To ask how much you pay for beauty services like your nails, hair, etc?

[ChattyChai]

I’m 39, turning 40 at the end of the year.

My husband thinks I’m being ridiculous with what I spend, but we can afford it comfortably and it makes me feel good.

I spend £42 every 3-5 weeks on nails, and every 3 months or so an extra £15 to get my eyebrows waxed and tinted.

i spend £140 every two months on getting my hair extensions moved up, and then every 4 months an extra £77 to get my roots done.

he thinks this is silly money and an extra £110 a month we could be saving, but I work, it’s my only real splurge each month and it makes me feel great. Am I spending too much? How much do you spend?

Hair - wash, cut blow dry every 6 weeks £45
Highlights and trim every 8-10 weeks - £150

Nails, about £100 a year on gel polishes

Brows: Tint and wax once a month £25

I’m thinking of trying a Lash lift & tint

I also spend quite a lot on style and beauty, e.g this week I’ve bought Olaplex no. 8 (which is amazing, the best product I have ever used on my hair), a lipstick, a Bondi sands tan, and Adidas trainers for autumn

Having my hair cut more regularly - so just under £200 a year on hair cuts. (four cuts a year).

And that's it. Don't do anything else. I really don't get the whole nails thing, but each to their own.

I am early 50s and quite pleased with how I look. Would rather spend my money on exercise and activity to keep looking good.

Nothing, but I do it myself and I’m fairly high maintenance.

I cut and colour my own hair. Thank God for YouTube tutorials.

Do my own hair removal (IPL and shaving).

Pluck my brows and chin.

Whiten my teeth at home.

I don’t have nail extensions. I just shape and paint my own nails using standard nail varnish.

I am thinking about starting having lash extensions though, and I’d also be curious to try Botox, so if I like those it will be a time and money commitment.

Nails are 28 every three weeks

I spend 10 a month on cluster lashes from amazon (do them myself)

15 every 6 weeks to dye my hair (myself)

Haircut twice a year or so at 40 a time

Fake tan about 15 a month (again, diy)

Forgot to add gel pedicure to my list - 35 every two months

Read your updates and your husband is a twat.

Basically he wants to save money by stopping spend on stuff that brings you joy but he doesn't care about, but he doesn't want to save money by stopping something that brings him joy.

The bare faced selfishness of the man.

If u can afford it comfortably and wouldn’t need the money for something else then what’s the problem.

I don’t think it’s that bad, especially the hair as it’s not that often.

I don’t spend any money on my nails. If I want them done I do my own gel nails, very occasionally I’ll get them done for a special occasion. I don’t like having particularly long nails as I find they catch on things most often the kids get scratched when trying to dress them etc.

My hair again is low maintenance, I have long dark hair. It’s not coloured (although I am starting to get a few greys😭 so will eventually need to get it coloured). I just get it cut twice a year usually, it’s £30 and I give her £35 as it’s such a gd price. My last place went up to £57 for the same thing so I found somewhere else. Eyebrows do them myself too and I do my own lash lift & tint every 6-8wks.

I do my own nails and brows and spend around £90 on hair every 6 weeks. Guess I'm kinda low maintenance lol 🤷🏼‍♀️

So I have a bank account that my salary goes into, on payday I have standing orders and direct debits that go out - a standing order to our joint account (50% of my salary goes into the joint account, 50% of his goes).

the joint account is mortgage, bills etc., his golf club membership.

20% goes out to the savings accounts - 15% joint and 5% a solo account.

I then have payments that go out from my salary which include the childcare, after school clubs etc. I don’t count this in my “take home” pay because I realistically never see it. I’ve not seen it for about 5 years now. I’d say that takes up most of the rest of my income.

the £250 does everything else - self care, petrol for my car, car insurance etc. over the year. It’s tight but I manage my money to the penny.

