At the beginning of every week in 2013, I’ll be sharing a different way you can save $100 this year. If you do all of these things, you’ll be able to save over $5,000 this year alone! Many of these things will likely be things you’re already doing, but hopefully all of you will pick up at least a few new ideas or some inspiration from this series.
While this is one of those often-encouraged frugal tips, this series wouldn’t be complete without it. Because, truthfully, you can save a LOT by cutting your own hair at home… or having a family member do it for you.
My Own Hair-Cutting Adventures
For years, I didn’t go to a hair salon — not even an inexpensive one. I couldn’t afford to get it cut anywhere for some of that time and for the rest of the time, I just chose not to pay to get it cut because I wanted to save my money for other things.
My mom would trim my hair for length and then I’d cut layers in it. Did my hair look amazing? No. But it was decent and I had fun learning how to do layers and just play around with it.
Yes, I messed it up sometimes, but it was sort of an adventure. And I sure saved a lot of money by cutting my own hair! 🙂
Nowadays, I do go to a salon to get my hair done. It’s a splurge we budget for and I don’t feel one bit guilty about it. But I know if our budget and financial situation were ever to change and we needed to tighten things up, I could definitely go back to home hair cutting again.
If you are struggling financially, I’d heartily encourage you to consider cutting the trips to the salon until you get in a better financial position. If you don’t want to completely give up your professional hair cut, at least try to go as low as possible between each visit. Or, look for less expensive options (see below).
Practice Makes Perfect — Or Almost!
If you’re scared of the damage you might be able to do with scissors, instead of trying to give yourself a whole new ‘do, start small. Do simple trims of your boys’ hair (see a tutorial for trimming boys’ hair with clippers here) and try trimming your bangs or a small child’s hair.
Kikka says:
To get started you can watch free how-to videos on YouTube.com, look for a sale at your local beauty supply store (like Sally’s) to purchase what you need, do your research, and then give it a try! Just remember that practice makes perfect, or close to it. Also, the good thing about hair is that it does grow back!
-Kikka
Creative Ways to Get Your Hair Done Free or Inexpensively
I loved this tip in ALL YOU magazine:
“I answer Craigslist ads looking for hair models to be used for salon interviews or for people who are building hours toward their certification. I no longer pay for hair cuts, straightening, hair color, or even highlights, and I always have nice results.” -All You magazine (April 27, 2012), page 117
Rhonda says:
Our children are grown now, but when our son was little, my husband cut his hair. As they got older, we all went to a cosmetology school where students cut hair at a greatly reduced price. It took longer, but the work was always inspected by the supervisor so you wouldn’t have uneven lengths, etc.
When my hair began getting gray in my 30′s, a friend showed me how to color it myself. I have been doing that every month since then, and have saved thousands of dollars I’m sure, compared to having a stylist color it. I buy a brand I can get at Dollar General, and once a month a newspaper coupon insert will have a $1 or $2 off coupon for it. So I average $3-$4 a month for hair color!
Another idea for haircuts is to check ad circulars that come in the mail. We usually have one for our local franchise hair salon for $6-$9 a haircut. Even with a tip, that’s less than $10 for a quick haircut which I get every 8 weeks or so. My husband has an electric hair trimmer that I use to shave the back of his neck, and he has bought a Flowbee hair system that he uses to cut his own hair. After 10 haircuts, it’s paid for itself.
If you don’t feel comfortable doing your own hair care, then perhaps you have a friend who cuts hair and will barter another service from you for that. Look around — there are many alternatives to high-priced hair care out there! -Rhonda
For tips on At-Home Hair Coloring, check out this post.
How Much Can You Save?
Well, that depends upon a lot of factors… like how many people you have in your family, how often you usually get your hair cut, and so on. But I can almost guarantee you that you’ll save well over $100 in a year — likely much more!
For instance, Kikka says: “We have found that if I cut my husband’s hair and he colors my hair, we are saving a minimum of $840 a year.”
I’ve been cutting my own hair for at least 5 years. I like to keep it short, so going to a salon every month just isn’t in the budget for me! Besides, I have never gotten more compliments on my hair since I started cutting it. It’s fun and I get to cut it just the way I want; no disappointing salon visits. If I spent $25 on a haircut every month, I’d be spending $300 every year! Plus, I cut my husband’s hair – saving another $10 or so every two weeks. That’s another $250!
I have long layered hair and have been cutting it myself for about a year now using a CreaClip I bought for about $35. There’s lots of videos on YouTube for cutting all different lengths of hair using the CreaClip. For me, the ones on sectioning hair and cutting in layers were really helpful. I’ve never had a problem with my cut being uneven. It’s taken practice, but I’ve finally got a cut you’d think was professional.
Even if you don’t want to (or can’t) spend the money on a gadget to cut hair, a Google or YouTube search can provide lots of videos and pictures with different ways how to cut hair. So with a good pair of scissors and a little practice, there’s no excuse for not having a decent haircut!
