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

[Burntout01]

Obviously everything is going up and up. Just went to book hairdressers- I don’t go often , maybe every four months since I went grey ( used to box dye it for 30 years before that). Its my one bit of self care.
Cost has jumped from £120 to over £170 since I last had it done in September. For full head highlights for chin length bobbed hair plus wash and rough blow dry.
It’s not that I don’t believe its worth that price and I am not knocking my hairdresser, its not about that. But I am a senior NHS nurse with 30 years experience. My job has taken a lot from me and my family. I take home £150 a day. The hair appt is 2.5 hours.
I just cannot justify the expense for myself any more.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

That's a lot! London?

I completely sympathise.

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 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.

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?

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.

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.

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!

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

esp people that can’t even afford it

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.

"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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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😄.

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.

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.