Nails - £35 every 4 weeks
Hair - £9 every 3 weeks for a fringe trim + £60 twice a year for a proper cut
Eyebrows tinting and waxing - £25 every 2 months

I’m 40. Nails £30 every month or so. Hair £125 twice a year. The rest I do myself. Professionally done nails are noticeable. People with the home kits tend to look a bit crap

Also just to say - yes he’s happy with my decision to leave my current job. I’m going to rely on my savings to top up where needed while i work back up - it was that or leave work entirely. I couldn’t cope there anymore.

I pay £30 for a cut & blow dry once every 4 to 6 weeks and I get my high & lowlights done maybe 3 times a year, at £60, which includes the cut & finish.

If I’m lucky enough to be having a holiday I might get a lash lift & tint at £30.

I used to get my brows tinted but now there is so little of my natural brows left, especially on the outside edges, that it’s just not worth it. I get through quite a lot of eyebrow pencils instead!

£30 a month nails but I only get them done maybe 6 months of the year.
Hair is 0 as I used to do hair and so did my friend so she does my extensions and colour for free and I do hers. Maybe £20 every few months for glue remover and tapes.

I microneedle my own face.
I do my own upper face botox.
Brows I tint and wax/shape my own.

So where does his 50% go? If he earns 3x as much he must have over £750 a month!

If his golf club is an expense for work what the hell is childcare/ASC?!? Change the payments for those to the joint account.

This really isn't about hair care and getting your nails done. It's control.

Are you going to manage when your pay drops? Why don't you pay into the joint account in proportion to your earnings? The way I see it he owes you for years of childcare. This sort of thing makes me so cross!

hollywood wax every 5 weeks £34
do my own nails.
hair cut once a year £50

£40 - nails / monthly
£100 - £180 - hair (cut every second time and dye every time) / 2 months
£15 - eyebrow threading / 1-2 months
£25 - eyebrow and lash tinting / 1-2 months
£16 - chin and upper lip threading / 1-2 months

I want to find somewhere cheaper to get my hair done as I've changed styles recently to one that is much easier to manage but I've been with my hairdresser for years and she is kind of a friend at this point so it's a bit awkward!

Yeah, you need to rejig stuff to make it more equitable.

Genuinely, I wouldn't have problems with the golf club membership being a joint expense.

But the other stuff needs to be split more evenly.

If I was you, I'd knock up a spreadsheet. I'd then get both salaries paid into the joint account. All joint expenses paid for out of the joint account (including childcare and petrol), standing orders to savings out of the joint account and a standing order each for the same amount of personal spends going into your personal accounts. I'd expect personal spends to cover beauty, non essential clothes, solo days out and trips (i.e. not family ones), and treats, tech and presents. Everything else I would expect to come out of the joint account.

A dry cut every six weeks, which is £20. I do my own nails and brows.

I’ll just cut from other areas, I might draw out of my premium bonds that I inherited from my grandmother. He says I owe him for the years that I didn’t work - a period of 5 years when we had a lot going on. I went back to work “proper” in 2015, when our youngest was 2. He thinks I owe him for that time

£11 every 6 weeks for a box of hair colour and that's it. I used to spend 40+ on haircut every 2 months before, but I came to the conclusion that it was a waste of money, cause I didn't see any difference - I have naturally curly hair that just jump back to their original self after every wash. I've never had nails, eyebrows, done. I could afford all this, but not sure it would make me look better.

Did he pay into your pension during maternity leaves? No? Thought not, HE should be paying you back for your sacrifice and wage gap.
Do not give up the things that bring you joy.

See a solicitor and see what he'd be owing you if you decided to divorce because of this financial abuse.

No, he says we can just live off his pension. I have some savings (5 figures), which I’m hoping will help when it comes to pension time. But I’m also dipping into them every now and again, mainly if it’s an expense he won’t split - the boiler broke the other month and I had to pay for that etc.

I spend nothing. My daughter aged 16 started cutting my hair during Covid and does as good a job as a hairdresser. I have my nails neat and natural. I shape my own eyebrows and don’t need to wax as had everything lasered off. So that does seem excessive to me BUT I have a horse and so far this month she’s cost me over £400 so I do spend just in different ways 😂