Cost of living - Cutting back on hair/beauty

[BeachTree]

I'm considering cutting back on my 8 weekly hair cut and colour and trying to stretch it out a bit ( or a big bit ,yikes). Beauty treatments might need to go all together :( Is anyone else stripping back on these things too with the current shambles? I am useless at doing things myself ie nails etc... so I don't think that's an option sadly :(

Most local beauty colleges have working salons and do treatments at cut-price costs. The students are fully supervised.

Try Schwartzkopf BlondeMe.

Fortunately I stripped right back a few years ago . I have my hair highlighted 3x a year and I just use CeraVe cleanser, miccelair water and cream so all very cheap. I only wear foundation, mascara, eyeliner and lipstick which all lasts ages.

I’ve increased my eyebrow waxing from every 3 weeks to 6/7weeks. They a state currently but will do! Lockdown I had to let them grow back …26 years of waxing and thick eyebrows..trying to meet in the middle and find my hair line! So glad I wasn’t going anywhere! So will always pay for them to be waxed.

My roots I’ve left for nearly 3 months, I did have a quick root touch up before my last hair cut - I was going on holiday! It looks worse when up/off my face so getting up earlier to try and do something with it - naturally curly big hair! I have a very good (expensive) hairdresser so was only getting my hair cut every 4-5 months. The colour I think I will try to keep at every 3 months - the badger look doesn’t suit me! I tried to do it myself but the joy of curly thick hair meant it I wasn’t really doing a good job!

Stopped with the salon colouring, cut every 3-4 months short one length bob n grow out. Box dye when my grey roots come through.

Pre covid, I used to have gel nails done every 2-3 weeks or so at a salon. I have since bought nails from amazon, use loctite glue (not the plastic strips they come with) and they generally last around 10 days, but range from 7-21 days depending on what I'm doing. If 1 pings off, I just glue a new one on. I've had comments on how lovely my nails look!

I now buy a pack of 240 nails for £9 on amazon (Liarty Natural French false nails) and also Loctite Power gel (none of the other super glues stay fresh and usable for as long as this one) for about £3.50. Both these might last 2-3mths or more. So, say £12.50 for 10 weeks of nails. From memory, 3 yrs ago I was spending £25 every 3 weeks on infills, so 10 weeks worth would have cost £75!!!!

In the past I got so annoyed with hours and hours spent in hair salons, and disasters, that I have used box dye for years. 2 packs for £12. I have lots of grey, but still use clairol casting colours. Now lasts about 5 weeks, but 30mins sat at home with colour and cling film on head if preferable to 3+hrs in a salon!

I had a hair training salon near my old house and it was great. Yes, the visit could take longer, but the students were closely watched. A wash, cut and finish was £8!!!

I have my own IPL so shave and use that. I pluck my own eye brows and don't have anything done in a salon now, except the odd massage or pedicure.

Oh my goodness - thank you so much, I’ve just found the Redken shades EQ is available on there! This is going to save me so much money!

I only have my hair done, everything else I do myself. So going to carry on and keep my mobile hairdresser in business because I hate having to find a new one that I can trust (too many in the past didn't listen), she went mobile when the salon she'd worked at for years closed after COVID. I usually have a trim 3/4 times a year and the odd toner for my greys to keep them nice and silvery.
I do buy loads of products though and will continue with that. Hair especially I need decent masks, conditioner etc. Make up lasts ages and I only buy expensive foundation.

I only get a cut every 6 weeks as it is.
Don't dye (going grey and decided a few years back to ditch box dyes), wax own bikini line, paint own nails. I was getting my eyebrows and tache threaded but stopped in lockdown. Wax tache myself and just tidy my eyebrows with tweezers.
If I was to start anything again it'd be eyebrows threaded, it looks much nicer.

I can go longer between cuts but you really start to notice it needs doing, and I think the key to the grey looking OK is a nice cut.

So much time and money wasted spent. So much self worth needlessly wrapped up in the shape of an eyebrow. My cutting back tip...stop placing so much value in this complete crap. There are better ways to feel good about yourself. Ta da.

Nah. I enjoy not going grey or having scraggly hair/unkempt brows thanks. And I enjoy painting my nails and putting on make up.

Honest question Cactuslover...why do you enjoy it? Would you prefer to not enjoy it?

I used to have my hair cut and coloured at a salon every six weeks or so, but stopped all that in lockdown and let the colour grow out. I decided I actually quite liked the natural colour - I’m 60+ but the grey wasn’t nearly as bad as I’d thought, more sort of silver highlights, not dissimilar to what I’d been paying a fortune to have put in actually! Now I have it in a short bob that I get trimmed every six months or so, so that’s saving an awful lot. Used to have my nails done every two weeks, but now I do them myself. That’s about it as far as my beauty treatments go. I’m not what you’d call high-maintenance.