I don’t cut hair well (I tried– not good!), but we are very blessed to have a friend who does! My husband and five boys need their hair cut every four to six weeks, so we invite our friend and her family over to dinner and she stays to cut their hair. I also give her some of my homemade laundry detergent. It’s an excellent exchange for both of us — because I’m a stay-at-home mom and she’s a single, working mom– I save TONS on hair cutting and she saves time/money on the laundry detergent. PLUS, we get some time to chat. 🙂
Hair is our frugal splurge. I just don’t do hair. I’ve looked, and watched, and studied, but hair is not my forte. It may also be that my husband has fairly curly, grows into an afro if it’s not cut every 8 weeks hair.
So instead, I stalk the coupons for the hair places. Last month we used a son gets a free haircut with dad. I’ve also found that a barbershop, as opposed to a salon or cheap cuts place is well worth it. The barber is used to men’s hair, and there aren’t any women’s hair needs that muck up the timing, so it’s a very quick in and out even on a Saturday morning. Plus, since all they do is guy’s hair, their prices are based on that, and there are no touchups needed when the guys get home.
I’ve had my husband trim my ends, but overall it’s less painful on our relationship if I just get a trim once a quarter at the cheap cut shop. He stresses out, and then agonizes over whether my hair is even or not for weeks when he cuts it.
And it’s definitely worth my time to use my talents in other areas.
Ironically, I saw this post after having my first salon haircut in over a year just last week. =)
I have cut my husband’s hair for approximately 9 years now – he needs his hair cut approximately every 6 weeks, sometimes sooner. My daughter just turned 6 and I’m the only one (besides her!) that has cut her hair – her hair grows very slowly, so I haven’t really saved a ton of money on her. . . yet. In the past I have had friends cut my hair, cosmo students for practice, and last year I finally ventured to cut my hair myself (not an easy task with a soft wedge). My hair grows very fast, so to keep it short I need it cut approximately every 6 weeks – although I usually push it as long as I possibly can. I also color my own hair.
I would say we have saved approximately $1,200 on my husband in the last 9 years. For me, I can only really estimate this last year. If I push it to every 8 weeks I saved approximately $180 this year on hair cuts alone. I have never had my hair professionally colored, so I have no idea how much that savings amounts to, but I have done it 3 times so far.
If you cut other people’s hair well, I would say to give it a try on yourself!! (Suggestion – The first time do it at a time when you have the $ on hand to get a cut in case you need it fixed) I did it just the way it was suggested in this post – I watched YouTube videos (adapted some to exactly what I wanted). It does take a long time, so make sure you have a chunk of time – especially the first time. Just be patient and plan for your arms to ache in the end. ;o)
[When I got my hair cut last week she said I had actually done a decent job and honestly admitted that I had done a good job with the color. Made me feel good. =)]
I dye it myself and sometimes my husband does trims. Another good tip is to arrive and leave with wet hair, because they often charge for shampoo or style.
I am so impressed at you ladies that cut your own hair! My hubby cut all 4 of our kid’s hair when they were little. I loved that he could do it at home while they watched their favorite video on TV, which saved money and stress. Our deal was that if he cut the hair, I would clean everything up afterwards. Now that they’re all getting older, the boys go to the barber while my girls get a trim at a salon twice a year on their long, all one length hair. I used to cut hubby’s hair until the day he decided that he wanted a military style flat top, (we live in a mostly military area.) Of course, no one had told me at the time that a flat top is practically the most difficult men’s cut ever. Needless to say, I botched it so much that I ended up having to clipper his hair down to the scalp and he’s been going to a barber ever since. 🙂
My husband has been cutting his hair for about 15 years. He also cuts our sons’ hair. On average, my husband would need a haircut about 2 times/month (he is in the AF so needs to maintain a short, neat style…he’s also very particular about his hair!)–this would run about $20/haircut. He needs a line-up about once/week (barber shop charges $10/line-up)…so for my husband’s hair, it would cost around $80/month. My son’s get their hair cut or lined up a little less often but would be around $40/month each (1 hair cut, 2 line-ups each). This saves us over $1400/year! (This also frees me up from feeling any guilt about my highlights once a year or my haircuts 3-4 times/yr! 🙂
The way I saved money on my own haircuts was to ditch the bangs and go with a simple cut that lets my naturally wavy hair do it’s own thing, rather than trying to beat it into submission. Instead of getting my bangs and ends trimmed every 3-4 weeks I now get my hair cut to chin length layers every 3-4 months and then let it grow until I’m sick of it.
Since I’m not trying to straighten it or curl it anymore I have discovered my hair looks best when I air dry rather than using a blow dryer, and I dont’ have to get damaged ends trimmed all the time. I’ve seen the same stylist for 20 years, and worked out a deal where she just cuts my hair, no style or blow dry, and only charges $15 since I’m in and out so fast.
My husband has very curly salt and pepper hair that turns into a puffy cloud if it starts to grow out. Needless to say, I prefer he keeps it short! Since he didn’t have time to get regular haircuts are often as I preferred he asked me to start cutting it. I went with him to the barber twice to watch how they did it, and then bought clippers and started practicing on him at home. In 12 years I’ve only really screwed it up twice and had to buzz it all off.
