Advice on reducing hairdresser cost please

[Merryclaire]

I’m due to go on maternity leave in a couple of months and not sure I’ll be able to sustain my current hairdresser cost - which is currently close to £100 for each appointment (usually every 5 weeks).

This consists of a tint and wet cut.

I have quite difficult big, thick wavy hair that is completely grey underneath my hair dye. Cutting my own hair doesn’t feel like an option as I have so much unruly hair.

I previously used to dye my own hair but it looked quite lacklustre whereas now the colour is fantastic.

I feel miserable for those last two weeks when my roots start to look bad, and not ready to embrace the grey at this stage in life.

If I were to colour my own hair, the brand the salon uses isn’t sold to the public and I wouldn’t even know where to start with choosing something new.

Any advice on what I can do to still have good hair for less money?

I don’t want to leave my hairdresser as she’s great, but not sure I can afford this anymore.

Go lighter - if you are colouring it dark, that's why your roots are visible after a few weeks. It's the contrast . If you go lighter, with some blonde streaks, the grey roots will be much less noticeable.

The photo of your roots strongly suggest to me that the simplest thing to do is to embrace the grey.

even if you buy professional product to mix at home, you will be forever chasing the badger, and that isn’t fun, for anyone, and even less likely to be a race you win when you have a new baby to care for.

grey hair is cool now.

also, sounds very much like you would benefit from an undercut. It isn’t necessarily “edgy” , it’s practical.

new baby, new lifestyle, new hair, new self image, good luck!

Just be honest with your hairdresser and see if you can agree to a solution that means you may well still use her but not as often. Colouring is usually the most expensive part of a hairdressing trip. Your hairdresser can supply you with products for you to use to root touch, you just buy them off her. Don't go down the box dye route. For grey coverage especially it needs a high pigment.

For your next appointment get her to talk you through what she is doing in terms of colouring. What products she uses and what volume. I actually paid my hairdresser to teach me to curl my hair as I was terrified I would be like one of those YouTube fail videos where they burn their hair off. I think I paid £5 for the full head curl, plus her talking me through it and then me doing a few with her critiquing.

It may be that you still have your hair cut every 5 weeks but you do your own colour, that way she keeps some of your business. She may also be able to recommend a less maintenance cut for you. Long term you may return back to her for a full service so she would probably be mindful of that and help you.

Can you have an undercut? And switch to box dye?

You have to compromise somewhere if you want to cut the cost.

Oooo your grey is nice! I'd have that and some white streaks to brighten it up !

this!

Just stop being so precious?

You're going to be on maternity leave so it doesn't need to look well styled to look professional. The person you spend the most time with is going to be your baby who definitely won't give a shit if your hair colour isn't so 'lustrous'. If you have a partner they're hopefully going to be in the trenches of sleep deprivation with you - and should just think you're amazing for growing their child anyway. And any friends and family (if they're not total twats) will think you're doing well if you manage to be dressed and not covered in baby sick when they see you.

Either embrace the box dye, or better yet embrace the grey and spend the time you would have spent getting your hair done, catching up on some sleep, and save your cash for a really nice hair cut and a new outfit to fit your undoubtedly changed shape when your maternity leave ends.

I definitely agree you need to reconsider your colour. The darker you are the more noticeable your roots are, the more often you want them done. Lighter hair is much more flattering as you age, hence nature lightens your hair by it going grey! If I was you I’d work to grow that dark colour out and embrace your grey and use silver shampoo on it to tone it and make it shine. It can look fabulous. But if you aren’t willing to forgo the colour, I’d go much lighter and maybe have foils rather than a full head as the root line will be much softer and less obvious so you can go less often.

Cut wise, I have to agree it doesn’t sound like a good cut for your hair if it’s grown out by week 5! Unless you have very short hair you should not need a cut that often.

