What is my hair WORTH in monetary value?

[MeganE]

(Been here a good three years and have never seen a thread like this. But I'll be honest, I didn't use the search function to ensure it's not a duplicate first.)

I recently had a discussion with a new "friend" about protecting each others' assets at "important" times. Specifically, he said, "Whoa, whoa watch the glasses, those are over $400."
I have said a few times BEFORE this, :justy: careful of the hair, watch out for the hair, and I wasn't quite getting through. Then when the glasses came up, I realized I had a way to make my needs clearly understood. I said, "Can we have the same rule about my hair, please? It's worth a hell of a lot more than $400."

And then I started really thinking.... how much is my hair WORTH. If I afford myself something like minimum wage for the number of hours of research that it took to learn about my particular haircare needs, and if I tally up every gallon of water I've used to wash it, every bottle of conditioner and shampoo, every stale beer I've shared with it, every little bucket of panacea, every hair toy, every detangler, all the henna and cassia and vinegar, all the hours I've spent combing and washing and trimming and learning how to bun and braid and protect it....

I am broadly estimating about $10,000 because my time is valuable and I know I could have made AT LEAST that if I'd spent all those hours working for a monetary outcome instead of a physical appearance outcome. Not to mention the actual dollars I have spent on it.... I am a little afraid to try to estimate that portion, which is why I'm throwing in the hours to sort of dilute the outcome.

What do you think your hair is worth?

ETA: And no I don't mean how much is it worth to someone else, because that's pretty well established by looking at how much people can sell it for.

I'm curious how much it's worth to you, how much time and money have you spent on it.

ETA: I think part of why this idea intuitively makes sense to me is because I've done a lot of contract work, where one has to bill for their hours and expenses.

I'm thinking, "If I was doing this work for another person's benefit instead of my own, what would I be billing for my time and effort to get this done?"

Maybe that'll help make the intention of the thread make more sense. :) And I'm rethinking the title here, too... any suggestions?

[durgidog]

I am broadly estimating about $10,000 because my time is valuable and I know I could have made AT LEAST that if I'd spent all those hours working for a monetary outcome instead of a physical appearance outcome. Not to mention the actual dollars I have spent on it.... I am a little afraid to try to estimate that portion, which is why I'm throwing in the hours to sort of dilute the outcome.

$10k sounds about right to me! I have also spent countless hours researching, trying different treatments, giving up 5 hours every three weeks to henna, and driving around to all of the beauty supply stores in my area.

This is a really interesting thread, looking forward to the responses....

[Night_Kitten]

Well, as I'd spend the same amount of products (or even more probably) on short hair, and the money I spent on my hair toys "evens out" the money I'd spend on the hairdresser (would have to visit every month and a half - two months to keep up the hairstyle), I'd say the time I "invested" to take care of it (research, careful combing, oilings, practicing new hairstyles, "extra" treatments like S&Ds, henna, home-made hair masks, etc...) is the "real worth" of my long hair (over if I had short hair)...
Trouble is I can't really estimate how much time I "invested" in it as I never considered it as a chore or work and never bothered noticing the time spent...
To me personally my hair is priceless, so I guess I'll have to go with that :)

[spidermom]

I can't think of it that way. A lot of the hair that I've lavished time and spent $$ on products for has already shed away. Once a hair sheds out, to me it's worthless and I throw it away. As far as the hair on my head, well - it's part of the total package of skin, muscles, bones, etc. I can't place a value on it.

[Rosetta]

I can't think of it that way. A lot of the hair that I've lavished time and spent $$ on products for has already shed away. Once a hair sheds out, to me it's worthless and I throw it away. As far as the hair on my head, well - it's part of the total package of skin, muscles, bones, etc. I can't place a value on it.
This. Plus the thing that most annoys & saddens me in today's world is that *everything* is measured in money, so... I'd rather we'd keep our hair as one the few things which is not ;)

[Katlette]

Well, everything does have a monetary value - how much would you be willing to sell your hair for? The amount might not be anywhere close to how much time or money you've put into your hair.