I’ve cut my hair a few times now, and I’ve been pleased. I watched some youtube videos for diy layered haircuts and decided to give it a try. I’ve never been happy with my hair. I used to go to greatclips, but some of the stylists were, um, kinda scary. Any ways, my mom paid for me to go to a nicer salon, $40, and while it was ok, I don’t have the $ to keep that up. I then went to a beauty school for a $7 cut, and they took over an hour and hacked my hair. Can’t blame the student, though, since the instructor practically did the whole thing! I’ve been much happier with my self cuts. : ) The other nice thing is not having to go anywhere! Somehow going to get a haircut is always a hassle for me. Can’t exactly take babies or little kids with you!
I tried cutting my husbands, but I wasn’t confident and he wasn’t very happy with it…maybe someday. I insist on cutting my kids hair. I grew up with my mom cutting everyone’s hair. I am NOT paying for kids haircuts! I figure if my mom learned on her own to do everyone’s, then I can, too!
We used to like to go to barber/cosmetology schools ($5 men, $10-12 women, plus tip). More recently, my husband bought a trimmer and cuts his own hair. I decided to grow out my hair after having it short for a couple years.
I don’t dye my hair normally, but did buy a henna rinse on Amazon. It was more like a treatment since I got one that matched my hair. I’d do that again if I get a red one. For treatment purposes, I’ll stick with used coffee grounds (can’t beat free).
I do Mystery Shops at SuperCuts. I used to spend $40-$75 to get my hair done every 5 weeks. Now, they pay me 🙂
I cut my husbands hair and my three kids hair (my fourth child isn’t old enough yet;-) The boys get haircuts about every 6 weeks. Our local cheap place is $10 for kids and $13 for adults. So we save $33 every 6 weeks! I think I paid just over $20 fir our clippers that we have for more than a year. I also cut my daughters hair a couple times a year.
I do go out to get my hair cut but u only get it cut about twice a year so it is a special treat for me.
I am really lucky in the hair cutting front. My sister is a beautician and owns her own shop so she does my hair (and my family’s hair) for free. The only “drawback” is that sometimes I have to go a little longer getting my hair cut until she fits me in, but it is worth it!
Saves us $160 – $240 a year, cutting our two boys’ hair at home.
I had thought about it for some time. I was tired of trying to keep two preschoolers entertained at the barber shop shop. Soon after our last time there, a store was closing and had a lot of items on discount, one being a pair of hair timmers/razor. That was the deciding factor. I bought them and haven’t looked back. Yes, the youngest is very ticklish, so I gave up trying to do anything fancy with him. It gets cut all to one length. The older one is better at sitting still, so I usually start with him to get back into the groove of cutting their hair.
My husband still goes to the barber, as he has some cowlicks that make his hair interesting to cut. I do trim along his neck between times and that helps extend the time between his cuts.
I go about twice a year to get mine cut. In college I talked a friend into doing trims. She was hesitant at first. I reassured her that she couldn’t go too wrong (my hair is very straight), and that if she did, it would grow out again. All through college either that friend or my mom cut my hair. I would love to be able to do this myself, as I haven’t found someone I like as much since we moved.
I’ve been cutting my hair, along with Husband’s and Daughter’s, for a very very long time. We have relatively simple hairstyles, so it’s not difficult at all. We have a good pair of hair cutting scissors, thinning shears, good combs and an electric trimmer for Husband’s neckline.
I will say, I took Daughter to JCP when they were doing the free haircuts last fall, and she got her first professional haircut. When we got home, it was 1.5 inches longer on one side of her head than on the other…so I don’t feel so bad about my own skills anymore! 🙂
I cut my husband’s hair, my teen son’s hair, and my two daughters’ hair. I trim my own bangs between salon visits, but I do go three times per year myself!
I have not cutting hair talents. My husband use to buzz the boys hair when they were little since he is talented at that as they got older and wanted longer cuts we took them to the same hair school my daughter and I went to to get our hair cuts for just $5 each. However, now that school is gone! and we are spending $15 per person for haircuts. I am searching for cheaper alternatives in our area but so far no luck. I do dye my hair at home though, so that saves quite a bit, and the boys get their hair cut a bit shorter than they want when they go in so that they can last longer between cuts. I also cut mine to a short bob each time I go in and let it grow until it is shoulder length before cutting it short again, so I guess these things do save us some, still I miss the $5 hair cuts at the school.
I do mystery shopping jobs at local hair salons to get my hair done for free. I learned about mystery shopping through your site years ago. Thanks.
I have been a hairstylist for 20 years and most of my clients I consider friends! We have learned so much about each other through the years that when I know things are finanially rough on my client I still want them to feel good by having their hair done so I will reduce their rate for a while or barter with them. With one exception, when they are better finanially they always go back to my regular rate without me asking them too. I am sooo blessed to have such a faithful client base.
What I am saying is, if you have a good relationship with your stylist, talk to them about your situation. Maybe you can be charged less for shampooing yourself right before your cut, or skipping the blow dry if the style doesn’t require to dry it to check the cut, or for a color what about getting just color on the roots and leaving and shampooing it at home yourself, if your stylist and you have ALOT of trust, that is a little risky for some stylists! Maybe your stylist cuts hair at home sometimes and can charge you less? It just doesn’t hurt to ask if you are close with your stylist.
I can’t do hair very well and my girls have that fine wispy hair so I finally put it in the budget and it looks so much nicer when I bring them in once or twice a year! To bad I was so cheap to not bring them in earlier. I have found out that the hair detangler is the cheapest at the dollar tree, so now my girls hair looks so much nicer!
