Things you no longer pay for, and do yourself.

[OverEggedPudding]

Over the years I have stopped paying for certain things and I am not regretting it so far. So, with the credit crunch here, I thought this may be useful to have a discussion about this, although I've seen this topic many times on here.

Here's mine:

1. I refuse to pay for a manicure or pedicure. I get that it is a lovely treat, but I just cannot part with this money. I used to live overseas and have a mani/ pedi. It took 1 - 1.5 hours and it was a thorough, spa experience and cost half the price. I do spend money on my nails, but do it myself. I use Footners, a foot file, moisturiser, cuticle remover and nail smoother/ buffers and I buy decent nail varnish and base and top coats. My feet are now like a baby's bottom.

2. Facials. Again, I used to have them overseas for twice the service and half the price. I had a few here and they cost up to £90 and it was a slip, slap, slop job. Now I use a face steamer, face masks, NuFace and good skin care and my skin has never been better.

3. IPL. I paid a fortune and it didn't work. IK bought a Philips Lumea and now have very little hair.

4. Keratin treatments. I used to pay £120 for a treatment 3 times a year, now I do it myself at home twice a year with Cocochocco and it costs me £30 for 2 uses. At home was much more successful than salon.

5. Self tanning. I was talking to someone in a shop the other day and they told me I had a lovely light tan and had I been away. It was my St. Tropez fake tan spray mist.

So I am not a total skin flint, and do spend some money. I do not skimp on:

Eyebrows. I stopped having them done in a salon, but recently went back and had HD brows done and they look fab. I have tried lamination and I don't rate it.

Good skincare

LVL - loved this, but didn't last long.

Electrolosis - to remove stubborn chin hairs.

What beauty treatments do you do yourself, with what products and how is it better?

Totally agree! So much better than the salon one

I use kerastraight moisture enhance shampoo, salt and sulphate free

I went crawling back to
the hairdresser and the eyebrow threader after lockdown DIY showed me - and everyone else - I had to pay.

Eyebrow dyeing and pedicures are miles easier and cheaper at home, while epilating menopause tache myself is less embarrassing.

Gel nails grow out in a week at this time of year cos nails grow faster in summer, so it’s expensive nail polish.

Not sure if it's quite the sort of thing you meant, but GYM CLASSES!

Stopped paying for the gym and got a 6 months Premium membership to FitOn by signing up with DS's student code. We have a garden room with a big TV/ weights etc so I just take myself off down there to do classes. It's fab - no driving and parking at the gym/ no worrying over what I'm wearing or what people think when I'm crap at the stretches !

I do everything myself:
Dye, wash, trim hair
Polish toe and finger nails
Exfoliate and scrub feet
Pluck eyebrows
Shave underarm and legs

I cannot justify spending unnecessary money when we are trying to build up our savings fund. I would happily outsource all of the above if I could afford to. I like being pampered at the salon.

Been doing own gel mani/pedi, facials, tan, hair brow and lash tint for years. Someone mentioned footner. I used to pay for threading but now I have some brow blades. I have a kit to do lash perm and brow lamination, but rarely bother. All this stuff off ebay.
Now, growing out short hair to cut down on hairdresser visits, as cuts are my only regular salon spend.
Clearly many who spend a lot in salons and are cutting back, it's a worry for beauticians.

Haircut every 4 months. I do my own roots, treatments etc. I get my eyebrows threaded for a fiver and dye them myself. I have an occasional pedicure but don't think manicures are worth it as I'm good at doing my own. I'm having a lash lift and tint tomorrow as my eyelashes have started growing in weird directions! So I hope it works.

I do almost everything myself, manicures, pedicures, haircuts, epilation, eyebrow plucking, fake tan in early summer. I won’t give up my gym membership without a fight though!

I've gone the other way and I'll tell you why; I've had too many crying sessions in front of the mirror from year dot about my looks (frizzy skinny hairy) and my lack of success taming them so I've had to call the professionals in. I also work in healthcare and don't have loads of money but I see myself as worth investing in. I do wax my own tache and paint my own toenails because I get a good to me result with these

Do all my own waxing now except Brazilian I just cannot bring myself to. I bought a hot wax pot and it's the best investment I've ever made. I'm trying to make myself do the Brazilian but I can't it's too sore!

Dye my own brows.

Ive stopped getting my nails done so much and just wear polish unless I'm going somewhere.

Haven't had a spray tan in about 10 years. I've got fake tanning into an art form 🤣

Do my own roots. I usually get a haircut about 2 or 3 times a year and dye it myself. Every so often I'll take a notion to get it down at Salon but usually I'll just do it myself.

At home keratin treatments are really really not easy for me, I even got tall 13yo to help me in lockdown and ended up with a tangled mess fit my £30. I'm not stupid and I work with my hands it just doesn't work for me

for my £30

I used to have my legs and vulva waxed. I now shave my legs and go au natural aside from a little trim. I do enjoy a manicure and pedicure when going on holiday, but won’t bother with gel polish any more as it never lasts as it should and there is the extra hassle of getting it off! Facials? I used to pay for them, but I have discovered to moist face masks in packets. I find them really good and so much cheaper, so I’m converted.

I do spend money on a health club membership, hair cut every 6 weeks (but not at a crazy price salon) and good quality (not scary priced) skin care. Mostly, REN and This Works.

I should add, my hair is white grey and I stopped having it coloured several years ago. Up to my last one, I had a brow wax and tint and a lash tint before going away on a holiday. I’ve decided that I’ll do it myself in future.

I started doing my own Gel nails a while ago. Regardless of what beauticians tell you there ARE good quality gel products that people outside of the profession can buy. I actually managed to get some Gellish through a friend too and it's saved me SO much.

I would love to hear more about hair removal though. I had a second csection recently and most of the hair along the scar ends up ingrown (i'm waiting for a revision because it has left me deformed, moreso than the usual Apron, and I keep getting infections under the flap). Anything to aleviate that while I wait for a tummy tuck I am absolutely open to trying!

I've never paid for any of the things on your list, OP.
The only thing I can think of that I used to pay for but no longer do is hairdressing. I used to pay about £130 about four times a year to get my hair cut and coloured. During the first lockdown in 2020, like everyone else I couldn't go to a hairdresser, so I bought some scissors and started cutting my own hair. I also let the colour grow out, so I returned to my natural colour.
I still cut my own hair. I haven't been to a hairdresser since October 2019, so I've saved at least £780 so far.

OP, the Cocochocco, does it straighten your hair or just take the frizz out?

I made my own paved areas in the garden and edged them with wood I salvaged from crates. Really pleased with the end result, garden looks great.

Tyrannosaurus

it takes out frizz and straightens it