salon visits for waxing and for my hair and got it cut (a dead ends trim) only three times, did my own eyebrows, did at home conditioning treatments (we got a jar deep conditioning for me and one for him for maybe $40 all together but they aren't like the amazingness that was our real treatments), and so did my DH. He has long hair so he and i go to the same salon. Prior to the wedding I basically lived in the salon.

Prior to:

Every four weeks (me)

Cut $75 with tip

Eyebrows $35 with tip

Every six weeks (me)

Color (typically every 6 weeks-ish) $120--$180 with tip

Deep conditioning treatment $50 with tip

Every six weeks (DH)

Cut $45 with tip

Deep conditioning treatment $35 with tip

After engagement

Me

"Dead ends" trim $30 with tip (went 3 times in 8 months)

My DH

"Dead ends" trim $20 with tip (3 times in 8 months)

We also switched from "expensive shampoo" to cheap shampoo to save as well.

Honestly beauty was my jam pre engagement. My DH and I were "regulars" at our salon and it was like a date night for us. We both looked at the budget and decided unanimously to cut back on the salon.

I think you spend very, very, very little on your beauty routine. I'm assuming your FH goes to a barber but the prices will never be similar because of the huge difference in service between a salon and a barber. I wish you luck in your budgeting!

I go to the salon once a year to cut it. I pluck my own eyebrows. I buy herbal essence for shampoo and conditioner and my hair loves it. Haircut is $20

I get balyage which is more expensive initially but lasts so much longer than traditional highlights that I end up saving money in the long run. I only get it touched up twice a year and get a trim at the same time for about $180. I buy good hair products but they last me for months so like another $120ish a year maybe? I don't get nails done and I pluck my brows myself. I've been cutting H's hair for a year or so but before that he was going to the barber every 2 weeks spending $20 bucks a pop each time (including tip) so even though it's a little bit here and there that adds up! So don't let anyone make you feel like your being excessive without first examining their own habits.

Every 5 weeks I color my hair (~$130) and cut my hair every 4 months ($50). I buy my expensive shampoo and conditioner on the beauty brands liter sale for $13 each.

I'm awful about getting my hair cut, I only go twice a year and it is $25 (plus a $10 tip) each trip. I need to start being more consistent with my hair appointments.

I get my brows and lip done every couple months, I used to get them done at the salon which would set me back about $40 each time, but my mom is an esthetician and now does them for free. I just usually give her some cash to buy supplies. So it costs me like $5.

I get 6-10 mani/pedi's a year. It's about $65 (plus a $15 dollar tip) each time.

I use really nice shampoo, but it only buy it during the liter sale at Ulta. I try to never buy anything for full price and if I wait, I can usually find what I'm looking for on sale.

I get my hair cut every 12-16 weeks, and it's $48 with tip. Just a cut & style. I get a Brazilian wax and eye brows waxed monthly and it's $45 with tip. Other than that I get my nails done for big occasions like weddings or vacations.

I get my hair cut MAYBE once every 6-7 months. She thins it then as well. I never color my hair anymore, and only did a few times before. It costs me $45 for a cut and blowout including tip. I also only wash my hair 1-2 times a week, it does not get greasy. It grows quickly but I keep it long because it's easier to maintain and go without having to get it done. Which is opposite of most people.

ETA: I get a Brazilian wax every 5-6 weeks and get my nails done. Both set me back about $55 each time. I let my nails grow pretty long though before I get them done

I get my hair cut twice a year at about a total of $100. I stopped putting chemicals in my hair - no straightening, no coloring. My hair is healthier and I've saved a bunch of money that I can use on other things. I do use more hair products, but that's negligible compared to the costs of maintaining what I had. I get a $25 pedicure every six weeks. I don't wear makeup regularly, but I buy decent facial moisturizer and cleanser which are a little pricier than drugstore brands but last a lot longer and work better - also $100/yr. My hair's not super important to me, but my skin is.

If your priority is saving, you make sacrifices. If you don't think the sacrifice is worth it, then you don't.

I get highlights/toner/cut done usually twice a year, at ~120 per visit. In between, I usually get a trim at ~40 per visit. So 320 per year. Then once in a blue moon I buy a box dye. Shampoo/Conditioner I buy nice but my cousin is a hair stylist so she buys me their rate and I pay her back, it's usually 20-30 depending on what I buy and I go 2-3 times a year with her.

I agree with others that it really isn't his call on what is "too much" - if you think you can cut back and maybe stretch it to 10-12 weeks, eliminating one or two trips, that is totally your call. If highlights help with self-care, then by all means keep doing it.

Personally, when me and H were doing this, he looked at his spending and I looked at mine and we decided where we can cut on our own. We didn't look at the other person's - like I didn't say "oh, you bought 5 xbox one games last year, you really should only buy 3 a year." That really isn't my call and not something worth an argument.

If both parties agree to cut back on savings, then you can figure out how to do it on your own in a way that makes sense for you. You don't need to explain your logic to the other person, IMO.

Here's mine. FH doesn't care, I probably don't even go this often for my hair. Lol My nails are what I maintain. My hair I let grow out and take vitamins. I had a dye job go horribly wrong and had to cut off about 9-10" so I'm really cautious now getting my hair colored.

Cut every 6-8 weeks: $25

Roots touchup, when they're bad lol I just went about 6 months without a roots touch up. $40

Balayage: 1-2 times a year $120 plus tip

Nexgen nails every 4-6 weeks, $35 plus ($6 tip)

Pedicure every 6-8 weeks $25

Shampoo & conditioner: $15-30 every 2-3 months.

Thanks to those who said I should do what makes me feel good, and to those who spend very little on your hair I wish I were still like you. I would love to not spend any money at a salon but there are sooo many reasons why I want to have my hair and eyebrows done by a professional, and why I want to keep highlighting my hair. FH is thinking I can save by going to the Snip N Clip he goes to, and going less often. I want him to see that it doesn’t really cost that much where I go so it’s not worth leaving the lady I’ve been with for a long time. I think from the prices and frequency those of you who get color have shared he’ll understand why this is an area I’m not willing to make a cut in, especially since I never spend any money on nails, high end beauty products, eyelashes, etc. We are doing okay financially, but it would be nice to be able to afford a house that is close to move in ready or newer used truck, so we want to save more. I naturally avoid most unnecessary purchases because I didn’t have much growing up so there’s hardly anything to cut from my spending. If we want to save a lot it is mostly him having to make the sacrifices because he makes way more than me, and has significantly lower fixed expenses. He’s just always had very poor spending/saving habits, but has been working very hard to do better ever since we’ve been together. I think right now in particular is hard for him because he is cutting more than me. I will show him what y’all are spending and he’ll realize this isn’t something I should worry about spending less on. Thank you all.

I get my hair cut about every six months and each visit is $65 plus tip so about $160/year. I haven't colored my hair in about 12 years and promised myself I wouldn't color it until its grey. I just turned 30 and still no greys woohoo!

My guilty pleasure is getting gel manicures. I stretch those out 3 to sometimes even 4 weeks to justify the cost. In the summer and before vacations I'll get pedicures.

I drive a 12 year old car which runs perfectly fine and haven't had a car payment in 7 years. I also am really good at cutting costs on groceries and cooking budget friendly meals. Therefor, when I want to spend on myself I don't mind because I cut corners elsewhere.