I get mine at cut at Great Clips when they have a coupon. My husband cuts his at home. He used to get his hair cut every 3 weeks! For him it was a savings of $255/year ($15 haircutX 17 haircuts per year). Plus he liked the free time and convienance of cutting it at home.
We can go to our beauty school for a $5 hair cut. Both of my girls always get their hair done there. I also have their hair done for their dance recitals for their up do’s very cheaply and looks better than a salon who would have charged me triple the price.
I do cut my husband’s and son’s hair … in the summer (when I can do it outside!). That, right there, saves us probably $50.
And for myself and my three girls … my big tip is NO BANGS!!! Once I grew all of my daughters’ hair out to one length, you can go a LONG time between cuts. Generally, my girls and I only get our hair cut twice a year. We do go and get a good quality cut and it seems to grow in quite well and doesn’t look “shaggy” at all between cuts. (My girls all like their hair at varying lengths but the “all one length” style looks good in a chin length bob, shoulder length or longer (for my oldest who is always growing her hair out to donate) 🙂 )
One birthday or Christmas when my MIL asked what I wanted as a gift, I asked for a hair-cutting kit. She’d been cutting my husband’s hair, even after we got married, but we were planning to move across the country and I wanted my own equipment. She bought me scissors and a nice clipper which I’ve taken good care of. She also taught me how to cut my husband’s hair, and now I cut our kids’ hair as well. My hair is long and in a ponytail 90% of the time anyway, so I only go to get it cut once a year or so. (I wish we could afford to get it cut someplace nice and more often. I also wish I had time to style it!) I’ve never gone the dye route, so that hasn’t been an issue for our budget.
Another hair saving technique–which is too crunchy for most, I know–is to go the “no ‘poo” method. I stopped using shampoo, conditioner, gel, hairspray, anything on my hair a couple of years ago. Some days I use a shower cap and skip washing it altogether, other days I rinse just with water in the shower, and about once a week my hair needs a scalp massage with baking soda/water paste, then rinse, then I apply some diluted apple cider vinegar and rinse. Once my hair adjusted to it, it’s been fine. I also rarely shampoo my kids’ hair. Water is usually sufficient, unless they’ve been running buttery fingers all over their head. 🙂
During the past 2 years, I’ve learned to cut my husband’s hair. That does save money. And he cuts his own mustache.
Also during these past 2 years, I gave up dying my hair. I had brown hair and had way too much white hair, so the roots had to be done every 2-3 weeks. Every 5-6 weeks I was also getting a hair cut. I finally quit coloring my hair because it was rediculous worrying about what other people think — it’s OK for blonds to have brown roots, but not OK for browns to have white roots. Now I can go about 12 weeks before a hair cut, which is only about 4 times a year instead of 8-9 times that I used to get it cut. And I’ve had tons of compliments on my white hair — and it is white!!!!
I have cut my husband and 2 boys hair for 10 years. I bought a set of clippers on sale for $20 and they are still going great! It was my husband’s idea because he hated sitting in the barber and waiting. They need a hair cut about every 3-4 weeks, so this saves alot of money in our house. I still go to a very reasonable priced salon.
I’ve been cutting my husband’s hair for about 9 yrs now. The first time I did it, I butchered it pretty bad, but luckily my sister was attending a cosmetology course and she was able to fix it so it looked decent. He let me try again and since then, its been fine. It’s only buzzcut with 3 different buzz-lengths fading into each other, but that’s the way he likes it lol. I’ve cut my 4 1/2 yr old son’s hair a few times, but he’s pretty squirmy, so every 3-4 months I’ll bring him to Snip-its where he’s in and out in 10-15 minutes. I only get my hair cut once a year, at the beginning of summer. I’ll get it cut to my hair line in back with layers, and as it gets long enough to cover my neck its already getting to be winter-time so it does’nt feel as cold, and when its time to get it cut again it feels like such a relief, and I don’t have bangs so I don’t have to worry about that. I also just started trimming my 19 month old daughter’s bangs (now that she’s actually got hair!) and will probably let the back grow out since she has such pretty little curls 🙂
I cut my boys hair (ages 4 and 6) and trim my 8 y/o DD’s. DH cuts his hair and then I make sure he didn’t miss any spots and shave his neck. We have an electric razor and the guys all have buzz cuts so it’s easy. DD likes her hair long, so a quick trim of her bangs and trimming the ends is all she needs. I get my haircut at a salon for around $10 w/coupons + a tip. It’s not exactly a splurge, but it feels like it – to have someone wash/massage my hair and cut & style it. Ahhhh….
How about a solution for toddlers that are terrified of cuts? My 3 year old will not let us (safely) cut his hair, but he is shy at the barber’s and so I have to pay to have it done there. I’m hoping he will grow out of it soon.
When I was growing up, my dad cut everyone’s hair in our family, including his own. Now that I have a family, I cut our girls’ hair, and I trim my own bangs. I like to grow my hair long, so I usually go about two years without getting my hair cut. I don’t color my hair, I don’t even blow dry it, so split ends don’t really even happen. When it is time to cut my hair, it is long enough to donate it to Locks of Love, and the salon that I go to cuts your hair for free if you are donating. I love the fact that I am helping someone in need and that I don’t have to dip into our very tight budget for haircare.