I think I'd have to be offered upwards of 5000€ to part with my hair. I've spent much more than that on my hair in the course of my life (even without paying myself minimum wage for time spent), but I'd say that is how much its worth to me. Of course, that doesn't mean anyone would be willing to pay that.. :D

[cathair]

Nothing. Not that I would want to part with it anyway. Couldn't sell it, some of it is grey. No one would want it. Don't think the products used of it count towards it's final value. That's like saying my car is worth more because I've washed it more often. Didn't cost me anything to grow it that I didn't need to keep me alive anyway.

Doesn't mean I don't care for it, but how can you put a price on feelings and emotions? My cat is worth nothing. He's a cross bred moggy, but he is the most valuable thing in the world to me.

I think the most you could value it at is the most someone would pay to buy it, to be make into a wig or extensions.

[MeganE]

Well I wasn't aiming for how much would you have to get to to part with it, mine is pretty much priceless to me too. It's part of my identity, I wouldn't sell any part of me for any thing.

And to me, monetary value is one way of measuring a thing, it can be applied to literally everything on the planet. How you measure it's monetary value can vary greatly, which is I why I set the terms for how to measure, in this case.

When I'm talking the monetary value of hair, I'm not talking about how much the actual hair sitting on your head is worth.

How much money, time, product, and effort.... if you factor all of that into what it has taken to get your hair into it's current shape today, if every minute you spent were counted towards a sum, and every product were counted towards a sum... what would that sum be?????

I see one answer that agrees with approximately 10,000 American dollars, so I feel like I might have guessed about right. Anyone else have another number?

Maybe different hair types are more complicated, take more time and effort to figure out than others. Maybe everyone has about the same basic "startup" fee and once you figure it out, the cost of maintaining dwindles down. That seems to be the case for me, I don't have to research it anymore, because I know it.

It's like a college I went to and graduated from. I HAVE A MASTER'S DEGREE IN HAIR!!!!!!!!!! And the proof is on my head. :D lol

[ScarlettAdelle]

I think of mine more along the lines of being like a pet... My dog's not worth more because I feed her and bathe her and let her pick out toys at the pet supply shop after her bath, but to me, she's priceless and one of a kind and I couldn't love her more.

So far as how much I've put into my hair, that's hard to say because I have my hair license and get a lot of product for below retain...

[MeganE]

I think I lost a lot of you when I tried to use the word "worth."

Yes it's priceless. Now how much time and money are we spending on it??? LOL

[ExpectoPatronum]

I got what you mean :)

It's hard to estimate really, even though I've only been in this game not even a full year yet. Even then I'd say I'd have spent a couple hundred in products and hair toys at LEAST. I don't know about water, or time, or food though. If I wanted to be conservative, maybe a couple thousand with all of those things added. I don't really do very many treatments that require me to leave them on for hours at a time.

Luckily I've found products I like so I won't be spending so much on experimenting anymore :)

[kitana97]

I get what your trying to say MeganE. I'd say I've spent around $1500 - and most of that is time. I'm not sure how to measure time in money, but that's my guess. I haven't spent that much money on products - I buy fairly reasonable priced shamp/cond/leav-ins, I go to the hairdresser about once a year, and the toys I have are gifts. I haven't done any s&d, henna-ing, or home-made masks so the time I've spent on my hair is mainly looking up and dissecting ingredients and the chemistry/biology of hair.

[chen bao jun]

I don't spend that much on mine anymore since LHC and I think of the time with it as 'me' time--it relaxes me.
I love my hair, I don't want to cut and I've now spent almost 2 years concentrating on growing it so I'd be very upset if something happened that made me lose it in some way, but I do have to say, if I was to rank body parts, hair would be ranked almost lowest. Just above fingernails. i'd really rather lose my hair than eyes, arms, legs or even fingers and toes. It does grow back and none of those other body parts can grow back or even be regenerated. And hair growing back although it takes a long, long time when you're waiting (as I've been finding out) is painless, too. I remember having a toe nail ripped off--different from cutting your toe nails, it actually got caught under a door and the whole thing ripped off and not only was it horribly painful but I was limping for like six weeks, honestly. Much worse than having to wear a hat with a bad haircut, I was actually incapacitated.
I do resent though how though that because it does grow back, some people don't respect your right to keep it long if you want. I'm not talking about exceptional events like hair stealers and so on, either--just about hair dressers who cut off way more than you want and make you cry and friends and family members who then say to you, "It's just hair, it will grow back." that's so obnoxious.

