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.

I pay £63 for a cut and full colour. I go to a small, slightly shabby salon in an un-busy stretch of my small-town Sussex high street, and have had the same stylist for nearly 30 years. Over that time, I've had around 4 different styles, and she's done all of them really well. Everyone is very complimentary about my hair, which is difficult to cut well.

Imo, the smarter, trendier salons are always the most expensive. Look for somewhere the old ladies go if you want to save money!

Can you change your hairdresser? My colour, cut and finish is £90 but I have to drive 24 miles but it’s worth it. It’s a little salon and I get lots of compliments about my hair. On the other hand, I know a lady who spends £200 for her colour in our local town and her hairdresser is awful. I haven’t the heart to tell my friend that her hair isn’t great.

Stupid? Anyone who thinks you're stupid must be rather dim 🙄

@Burntout01you say you take home £150 a day. That’s £3000 take home per month. I know a hairdresser appointment seems a lot but you’re completing ignoring all the overheads which are clearly outlined on this thread.

if you only work part time, I can totally see why you might struggle but then tbh working part time is a luxury in itself.

Look around for different hairdressers. I don’t dye my hair at the hairdressers anymore. But I go to a salon owned by an older lady all her clients are at least ten years older than me and she charges me just £20 for a cut and £2 to get my fringe cut and it does the job.

Absolutely ridiculous that a nurse with this much responsibility and experience should have to worry about a haircut like this. It's abysmal that we don't pay our nurses properly.

Bloody hell, that's over £70 a week if you go every 6 weeks - £10 a day on hairdressing!

I don't think I'd pay that even if I was loaded. I'd rather have a cheaper haircut and give what I saved to charity.

I had mine done yesterday, £95 for a pink balayage with dark everywhere else, plus blow dry and curl. I thought that was reasonable for nearly 4hrs in the chair!

That’s what I was going to say. I’ve always gone to local salons. It’s £48 for half a head of highlights and a cut and blowdry at mine.

Thankyou !
I have an unfortunate residual chip on my shoulder as i was written off at school so i get very prickly about this …

All my family are academic and I passed very few low grade exams, I've since realised since having all my children who are similar that i have ADHD, dyslexia and dyscalculia, so it turns out im not thick , I just cant do exams

However now im old, I've realised I can channel what i am very good at !

I feel your pain OP (fellow nurse here). I have switched to a much more natural look and I go far less frequently.
my advice would actually be to find out your colour season (this is quite easy to do if you don’t already know). Some seasons (summer and winter) actually really suit grey hair so you could blend it in and you might find it even makes you look more awake. I know most fear the grey, but don’t knock it till you’ve tried it. But overall the cost increase is just depressing for everything!

I’m in a similar position. It is depressing.

I think there's a lot to be said for embracing your natural self and not spending your hard earned money on cosmetic alterations to make you look like someone else. But we are all different and if this is important to you, you then you will need cut back elsewhere.

I pay £108 for a full head of highlights with cut and blow dry. It’s an out of town salon so cheaper rent I expect than town centre. This is West Midlands.

Totally unaffordable for me, though i do understand they have to charge that much to make a profit. I get a cut and blow dry every 3 or 4 months for £50, there are cheaper junior stylist but to be honest they arent as good so I pay a little more. I use semi permanent box dye for the grey. I work with people who have highlights, eye lashes, botox etc and often wonder how on earth they do it, it must cost £100s every month!

£160 North East. Now stretching out time between appointments.

Maybe so, but an increase of 42% in three months is a bit steep

All of their costs will have risen too.

It absolutely will be but there is nothing hairdressers can do to change it. Because they also need to eat and heat their homes. The problem is that the cost of running a business is too high and is rising. Do you know, for example, what a water and electricity bill is like for an average salon? It's huge and it rises just as fast as your household bill. There is only so much the salon can swallow before they start passing the cost to the customer. So it's hard for a business - any business - to simply charge what a client can afford nowadays.

Yep, in the north here too - I pay £75 for cut, full head highlights then blow dry & hair straightening

I like my reasonably priced local hairdresser that I've been going to for 40 years.

I doubt you're pmsl either. You make your choices and others make different ones.

You need to shop around. I pay around £85 for the same or you look at groupon offers etc. a lot of salons have days in which colour is cheaper

OP exactly the same position as you, cannot justify the expense or the time or sitting in front of a mirror for hours on end looking at myself.
I decided to 'embrace' the grey and not a decision I have regretted.
I do invest in expensive saloon shampoo and conditioner which makes all the difference.

I was someone who always thought they would colour their hair always but having made the leap I am glad to have done so.
I do really think the products you use will make a huge difference and., whilst they are expensive, it is a lot cheaper than paying for a colour.

Can't afford, or can't justify? Because if it's the second, personally I think a days wages is well justified on an aspect of your presentation that you will 'wear' every day, and may be important to how good you feel about yourself. If you break it down to a daily cost it feels a lot more reasonable, if you're a person to whom hair matters (not saying you should be, but most of us are!)
Most people will happily pay for more clothes than they need, a variety of shoes and assessories to wear now and again, yet your hair is with you all the time.
Not a hairdresser BTW, so no skin in the game, just my perspective.

£70 a month insurance??!?! What are you driving? Mine is £220 fully comprehensive a year.

The cut and colour also sounds very expensive. I would perhaps shop around.