I have been cutting my own hair for going on 3 years now. It started not out of frugality, but more out of frustration of not ever being able to communicate quite right with my hair dresser; I could never get anyone to understand what I meant by “shaggy layers”.
It is SO much fun!! I would encourage people to try it, if you absolutely hate it you can always go have someone fix it. (Of course the joy of home cutting is you can wear it for a few days, then tinker with it, go a few more, tinker some more, etc. Over time you will not need to tinker quite as much, although it’s so much fun you might want to!) After cutting all of my families hair for so long some of my friends have started to ask me to cut their families hair as well. I’ve made a little extra, and they saved a TON!
My tip — instead of coloring your hair, let it go grey. There is nothing wrong with aging. I’m in my mid-40’s and do not color. Ya, my hair is no longer the brown/blonde it’s always been — it now has grey highlights but it doesn’t bother me a bit (or my husband — he claims to like the way my hair looks). In my area, a professional color job costs $80+. Ouch.
My husband has been cutting his own & our boys’ hair for a few years now. With two little boys, I’m sure this saves us more than $100 per year. Our clippers are still going strong! At first, I cut my husband’s hair, but it’s less stressful & faster for him to do it. I cut my daughter’s hair and I trim my own hair. I have thick wavy hair, so it’s pretty forgiving. I think of going to a salon as a treat rather than a necessity.
My husband insists on all of us having professional haircuts. (A result of bad childhood home haircuts.) So I can’t tell you how great saving money in this area is…
But I can say the times I’ve tried to save a buck by going to the national chains with coupons wasn’t worth it. Every time I’ve come home wishing I had paid the extra $15. Don’t feel guilty if you go to a stylist. As mine said “Hairdressers gotta eat too.”
For my daughter, who has beautiful thick wavy golden locks, she donates her hair once every two years or so. She gets a free haircut in exchange for the donation to Locks of Love. There are other donation programs out there too.
My DH has never been to a barber. His mom cut it, then in college after we met I started to cut it after he fouled it up badly one time!
I trim my own hair and we do our son’s hair too.
I have always cut my husband’s hair as well as our 7 sons. My daughter and I get ours cut every few months at a hair dressing school up the road! I can’t even begin to imagine how much we’ve saved over the years! My oldest boy is 19 now, and I have gotten creative with the clippers and he has me doing “David Beckham” hair cuts now! haha! Once, when he was around 15, he asked if he could go to a hair dresser instead, so I went with him, and watched the gal, and wouldn’t you know it? She did the whole thing with clippers! haha! So I learned the technique of how to keep it longer on top, shorter on the sides for him, and we were good to go!
I quit my job a few month after my husband and I got married 10 years ago. The loss of my income meant I had to find areas in which to cut back, so I started going to the Barbering Dept of our local trade school. This worked well for a couple of years. They were usually happy to see me because I wear my hair short and the didn’t have a lot of female clients with short hair. One day I stopped by and they weren’t open, but the Cosmetology Dept next door was. So I gave it a try even though it was more expensive than Barbering. Three hours and one horrible haircut (I had a very obvious weightline across the back of my head), the instructor finally stops by the chair for the first time since I sat down, tells the student it looks good (umm… no…) and I left. I went to Walmart, bought a pair of cutting shears and haven’t looked back.
I would love to go to my old stylist sometimes – if only for the incredible head massages she gives while shampooing! However, after 8 years of practice, I feel comfortable with the job I do. I look through hairstyle magazines when I want to change it up a little and have learned how to cut it to get the look I want. I’ve had stylists tell me no one would know I do it at home – which makes me feel good! 😉
As for color – I started coloring my hair 20 years ago when I was 19 and haven’t looked back. I was a lot of different shades in my 20s, but have gotten more conservative with age LOL. My mother’s stylist (who used to be mine too) has told us for years there’s no reason for either of us to pay for color because we do a good job – even with highlights and lowlights when we want them. I’ve used a few different brands along the way but settled several years ago on one particular brand because I could actually predict the results and it leaves my hair very healthy and shiny.
Doing my own hair has definitely saved me a lot through the years!
Right now, my husband is the only one who goes to have his hair cut. I cut both of the my kid’s hair and believe it or not, I let my 18 year old son cut my hair! When my hair is wet, I just comb it all down in the back and he trims it across for me. I cut my bangs and add in some layers. My hair is fairly straight, so there isn’t really a chance for him to mess it up too badly. I would rather use the money I save on haircuts to get a couple of pedicures during the summer. 🙂
That’s pretty impressive that your 18-year-old son cuts your hair!
Many salons offer free cuts to people who donate their hair. It must be at least 8′-10″ depending on who the hair will go to, but any female family members who are willing to grow their hair out to donate it could just pay for a trim once per year, plus donate their hair about once a year. That could easily save much more than $100 per year on hair cuts while still going to a nice salon!
Thanks so much for mentioning this!
