Home hairdresser vs salon. I'm thinking I need to pay the extra money a salon charges to be happy with my hair!

[Trickymoments]

I've had a home hairdresser for about 8 months now & to start with I was very pleased with the result & the price for cut & highlights. Probably paid half what I would in a salon.
The last couple of times have not been so good though & I've been really disappointed with the cut & colour

I've been searching hairdresser websites in the area and the prices seem pretty consistent everywhere. But it's just such a lot of money! Looking at £100 for cut & highlights.

We have a bit more money now that our childcare costs have gone down but I'm just trying to work out how often it would need doing and the cost over a year.

Speaking to other mums locally lots of them seem to have tried the home hairdresser and ended up back at a salon.

What are your experiences? Shall I just pay the small fortune so that it looks lovely & I'm happy with it?
I could try another hd at home but I'm not sure I can face going through it again and then bumping into them at school events! At least if I'm unhappy with a salon I can just not go back.

Interested to hear what other people do.

[Pisssssedofff]

What exactly do you have done ? Highlights ? A trim ?
I had a home hairdresser who was great for ages then went a bit shit frankly, after about 6 months. I do think it's less awkward at least to complain if it's a salon

[Trickymoments]

I have an all over tint, then highlights although to be honest I think there are too many now as it looks like a block of colour & the roots are too obvious.
I ask for a trim but she always takes off more than I want & I won't even go there about the day she gave me a fringe... the last time I had one like that I was about 8 and my mum did it!!

[Chottie]

I would change back to a salon without a second thought.

I've been down that route and always found the home hairdresser went 'off' and the first few cuts were the best ones. Being the coward I am, I had to make up some story about work hours changing to stop using her.

I would rather spend more money and have fab hair everyday.

[Trickymoments]

Thank you Chottie that is just how I feel and just how my experience has been! It did start off well but I'm getting fed up now with paying still quite a bit of money to have not very
good hair. Plus I actually miss
the me time you get from a salon & that bit of pampering. It's not the same with my dc rampaging around the living room!
I don't know how to stop using the current hd though, i too am a coward & would hate to offend her.

[Pisssssedofff]

Too much off would be the clincher for me, not like she can put it back, that really winds me up, they should err on the side of caution.
Salon it is then, mine supplies wine too

[IAmAPaleontologist]

Just varies doesn't it as to who is good I your area, I don't think home vs salon has anything to do with it. I have a home hairdresser at the moment who is an absolute genius. Finding someone you are happy with is a nightmare, you just need to keep asking around and trying places out though until you find one.

[SpaceKablooie]

I tried a home hairdresser once, it was awful .

And I've tried other people's cheap hairdressers before too (that they had good haircuts at) - also awful .

I just grit my teeth and pay now. I've paid ~£75 for haircuts, but I pay ~£45 now.

[monkeywithacowface]

I had to ditch the home hairdresser and go back to a salon. The savings just weren't worth the rage of her cutting to much off and insisting on tons of layers (the Rachel look has been and gone!). She used to be great but I've noticed with mobile hairdressers they don't spend as long on it and because they're no longer in a salon they're not having any ongoing training or keeping up with new trends and techniques so I think they get a bit stale. Also washing your own hair and cleaning up after us crap much prefer the salon experience!

[SpaceKablooie]

Just to add - I'm sure there are lots of good hair home hairdressers, I just don't have the time / sanity to find them .

[monkeywithacowface]

*too

[Trickymoments]

Pisssssed off, wow wine is a bonus!

[SpaceKablooie]

Tricky, just don't book her again, life is too short .

Could you reduce the frequency of salon cuts to make it slightly better value?

[Kennington]

Have you tried going to a salon while on holiday?
I work in France and get cut and colour done there occasionally - much cheaper - about 60 euros. I also have it done once a year in Greece for 40 euros.
It means I now just go once per year to a salon in the UK for a cut and colour and highlights.
I do my roots myself.

[CMOTDibbler]

There are some fabulous mobile hairdressers out there, and some shocking salons. My current hairdresser is mobile, and I found her through a FB local womens group where she had had loads of recommendations - and she was the first person in years where I felt they'd done what I wanted

[DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen]

I know a really fantastic hair dresser, she's amazing and I think the reason is because she still does one day a month in a salon so she keeps her standards really high.

It's 50 quid wasted if you don't like it so I would find a better home hairdresser or go to a salon .

[Tokelau]

OP, I've been in a very similar situation. I had a mobile hairdresser and had an all over colour and then highlights. My roots looked terrible the day it was done! Like you, she was good at first, but it just got worse and worse. I felt like she was rushing to get it done and leave as soon as possible. I had to lean over the bath for her to wash my hair - not very relaxing. She was very nice but I wasn't willing to go on paying for something I wasn't happy with. She wouldn't give me a price list and the cost seemed different every time.

I just stopped making appointments. I went to a local salon instead. It's not a really trendy one, but it has a good reputation. I am so much happier with my hair, the whole experience is very relaxing, and I only pay a little bit more.

[WhoisLucasHood]

I'm lucky to have found a fabulous salon hairdresser who is pretty cheap, £37 for roots cut and blow. It was trial and error with a lot of different salons though.

[Trickymoments]

Kennington, how do you do the roots yourself? What do you use to do them? They are my biggest problem as coming through grey & highlights weren't covering them. My hair is just such a mess.

[SunshineOutdoors]

Have you tried a local college? They are cheap and get supervised while they're working.

disclaimer I've never actually tried this myself.

[squoosh]

You have to wear your hair every day so I think it's really worth spending a few extra quid for a result that you know you'll be really pleased with.

[Trickymoments]

Sunshine actually I did do that years ago & it was pretty good although took twice as long! The college is closed for summer hols now though.

[Trickymoments]

Squish, I'm beginning to agree. Why is it soon expensive though? Is it the dye itself that's expensive or the involved doing it? Both I suppose.

[Trickymoments]

DH doesn't get it all - his haircut costs him a tenner - not much to cut though!

[Trickymoments]

Sorry that should have been squoosh not squish!

[DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen]

You are paying for the dye which had gone up in the last few years apparently but you're paying for the running of the salon as well including electricity, heating, water then the wages of the hairdresser plus they've got to make a profit.

Are you in London? £100 is a lot ime.