When you’re regularly seeing your favourite hairdresser for cuts and colours, it’s easy for salon bills to stack up. Hair appointments are often the most expensive part of a typical beauty regime, and when you’ve found The One to look after your locks, doing anything different feels like a false economy.
However, tough financial times might make a money-saving drive unavoidable, and it’s at this point you need to rethink your strategy, so you can cut your spending but not your results.
To help work out a new financial hair plan, we spoke to two of the UK’s top hair experts to outline the beauty equivalent of Martin Lewis cash-saving masterclass. Here are the money-saving tips to make cutting back as invisible and painless as possible.
Be upfront
You adore your hairdresser. They hold secrets you’ve not even confessed to your best friend. So how can you break the news that you can’t afford to see them as much anymore? Ghosting them is unthinkable, but however you handle this, it’s going to feel awkward. Right?
Actually, chill. This is a common situation, and your hairdresser will know it’s nothing personal. ‘I’ve had many clients say they can’t come as frequently, and I’m always super-grateful for the honesty,’ says celebrity hairdresser and mdLondon founder Michael Douglas.
‘I’ll often do their hair at a discounted rate for a while, and when the situation changes, they’ll start to pay the usual amount,’ says Michael. ‘Of course, this depends on the relationship I have with those clients, but in the end, everybody appreciates honesty. So be brave and tell the truth. You’ll be surprised what happens.’
Switch your colour
Even if you’re not immediately offered a loyalty discount, any decent hairdresser will want to help you out, and colour can be one of the easiest, most indiscernible ways to save money.
‘I think the best approach is to be honest and work out a colour aesthetic that can sustain a more spread-out approach to maintenance,’ advises Josh Wood, founder of Josh Wood Colour and colourist to Victoria Beckham.
Hair trends are on your side right now. ‘A darker root, and/or a more stretched-out root, has become fashionable,’ says Josh. ‘We do tutorials for our clients on how to do their roots at home, then come in to do balayage every 10 weeks or so.’ (That’s the ideal, but if you need to leave it three months, six months or longer, the balayage will grow out softly.)
Don’t fret about permanent home dye ‘clashing’ with salon colour. The two are ‘perfectly compatible’, notes Michael, as they share a universal colour code as well as the same basic technology to deposit dye within the hair cuticle. Any good hairdresser will happily help you find the right shade and dye to avoid a dodgy ‘join’ between home and salon colour.
On another positive note, you’ll be able to keep you hair healthy along with your bank balance. ‘Using permanent dye is a minor form of processing, certainly compared to something like bleaching, says Michael. ‘Also, if you’re only colouring your roots, that’s strong, virgin hair.’
Adapt your cut
If you can’t commit to a cut every six weeks, Michael suggests going for a style that’s one length. ‘It’s always super-easy to grow out,’ he says. ‘The more basic the haircut, the longer it will last, generally. If you get a jaw-length bob, then let it grow for 12 months, you’ll maintain that basic style as it gets longer.’
As for the styles to avoid when you need to have fewer visits? ‘More intricate styles with lots of layers are less forgiving if they’re left to grow out, while shorter hairstyles can sometimes find themselves in no man’s land for a while,’ says Michael.
Style it out
If you need to have a one-length cut such as a bob, it needn’t look like a dull, cut-price hairstyle. ‘A tong such as the mdLondon CURL gives you versatile styling options and makes what you might feel is a boring haircut look super-cool,’ says Michael. (Okay, so a tong itself is an investment, but it's still probably cheaper than a colour and blow-dry).
Whatever style you have, ‘learning to blow-dry your hair is the best way to look expensive on a budget,’ he adds. ‘From volume to shine, it’s the biggest problem solver of most dilemmas, and once you’ve mastered it, your hair can always look exceptional.’
Keep things fresh
To cheat the look of frequent visits to a colourist, you want ‘gloss, all the way,’ says Josh. Using a semi-permanent DIY colour gloss adds ‘tons of moisture and shine, and we also have a clear glossing water that’s suitable for all hair colours – so there’s no need to feel lacklustre’. A decent purple shampoo can keep your tone cleaner for longer as well.
Josh Wood Colour Miracle Glossing Water
Besides keeping colour refreshed, the best thing to do is ‘condition, condition, condition,’ says Michael. ‘You’ll usually get a conditioning treatment with your home hair colour, so make sure you put it to good use.’ Adding in a weekly hydrating hair treatment to your routine will make a huge difference.
Add in some cheats
A good temporary root cover-up will take you a long way when you’re stretching out salon trips, says Michael. ‘Learning how to wear your hair up is another good tip when you need to go longer between cuts. Whether it’s a loose top knot, a messy bun, a quick chignon or a simple plait, it’s all about learning to style your hair in a way that disguises the bits you don’t want people to see.’ And don’t underestimate the power of a hair accessory; ‘they’re a great way to bridge the gap,’ says Michael.
See someone new
We know, we know, your hairdresser is The One. However, if your favourite is at a salon (and you’ve been upfront about your finances), consider seeing the junior instead of them for less complex visits.
‘A good salon will have safeguards in place, and you can always ask a more senior stylist [ie your favourite] for a second opinion during the process,’ says Michael. ‘The trick is to not put too much pressure on the junior. Let them know that you know that they’re learning, and make them feel comfortable so they don’t become anxious.’
‘Working with a stylist that’s training is a great way to cut costs,’ agrees Josh. ‘You have to have time and patience, as often they are much slower and will only be working on more basic techniques, but results can still be great.’