We have a $5 haircut place near us…for real, every haircut, $5. And we’re in the expensive Chicago suburbs. The “catch” is that some of the stylists aren’t fluent in English, and it’s sometimes difficult to communicate what you want. But my husband gets just as good a haircut there as the expensive places he’s tried. It just took a couple of visits to figure out the best way to communicate what he wants. We sometimes take our wiggly little boys there, and sometimes trim their hair at home, but the results are about the same. 🙂
I, on the other hand, decided to start going to a real salon fairly recently, after a decade of hating my haircut but being too cheap to go somewhere nice. It’s a good feeling to look in the mirror and LOVE my hair. Finally.
Wow! A $5 haircut place?! That’s a bargain — especially since it’s close to you!
This is the ONE thing that doesn’t work for us. I tried cutting my husband’s hair a number of times – he’d always sneeze, or twitch, or…when i was pregnant, the baby would kick and it would throw me off. 😉 He spends $17 for his haircut every 2 months or so.
My son’s preschool teacher also cuts hair at Great Clips on the weekend – she does a FABULOUS job on his hair, and he loves special time with his teacher that isn’t at school. Plus, she has curly hair just like me…and if you have naturally curly hair, you understand that straight haired cutters just DO NOT, and NEVER WILL, understand your hair, or know how to cut it right. I’ve been butchered more times by stylists who want to spray my hair down with water, comb through it, cut it straight, use a razor on the ends, or even worse…the dreaded chunking shears. I’ve walked away with more bad cuts, or plain just walked off from a stylist who wasn’t listening to me. Now, my hair finally looks decent! I dye my own hair, but my stylist layers etc, to make it awesome!
Curly haired girls, find a NATURALLY CURLY haired stylist if you DO get your hair cut and splurge occasionally – no permed stylists either. If you get someone who has hair like you and understands, you get a good cut. Good cuts last longer. 🙂
You might want to get the book “Curly Girl – the Handbook.” It is an AWESOME guide for us curlies, and there is an extensive chapter on how to cut your own hair. I used to go to an Ouidad (curly-hair specialist) salon at $70 a cut and now I do it myself with the same results.
Agree! I also have the Curly Girl Handbook, which is very helpful. A must for straight-haired parents of curly children.
Comes with a DVD also – I need to find time to watch it.
My sister has naturally curly hair and she would totally agree with you on this! 🙂
I cut my husband’s and son’s hair at home, and it comes out great! I am not very beauty savvy, so I never thought it was something I could do, but it was easier than I thought it would be. I need to figure out something fow myself now. I can’t remember the last time I had it cut…well over a year I think! It’s not so much the expense that keeps me from doing it, it’s finding the time!
We do this in our family. It is a great financial savings plus a time saver
..no running around for appointments. I typically use a razor with a guard on my husband’s hair, scissor cut a clean boy’s cut on my son, usually just trim my daughter who is growing hers out, and I do cut my own as well. I wear a short trendy cut that I have gotten better at with time..no one can tell the difference.
I have often been asked where I have it done! I also use a box color maybe twice a year for a little gray I am getting at 29. My advice is to be confident and start small. Get a decent pair of hair cutting scissors…they are worth the extra money. Also unless you take a dull knife to it, its unlikely anyone will know the difference. Oh and I did find a cape at a garage sale for a couple of dollars that makes clean up much easier!
Sorry for the crazy spacing. My kindle doesn’t format well for this type of thing :).
I have learned over the last couple of years how to cut my kids’ hair and use the clipper for my husband’s. I don’t think I could cut my own, but I may give it a try. It paid for the professional clippers we bought in just a few months. I suggest investing in quality clippers, and taking good care of them.
Also we then use the hair clipping to spread around the garden to keep the deer away from our plants. They will not touch any plant with the hair around it, so that saves me $$$ too. I don’t have to buy deer repelant or new plants.
My husband had three $5 haircuts after we were married, and then he bought clippers. I was scared to cut his hair, but he told me, “The difference between a bad haircut and a good haircut is 2 weeks.” He also showed me how the clippers have different height attachments, so it’s impossible to cut it too short.
We have learned that you need a seperate pair of haircutting scissors than the ones that come with the clippers (the ones in the kit have never been very sharp).
I paid a few different people to cut my hair for $20 for several years, but they all kept moving out of state! Then we had no income for 8 months, and I really needed a haircut. I finally asked my husband to do it, and he did a great job! He’s been cutting my hair for years now.
For many years, I just used a towel to catch the hair, but after several years, I went to Sally’s beauty supply and bought 2 haircutting capes (one adult sized and one child-sized) for $10 each. Those have been great.
You can get clippers and haircutting scissors at Walmart and Target. The clippers run different prices; around $35 is average.
Don’t expect the first haircut, or even the second, to be perfect. Like anything, it takes time. However, with practice, it becomes a simple thing to do.
It’s also nice to cut your children’s hair, too–they aren’t afraid, like they are at a barber shop. For the tinest ones, you can hold a child on your lap while the other parent cuts the hair.
The other nice thing about cutting hair at home is the convience. In less time than it would take for me to drive somewhere, I can get my haircut, or cut someone else’s hair in the family. In addition to the time savings, there is no gas expense for tip expense.
Plus, when it’s Sunday morning before church and your hair length is just bugging you, you can hand your husband the scissors and have him quickly cut your hair!