And the winner for shittiest post goes to...🙄

there you go @MrsPelligrinoPetrichor

I'd give the shittiest post award to op - for asking a question about what changes she can make then to every suggestion just whinging 'but I must have this cut and this colour by this person at this frequency'. 🙄

An undercut isn’t always noticeable, honestly. It saved me loads of time. Everyone always suggested curly girl to me; my hair isn’t curly, just a PITA 😂.

I'd say that when you've just had a baby and are in the trenches of sleep deprivation etc that's actually one of the most important times to do things that make you feel good about yourself!

I know there's a lot of love for the undercut for thick hair but there's no need to have one if a stylist knows what they're doing.

I agree about having nice hair with a new baby, that's exactly the time you need to feel yourself.

I have thick unruly hair and I really recommend an undercut. I'm 38 and not edgy at all and I love mine, takes loads of bulk out of my hair and my hair dries so much quicker too. Can only be seen if I tie my hair up and I don't do that often anyway.

Tbh it sounds like you’re not really looking after your hair in between salon visits if it deteriorates to that extent within 5 weeks.

maybe you should look into other hair treatments eg keratin hair smoothing which lasts longer. you definitely need to improve the products that you use as the texture doesn’t have to be an issue. In time, you won’t find it needs to be cut as regularly.

with the colour, it’s your preference. The only thing that will long term disguise it would be highlights.

No need to be so rude to me - I have actually taken on board a few suggestions but won’t be looking at yours again. Thanks for stopping by!

Ooooo lovely, a jammy Dodger,I'll just dunk that in my tea 🤣

I think I’m probably just used to the cut being quite ‘fresh’ so as soon as it starts to grow out I get sensitive about it. But I do think I need to be more relaxed about that and grow it a bit longer (which is generally when I find I can go longer between cuts).

I think you’re right about the treatment, as I love the way my hair feels for about 2 weeks after having it treated at the hairdresser, then it starts to go less smooth and lustrous. I should probably invest in a treatment for at home.

I do use a rich conditioner and leave it in for about 10 mins once a week. But perhaps that’s not enough.

I have the same hair as you. In the end Covid impacted my hair appointments on mat leave and so it just got long, thick and grey. But on maternity leave it spent 99% of its time in a ponytail.
I’d move your colour to 8 weekly and cut every other time. You’ll be too busy to care very much.

Thanks - that’s really nice to say, but I just don’t feel like ‘me’ with it (even though that is the real me!). I do imagine at some point I will embrace it, but really hated it when my roots got like that in lockdown.

Does anyone know how easy it is to just go a lot lighter on the tint, to make the roots less noticeable? My hairdresser advised against it. But that might just be her opinion.

Do you need to bleach it first?

When I mobiles I had clients who I offered a root maintenance service to. I would cut their hair then apply the colour only where the regrowth was visible (parting usually). They washed it off themselves. This meant it kept the colour fresher for longer but remained affordable. The fact I didn't have to wait for it to develop to remove and blow dry meant I could offer this out at a reasonable price. The next time I went it would be full regrowth coverage. I used Schwarzkopf or Goldwell colour and only added £5 to the cost of the cut to cover my cost, it only took me 5 mins to apply. Kept my clients happy and their hair looking fresh. Bear in mind you will be paying £18 upwards for the blow dry element of the service, many salons can rough dry it for you at no extra cost.

Thanks - I think you’re right, I probably will need to stretch out the appointments a lot more. I definitely won’t have the time to do the current upkeep!

I’d like to think I won’t care as much but I’ll have to see!

Sounds like a really good way of doing it, thanks

Sorry to bad mouth your hairdresser but she sounds really inexperienced or she just likes you coming in and spending £100 every 5 weeks! I can't remember quite what happened but it didn't involve bleach. I think it took 2 or three appts to gradually lighten mine. A good colourist shouldn't have any issues suggesting a good alternative to transition.

It sounds like you need to get over yourself and buy a good box dye.
When you have a baby you won't give a fuck about your hair. You won't know what day it is.

You really think you're going to take your newborn to a salon surrounded by chemicals for hours and hours? You must be joking 😂😂😂