[Marbid]

Well.... Impersonally rather loose a finger nail and be in some pain for a few months than the years and years of regrowing my hair that makes up such a huge part of my identity..
It also depends on how long your hair is.. Right now, my hair is not worth too much money, cheap conditioners, very little shampoo... And just coconut and olive oil.. As far as time goes, i try the benign neglect most of the time... So very little time fussing with it. But i do it all with my hairs health in mind.. So the attempt at minimalist, is for the hair.. Still, with all that i would estimate $1,000 of hair love.

It is priceless to me.... I would trade it only for upwards of 100 thousand dollars. Because with that i could buy a house... And maybe have a baby...

My hair is the only way i have decided i can express myself in my appearance. I want something of mine that would take dedication and passion to do... You know... Great things don't come easy.. Learning to play an instrument... Painting... Those are my achievements... Physically.. I really only have my hair... So yeah..

I cant loose my sight.. Or arms and legs... Or any of my senses... But i could loose a finger nail or two... I feel like a few months of pain beats the loss of my hair and a part of who i am...

[evb]

Unless you are a celebrity known for your 'crowning glory' it isn't worth anything monetarily speaking. That might be a bit harsh. I mean if your self esteem is tied up in your hair and your confidence helps you be more successful in a career I suppose you could say something of that sort but then some people frown on long hair and might choose to pay you less for being slovenly. Ummm gah I am not saying anything correctly just they have done studies showing that people who are overweight are seen as lazier and paid less so I guess if somebody has negative feelings towards really long hair the same could be true. That means we are back to it is worth nothing.

As unbelievable as it is that some people think poorly of long hair I know for a fact some do. I had an older family member who insisted that everybody in their corner of family have short mannish cuts because hair was dirty. Back from dustbowl days and carrying water from well once a week to bathe I guess.

[ravenreed]

Absolutely nothing. I value my fingers and toes, eyes, ears, and other body parts that don't regenerate. Anything that grows without effort on my part, like hair and nails, aren't worth worrying about to me.

[evb]

re how much time and money? very little.

I have a bottle of coconut oil that I put on the ends every once in while.. say $8. I have some bar shampoo that I paid @ $6 on and a gallon jug of apple cider vinegar that cost a couple of dollars. I keep my hair in a braid or up in a claw clip most times. I shampoo every week at the max... sometimes every other week. Even when I break down and buy regular shampoo/conditioner it is maybe $20 for the both of them and they last a LONG LONG LONG LONG LONG time. I was just thinking today how much I was anxious to be done with my carrots shampoo/conditioner which I purchased on sale in November of last year. I still have 3/4 of each bottle left. This is due to rarely washing more than anything else.

I do have hair toys and I do have scented hair glosses and those cost money but I don't need them for my hair care routine.

other than the really infrequent washing I put in claw while it dries, braid and keep the same braid in for 3 or 4 days then take out rebrush {with my el cheapo goody 2 pack paddle brushes} and rebraid. I would be surprised if I spend even an hour on my hair any given week. I don't do a lot of research at all. I first learned about CSC from newbie advice and did that then started using bar shampoos then when I decided last fall to maybe CO wash spent an hour or two researching that. But other than a few hours once or twice a year researching something new to tweak my hair routine with I don't spend a lot of time figuring out how to care for my hair. I don't do special diets or henna or anything like that. And fwiw I used bar shampoos, ACV, pre shampoo oilings etc back in the 80s so it wasn't as if I needed to figure out if they worked. I usually go to salon once a year. I do not search and destroy or trim or anything like that. I take it to the salon and say cut the absolute minimum you have to for health and if you think it will be more than 2 " make sure you show me before you start. By salon I mean something like Fantastic Sams if I am being irked by my hair or a place where you need an appointment if I am thinking hmmm its been a year lets see if I can get one in.

I do spend some time looking for new ways to put my hair up but that is often on a whim and I tend to fall back on my standard side english braid.