With my first born, I cut his hair ONE time with a set of clippers and it was so butchered, his dad had to take him to the barber to fix it.
After several boys, I invested in a Flowbee (at the time $79). I’ve cut all 5 of the boys hair since and dd has only had one hair cut in her 12 little years 🙂
One of the best investments we ever made was in that Flowbee!
I cut my own hair in college and grad school and my first year of teaching and no one ever knew 🙂 BUT it took me over an hour and made a huge mess…
Now I have the perfect solution. My closest friend is a stylist. She works part time at a salon where she only makes a fraction of what clients pay. So I go to her house and she does it in her kitchen for me. I pay her about $10 less than I would at the salon (and for my husband we pay about $5 less) and it is a win win situation. She makes more and we pay less! I figure we save approx. $180/year since we both get our haircuts monthly.
I love this win-win situation you’ve come up with!
I have only ever had 1 haircut at a salon and I absolutely hated it! My mom went to school so she has always cut my hair. it wasn’t til I was about 27 that I had someone else do it. So I really can’t answer how much I save a year. But I know it has to be a lot.
I cut my four year son’s hair several times a year. I use clippers with a guard so I don’t make a huge mistake. Then I blend in and trim with hair scissors that I got for less than $20 at Target. As for my and my husband’s hair, we get coupons in the mail for a national chain. It makes it less than $10 for each of us about every other month. I trim my bangs and my husband’s neck in between to make them last longer. It works for us!
When we got married, my husband had the grand idea that I would cut his hair. I entered in on the idea very nervously, but gained confidence hair cut after hair cut. There have been seasons in our life that were very busy, and my husband would get his hair cut at a barber shop during those times. Funnily enough, when he came home there always seemed to be a few spots that needed trimming. LOL
Since I have cut his hair almost exclusively, it doesn’t feel like a monetary gain – we’re not gaining money by having me cut his hair because it is an expense that has almost never been in our budget to start with. But it’s still a good way to save money!
You’re right, if you’ve always done it and can’t imagine it being any other way, it’s hard to really count it as “money saved”. But it still would be fun to add up approximately how much you would have spent on hair cuts over the years had you not been doing it yourself!
My husband cuts his and our boys hair with the Flowbee unit. It has saved us so much money and it is so quick and easy to use. I cut the girls hair. I cut my own hair but do try and watch for sales and get my hair cut about once a year. My hair grows fast so I will get a bunch cut off in the back.
I’ve heard great things about the Flowbee!
I didn’t realize the flowbee actually worked!!! Cool!
I have been cutting my three kids’ hair their whole lives. They are 12, 10, and 7. I started cutting my husband’s hair a few years ago, mainly because he was tired of waiting in line at the barber! He is extremely busy, and he was more than willing to let me cut his hair since I have been cutting our son’s hair for years. He may have been a little nervous the first time, but he was sweet and did not show it! I cannot even imagine the amount of money we have saved over the years! My husband used to pay about $15 every month, so you can see that it adds up quickly! I am actually the only one in the house that pays someone to cut their hair, but I doubt I go more than twice a year. I once took my oldest daughter to get her hair cut before her First Communion because it was a special occasion and I wanted her to look her best. I had to take her home and fix the haircut afterwords! Never again!
You should figure up how much you’ve saved sometime. I bet it would really make you excited about the return on your investment of time in cutting your husband and boys’ hair!
I cut my husband and daughter’s hair. For me, we barter. A lady that takes silversmithing lessons from my husband is a beautician. When I need a hair cut, we apply what she would normally charge to the lessons. The best part is that she usually cuts my hair before class. I feel so spoiled having my hair done at my home.
Hubby uses clippers on his hair, and we’ve cut little boy’s hair this way — though it takes both of us as I use the clippers and he feeds little boy choco chips. I guess the clippers are major tickly.
I have quite fast growing hair, so for the past 4 or so years, I’ve grown out my hair to get 8 to 10 inches, then cut off a pony tail and donate it for wigs. Both my Mom and step-Mom have needed wigs while doing chemo, so I feel this is something small I can do. It takes me between 1 and 2 years to do this. I purchased a nice pair of hair scissors at Walmart, and I will trim up my own hair after Hubby cuts off the pony tail. Its not the greatest, but my hair is curly enough that being uneven isn’t a problem.
Hubby has a favorite barber he’s gone to for years, but the price is reasonable, so we don’t mind much. $8 for a really good haircut that includes a straight razor shave of the back of his neck and sideburns is worth it for him.
I have very, very, VERY long hair: down to my thighs. I have a few friends who cut hair, but I never want to cut it short (one bad haircut in middle school can scar you for life!) so I just have one of them trim it 2 or 3 times a year in exchange for free babysitting or some baked goodies. I also got some grays very young in life (20) and so I dye it twice a year to match my natural shade. I have my sister do that. All I do is pay for the dye (this is why I love coupons), and she and I get to have some bonding time over a DVD or something while she goes to it.
Wow! Down to your thighs? Now I’m curious how many boxes of dye that takes?!
And $8 is a very good deal for a great guy’s hair cut!
