Hair cut and colour now exceeds what I earn in a day. Absolutely fed up.

Shop around. My hairdresser is fantastic and charges £60 for a cut & colour.

What was it for, though? If I was really happy with the end result, I would be OK paying that for grey root retouch, full-head balayage, toner, cut, and blow-dry. The works, in other words.

That’s my point , anyone expecting a perfect precision bob , for barber prices is deluded

all very silly indeed

100 for a cut and blowdry is beyond my comfort level too.

Maybe you could forego the blowdry?

I never dyed my hair, then I started greying. I home-rinsed / hennaed for quite a while - till the light shining through my roots showed them up for what they were! Then I started growing out the rinse & opting for salon "low-lights". That worked for a while. But, to maintain the look & have it done well was SO expensive. Then I went to "accent low-lights", aiming for a suave Cruella de Vil look.

My DD said: "Ooh, ma, you look like a badger". So, I gave up and gave in to grey. Which turned out to be white.
And what I now realise is that HAIR CONDITION is much more important than hair colour. I shampoo & (blue)condition, but I now also regularly use hair-masks and other products which manage brittleness/frizziness/fly-away-ness.
So, OP, I'd recommend that you concentrate on good hair condition and the occasional really good cut.

I think there's quite a lot of technique involved in a bob.

Can you just go for the dye without all the other extras? That’s what I’ve been doing. Agree with you it’s too much.

Having grey roots done and a cut without a blowdry really, really shouldn't cost 200 pounds. I am sure you can find somewhere less expensive. Roots are just a one-process colour.

I think some people go blonde when their grey reaches a certain level, because the grow-out line is much less obvious.

Or, if you prefer to be darker than blonde, you can use a tinted hair mask to blend the greys between appts. Or use a home hair dye between appts.

The option option just means most people pay up anyway - it's a form of blackmail imho.

I don't see why we are expected to tip a hairdresser anymore than we are expected to tip a dentist or dental hygienist, especially given the very high prices most of them charge.

My hairdresser hiked her prices up 3 times since the end of Covid lock-down and then bored me to death blabbing about her multiple foreign holidays each year. I swapped her out for a different hairdresser a few weeks ago to save myself £30 each time which I now spend on myself instead of contributing to her excessive carbon footprint😄.

People aren’t ‘bailing out’ they just simply can’t afford it anymore.
It doesn’t matter how fair or justified the price of something is if you just don’t have the money to pay for it.

You can have a barber hair cut though ? just get a buzz cut that takes 10 minutes, then go to a barbers?
But that’s not what you want is it ?

You’ve just said you have a bob , so that’s a proper haircut . Can’t you see the difference?
The mind boggles at some of these comments

I've been cutting Dh's hair since Covid and I do as good a job as they ever did.

I won't let him cut mine though, it's very very thick, coarse and curly.

Everyone likes different things, though. I don't spend on holidays or a car. And you wear your hair every day, so...for many people, it's worth it.

I find that amount that people spend on holidays insane, when the holiday is soon over. But I recognise that different people value different things.

"Hairdressers are a business providing a service and tips should be ancient history or illegal by now."

It shouldn't be illegal, but rather an option. My DH would tip his barber by way of paying £10 for a £9 cut and tell them to keep the change. He doesn't pay a penny now because I cut his hair.

I spent years and years doing my own hair, both cutting and colouring. I really enjoyed it and I did save a fortune, too. I used hairdresser's bleach and Redken Shades EQ, and I did highlights. There are lots of tutorials on YouTube.

I'm currently in a phase of having it done at the hairdresser and enjoying the beautiful dimension created by having balayage. It's definitely better than I could do myself, but I'm not sure how long I'll be able to afford the hairdresser.

I find it insane the amount people pay on their hair
wtf

esp people that can’t even afford it

I totally get you here OP. I used to get my hair cut and coloured every 6/8 weeks £120 a time and then extra foils around every 3 months cost around £160. I also used to get gel nails fortnightly for £35.

I have stopped the nails and have changed hairdresser to a friend of a friend who works from her home salon (rather than the salon experience) for a cut and blow dry and now use a box dye. I just cannot justify the cost anymore. I have a healthy pension and part time salary so I can afford it but I've just decided it's not worth it anymore. The gels actually were wrecking my nails and I came away a few times from the salon not the happiest with my hair colour.

I'm now saving the cash for an extra holiday next year and to put towards my new car. The COL has made me more aware and conscious of what I'm spending my money on and I want to get the most out of it. I think people are making different choices about what they do with their money now and being more mindful. We don't eat out as much now either but that's a whole different thread - and there have been a few recently!

It’s bizarre that you seem so unable to understand that different people like different experiences.
i like to chat with my hairdresser and have someone else colour my hair, add highlights and cut and blow dry it for me. I rarely sit down for 5minutes so yes, sitting for 2 hours is lovely.
i don’t use a salon but I’d imagine people like to sit, read a magazine, people watch, have a nice coffee made for them etc.
Not everyone is the same. It’s really not that hard to understand.

Tips are another rip-off from hairdressers.
We pay enough already without being squeezed for tips as well.
Imagine if a doctor or dentist expected a tip.
Hairdressers are a business providing a service and tips should be ancient history or illegal by now.
If you can't run a business without tips, it's not a business.

OP, balayage grows out better than highlights, as you don't have a line of demarcation. The downside is that balayage can be a bit more expensive than highlights - but it does look much better for quite a bit longer. So you could do that and touch up your own roots between appointments. It's really easy to do. So maybe go every four months?

I colour my own hair with professional colour - I buy Wella developer and colour from Amazon and its costs me about £15 each time. I usually just do the roots and an all over colour every 3-4 goes. It’s really not that difficult when you get the hang of it. It’s saves me a fortune.

I work a minimum wage job so I earn about £96 a day. I have my hair cut every 6 months (£24) and my hair coloured every 3 months (£72 - short hair, with wash and blow dry). Sometimes I think its extravagant but I feel awful when my hair goes wild!

I completely sympathise.

That's a lot! London?

Hairdressers rip off women end of.
I don't get my hair dyed, just a cut and blow dry for a simple bob and it costs nearly £100. My husband can get a dry cut for £20.
I would love a barber type service for women.
It would also spare me having to make small talk for half an hour.