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

Mine had to be a Davines salon as I'm allergic to all the mainstream brands.

I've had mine restyled so I can go longer between colouring appointments. I'm not brave enough to go grey as mine is that ageing iron grey colour at the moment.

I have a favourite hairdresser and he charges that much. I can’t justify it any more. It’s far too much.

We are all different in what we like to spend money on. Why so judgemental? Yes, women are fine with spending a couple of hours at the hairdressers every couple of months, and we don't usually feel murderous because of it! What a bizarre thing to say.

About colour, it depends what you want to do. If you're colouring within two shades of your natural hair, and you don't want any dimension, then it will probably be as good as the hairdresser. But if you want highlights or balayage, having a professional do it looks amazing. It's not an effect you can really replicate at home.

I don't think you have to spend all that to look groomed at all! Home hair colour, a nice home blowdry, doing your own nails, and good Boots makeup (brands L'Oreal, Revlon, Maybelline etc) is all you really need! You can look VERY polished using those products!

Helps a LOT if the hair colour you're doing is within two shades of your natural colour.

My hair was last styled professionally coming up 12 years ago. It's not difficult to trim it now and again. I've let it grow to my waist, it just needs a trim to remove split ends. I used to dye it black as I was a fan of Amy Lee of Evanescence. I still am, but the hair dye became too much effort after a while, so I used my last box dye and then let it grow out. It probably looked a little silly seeing brown roots come through, but it didn't bother me.

If anyone is in the Peacehaven, East Sussex area (about six miles east of Brighton), Headrush is INCREDIBLE. Amazing stylists and even better prices.

This really isn't true. Yes, you can dye it yourself at home and it will look totally fine, but if you want dimensional colour, with two or three different shades, a professional doing highlights or balayage is going to look much, much better.

Are you able to use natural colourants or is your scalp too sensitive? My hair is very thin, fine and delicate but I find Logona natural hair colour creams very good. You need to experiment a bit to get the shade you like.

It isn’t easy for everyone. I used home colours when I was in my early 20s. They were awful on my hair. I could never match it and the colour was one dimensional, like lego hair. As for the re growth 🤦‍♀️

I live in the south east (ie one of the most expensive parts of the country) and I pay £115 for colour, cut and blow dry with a senior designer. She’s amazing at her job and I get lots of compliments on my colour so I am not going cheap and cheerful. Maybe you need to shop around a bit. I also get a blue light discount on top of that so that might be worth looking at.

That seems very high. Can you see if others are more reasonable? I don’t think I could justify such a lot of money.

I have a full head of highlight, cut and blow dry and it’s £95. My hair is long and it takes nearly 3 hours. My take home pay is less than yours and I think it’s expensive, but worth it for me.

I have a mobile hairdresser. Full colour, cut and blow dry approximately £50, West Midlands. How about asking on your local social media if anyone can recommend a local mobile hairdresser for you? It’s not the same experience as going to a salon, but a whole lot cheaper .

Try going for the grey. Hard to cope with the growing out, but you may like it in the end. Hair in better condition - at least mine is. You can always revert back if you hate it. Was actually a hairdresser who suggested I do it. While I would prefer my original dark brown, I do rather like the silver sass.

Ask around for a hairdresser who comes to your home? My hairdresser is wonderful. Since having kids she just does home visits. It’s £65 for half-head but my hair is waist length.

I totally understand where you're coming from, Op. The cost is extortionate these days! And the pressure to tip only makes it worse (you're a nurse, I'm a teacher; valuable jobs with no culture of tipping!)
You really shouldn't give up feeling good about yourself. Do look into a mobile hairdresser. It's so much cheaper! The end result is just as good, though it is a pain in the arse having to wash it out yourself twice (foils then toner)

I have highlights, a colour cut and BD for £70 (£80 with tip). I could never get anything like her results with box dye! Ever.

I use a mobile hairdresser which really keeps costs down and she does my kids inbetween mine so makes more in the time she’s here. I’m in the SE.
Yoi need to consider that hairdressers are trained professionals and the cost of running a salon has shot up enormously if you want that experience it will cost more.

Have you thought about a mobile hairdresser? I have had the same hairdresser for years (she is a friend of mine). She is the manager of a fairly exclusive salon part-time and I pay less than 1/3 of what I would pay if I had her in her salon. You obviously don’t get the experience of being in a salon but it is so much cheaper

I’ve found this thread absolutely fascinating as a hairdresser , and apologise to the poster who thought I was being bitchy about other stylists , that wasn’t my intention at all and I’m sorry .

What is clear as day is that rising prices for everything are affecting a lot of people , who are pretty miffed that what they see as an everyday expense has somehow turned into a treat that some can’t afford .

All is was trying to do was explain and show the expenses of running a very small salon business , so you don’t feel cross with your hairdresser , or think they are being greedy .
So many are utterly ignorant of the associated costs
I hope my post showed transparency regarding the expenses .

one poster admitted to being grumpy when faced with a paltry £ 2 increase on an £18 cut 😲
Thats wild to me that you’re grumpy about a fellow woman earning a whole £2 more …
I was gobsmacked at that actually .

Lets all focus on the bigger picture, and not blame each other because it’s not helpful

Hairdressers are not driving round in Ferraris…

Im very aware of my clients finances.

I have a few clients that I’ve not increased the price due to job losses ect , who still come every 5 weeks for a colour which I find incredible
I never tell them I do it cheaper
I’m very grateful they stIll come .

I will say though that there are many folk with plenty of money, and not everyone is struggling .

There are clearly 2 camps of you

The ones who do it at home and are happy with that, and see the salon as a waste of time and money , and the ones who absolutely love coming for the whole experience and prioritise it over other stuff

Neither is right , just different
I cater for camp number two

Agree OP. The way I’m getting around it is I’ve found a hair stylist who works from home, and she charges less than salons. You could get it done less, or I’ve started using Glaze in between hair colours. I used to colour my hair a lot but I stick to once or twice per year now.

It has become crazily expensive, I used someone that’s turned a room in her house to a salon so she doesn’t have rent to pay as such. A full head, toner, cut and blow dry is £150. Salons round near me are £50-£100 more.

Absolutely not. It depends on what kind of colour you are getting too. No way could your average, untrained woman do highlights for example themselves at home and I wouldn’t recommend it either. Leave it to the pros.

The average woman can’t achieve the effects that a very good professional can.

I can tell you, you wouldn't look any different if you did it yourself with the same products that you pay someone else to do it for you.

Yes its a huge amount of money! I have started seeing apprentices only at my local salon. They charge £25 for a full colour covering greys.

For a cut i go to headmasters where you can phone for a standby appointment for £40 for a cut and blow-dry. You never know which stylist you get but quite often I get a top stylist for cheap! Headmasters have a VIP club too where you get a discount.

Because I want it to look good. If I did it myself, it would look ok at best.