I’m keeping my hair appointments and deep massage. I don’t have anything else done. I love beauty products but as I don’t wear heavy makeup what I do buy lasts me a long time. Also I wear less than I used to as I wfh part of the week. I will keep an eye on my spending though. The quality products need to last me longer!

I'm relatively low maintenance anyway so don't pay for a lot of things that some people do . No botox, salon waxing etc.

I already only have a hair cut (£35) every 6-8 weeks or so, as it is. And only get my foils done (£60 inc cut and blow here) every other time. I went lighter to make my grey blend easier when I found I was incredibly itchy with home hair dye and had to stop using it.

DD is v into her makeup (Snail mucus for their skin anyone?) so I ask her to do my brows.

I won't stop having my nails done but a removal and reapplication of gels is the only thing that stops me going back to biting them and is £20 a time every 3 weeks. DD has a home gel set and does my toes, which last ages.

I'm on a diet (free slimming world referral through the doctors - yay freebie) and do pay £32 a month membership for an exercise class studio for 10 classes a month, which depending on the month turns out to be and where the classes I want to take fall, works out to be between £3.20 and £4 a class. That will be the first thing to go when it has to, to be replaced by the other pay-as-you go zumba class in town that is £20 for 5 classes, but that you only use when you go to a class rather than being a subscription for a flat fee per month. No new clothes to be bought til I drop a dress size, and even then I've got clothes in various sizes in my cupboard.

Not at the moment I will carry on as usual
I pay £90 a month as a pre pay and I can have my eyelashes I filled every week if I want plus tinting and waxing at my local salon

I have my nails infilled every 2 weeks
and a pedicure every month

Botox every 4 months

My hairdresser is mega expensive so I'm only going to go twice a year now (my hair is knackered too, so it needs a break anyway). I've always done my own nails, tints etc, so no change there. Won't give up my botox for now but I only go twice a year anyway.
I really do think lots of salons will shut this winter. They can't ask customers to bring a hot water bottle and wear thermals, so their bills will be unsustainable. What an even bigger mess the UK is going to be in by the year end.

I've stopped gel nails twice a month. Facials every 3 months.Hair every 6 weeks from 5 for roots: luckily my hairdresser now has a salon in her home so her prices have gone from £150 to about £95.
Will never give up gym or personal trainer.

I stopped going to the hair dresser about five years ago when it was £50 a cut and £100 for colour.
i did go to the college it was a Fiver a cut. But took ages.
id love to get it coloured again but the upkeep is unaffordable.
so I cut it myself.
i do get my brows done £5 a month. But that’s it.

I hate my feet (think fingers for toes!) so have to have gel toe nails to feel even a modicum of normal - can stretch it to 8-10 weeks if I go for a neutral colour.
Cut and colour my own hair and tint my own brows.
Have loads of gadgets to do beauty treatments at home.
However, I got a free hydra facial a few months ago for my birthday and I am hooked! Paid for two since then but gosh they’re expensive - think I’ll still get one but maybe every 3-4 months.
I do fear for the future of some salons - I hope they don’t end up shut down.

I've stopped colouring, will go back to brunette. Every time I go to the hairdressers they've put the price up a few quid. Works out its 33% more expensive now than 4 years ago.

I have fairly long hair (bra strap length) and usually only have it cut once or twice a year. I was surprised that I went last week and the hairdresser said come back in 3 months. Usually they say 6-8 weeks. I live I a town with a ridiculous number of salons - so I must be in a minority with my yearly visits!

The only things I get done in a salon are quarterly haircuts and monthly pedicures.

I'm not planning to give up either.

@MarmiteCoriander I like the idea of stick on nails as it may help me stop biting the skin around mine!

Does the glue damage your nails though , seeing as it is not proper nail glue and how do you remove the nails or do you just wait for them to fall off and re-glue?

I'm cutting back. I've just moved hairdresser to someone I've been wanting to try for years (between lockdown and her waiting list it took ages to get an appointment) so I'm not going to stop the cut and colour as she's very good and I want to see what she can achieve. But rather than going every 6-8 weeks I'm trying to rebook every 9-10 weeks. I'm still going to get my brows waxed and tinted as it makes a huge difference, but I'm dropping the lash lift and tint. Mascara works almost as well and is fine for winter, might consider getting my lashes done next summer again. I don't get waxed/nails done etc, I feel I'm fairly low maintenance really so can justify these costs.

No idea why people come onto a thread in S&B to criticise people for caring about how they look. So what if someone waxes instead of shaves? PP said she had sensitive skin. It's her body.