It usually takes about 3 boxes of dye to do it the first time. (If I let my grays grow all the way out, which I’m pretty close to now, since you’re not supposed to dye your hair while pregnant.)
I memorized the color I used and I just buy the same kind for touch ups about 3 times a year. 1-2 bottles is usually enough to fill in the gaps, and the color tones blend after a couple days, so it’s hardly noticeable that the new dye doesn’t go all the way to the tips.
I cut my husband’s hair and I am sure we save well over $100 per year!
I do not cut my own, but I only get it cut twice a year at a salon (family friend cuts it) – for $20 per cut (that includes my generous tip to her). I only get a simple trim and don’t do anything else to my hair – no coloring, no perms, etc.
So true! My husband & I were just talking about this as I was cutting his hair and our 3 boys hair. I don’t cut professionally, but have been trimming my own hair and my husbands since we’ve were married. In one year savings, we save at least $660.00 🙂
Thank you for linking to my boys haircut tutorial! I’ve had on my to-do list for a LONG time to re-do the videos on that post (and make them just one video instead of three, and better quality) so I apologize for that! I actually just cut all of my boys hair tonight! It’s honestly not my favorite thing to do, but we have saved so much money over the past 10 years by cutting hair at home. It has been totally worth it for us!
If/when you re-do them, let me know so I can re-post them!
I will! I have someone lined up who can edit the video for me. Now I just need to record our next hair cutting session!
I’d be TERRIFIED to cut my own hair, though I do trim my bangs and haven’t ever messed up *too* bad. I don’t get my hair cut very often, so I don’t usually feel bad paying the $40 or so for a good haircut. (I contacted the place I get my haircut and found out that the stylist who does my hair left the shop six months ago!)
I do, however, cut my husbands, and have gotten decent enough at it that people at his work have asked if I could cut their sons’ hair 🙂
Funny you should post this today, I just got done trimming my daughter’s bangs for the first time. Yes, it will save a good amount of money because her hair grows so fast, but it is also much more convenient. I watched a couple of You Tube videos and got a technique down. I’m really excited because I can keep up with them and she won’t have to have them in her eyes 😉 I now have the confidence to trim them myself. Hair scissors at Target for $9.50 will pay for themselves rather quickly 🙂 I have to say, they even look a lot better than most of the $5-$10 bang trims we’ve had in the past. Maybe I will have to try a full haircut next. Hmmmmm….
I love the convenience factor you brought up. Very good point!
my husband and my 2 boys we take a guard 2 razor to….my mom pays for my daughters haircuts 😀 and i get my hair cut about once a year- year and a half (truthfully its always pulled back in a pony tail so who really cares. i dont and neither does my husband and thats all that matters to me 😀 )
My husband’s mom cut his hair when he was growing up plus his dad’s and his three brothers. Soooo..I soon learned to cut his hair after we were married. Plus we didn’t have the money to spend on haircuts. I still cut his hair and our son’s hair. I don’t love it, but I do like not spending the money. Now and then they go to the barber and I will admit I always like the way they look and the more professional cut the barber knows how to do.
I don’t go to the salon very often, but secretly I think I’d like too. 🙂 I just don’t want to pay for it. I’m starting to get some gray, so I will have to decide if I’m going to just be gray young or if I will cover it up. I’m not into coloring my own hair. Too scared. I’d want it to look nice, plus natural! I got highlights last summer and liked it, but it wasn’t exactly cheap!
Fun to read what everyone has to say!
I cut my husband and 4 boys hair myself…at $10 per cut at our local barber, that’s $50 saved every 6 weeks or so, and it usually takes me just over an hour…I started on the boys as babies for practice when they didn’t care if I messed up, and have gotten pretty good over the past 14 years…even when you figure in the $30 pair of clippers that I replace once a year or so, we save a ton!
I’d say that’s a pretty good hourly wage there, especially since it’s tax free!
My husband cuts our son’s hair and I cut my own and our daughters’ using this simple method I discovered through Pinterest.
My husband cuts all 3 of our boys’ hair. They need it cut at least once a month. Our local haircut franchise charges $7 a kid so that alone saves us at least $240! My husband also has a friend at work that charges $5 to buzz cut hair so hubby does that. I splurge about 3 times a year on a “real” haircut since I work in a professional setting and like to look polished 😉
Considering you only go three times a year — which is a lot less than most people go — I think you’re doing really well! 🙂
I’m definitely not into the idea of cutting my own hair (I have a lot of unruly hair), but beauty schools are awesome. Back in college, that’s what everyone did. There was one right down from my university, and it was easy and cheap for our budgets.
Well… I’m 27 and I still go to one. Yes, I could afford to splurge on a salon, but I’d rather not. The beauty school here is convenient, no appointment is needed (which means no taking time off work or planning for it- just show up), it’s cheap, it’s in a good location, and the students are nice. Plus they’re really good about asking for help if they need it and *always* ask you for your feedback. They have a good rapport because they depend on the clients for both a little extra $$$ and their grade.
Unless I have a really bad experience there, I think I’ll continue going :).
I love this that you’ve found the perfect solution for you. I’ve heard mixed reports on beauty schools so it makes me so happy to hear that you found one that works really well for you!
Thank you! Yes it is a good school, if they did not do a good job I would find another school or explore other options!