I have grown to consider my hair part of my identity but I wouldn't freak out if I cut it either. My hair has been longer than now and I have cut it into a flat top. I like my hair pretty much any length I have had it. I figure it grows so feh if I decide to cut off a bit. My hair right now is 34" {according to my 11 yr old who measured it today} and easily at butt crack so I am contemplating cutting off 4-6". I do like the length right now when loose but would need to grow quite a bit for it to hit there while braided. I am not sure if I feel like doing that so it really is a matter of go back up to waist or commit to another couple of feet.

[HairFaerie]

I get what you mean MeganE. Something like a formula...
Cost of products you have ever used + cost of salon visits + cost of time you spent doing your hair, etcetera, etcetera...

Wow, that would be hard for me to calculate. I could take a guess of how much over the last year...I'd have to say $500 at the very least. Over a lifetime....whoa! That's a lot of money! Even though I get it cut short once in a while, I still spend money on it. Wow, putting it in that perspective is a real eye opener!

[divinedobbie]

I think some people are missing the point of this thread ^.^

Over my lifetime, I've probably spent about $850 on hair products, $750ish on salon cuts/dye, and the time I've spent worrying and researching and thinking about my hair and how to make it healthy and grow...well a grand sum of $1500 at least I'd say so in total about $3,100 if my math is correct.

[chen bao jun]

I agree about the finger and toe nails. I do put my hair above them--but not above the body parts that don't regenerate.
Again, definitely not saying that I don't LOVE my hair and it really is important to me. But not in monetary terms.

[Valkyriejae]

Sidenote: some hair actually is "worth" money in a very transactional sense.
There is a huge market for human hair extensions, and I know a woman who sold most of her TBL hair for almost $1000!

[CurlyCap]

Not much actually, which is why I don't like the "how much did you spend on it" approach.

I cut my own hair.
I use mostly cheap products or cooking oils.
I don't have a special sleep cap or pillowcases.
I do have some hairsticks....but that's not my hair. It's more like jewelry.
I take care of my hair at home, on my own time. No different than choosing to cook or clean.

So I've spent a few hundred dollars on my hair. I've spent more on contacts or a good pair of glasses.

Honestly, though, to take your approach further, no one really cares what you spent on an item. They care what you can sell it for. Like homeowners. They may have bought their houses for a million dolllars, but no one cares if they can only sell it for 100K.

[tigereye]

Sidenote: some hair actually is "worth" money in a very transactional sense.
There is a huge market for human hair extensions, and I know a woman who sold most of her TBL hair for almost $1000!

This. I was curious as to how much my hair truly was worth, and found a site that estimates it's worth from length, thickness, colour and whether it's virgin or not. Mine came to almost $650 and I'm not even at tailbone yet, never mind that there's henna in it. To the OP, you might be surprised how much monetary value your hair actually has on the market. Enough to justifiably say "don't touch the hair"

ETA: case in point. I put in the OPs stats (using borderline 3 for the thickness) and hair-colour, and went safe by saying non-virgin. The number it spat out was $720 - that's how much wig-makers or extension-makers will pay on average for hair your colour, length and thickness.
If it's considered virgin (which is difficult to know with cassia or henna since it's not damaging like other dyes), then it's worth around $1000. And if it's thicker than borderline III, it's worth even more. In other words, a lot more than your friends glasses.

[MeganE]

Well.... Impersonally rather loose a finger nail and be in some pain for a few months than the years and years of regrowing my hair that makes up such a huge part of my identity..
It also depends on how long your hair is.. Right now, my hair is not worth too much money, cheap conditioners, very little shampoo... And just coconut and olive oil.. As far as time goes, i try the benign neglect most of the time... So very little time fussing with it. But i do it all with my hairs health in mind.. So the attempt at minimalist, is for the hair.. Still, with all that i would estimate $1,000 of hair love.

It is priceless to me.... I would trade it only for upwards of 100 thousand dollars. Because with that i could buy a house... And maybe have a baby...

My hair is the only way i have decided i can express myself in my appearance. I want something of mine that would take dedication and passion to do... You know... Great things don't come easy.. Learning to play an instrument... Painting... Those are my achievements... Physically.. I really only have my hair... So yeah..

I cant loose my sight.. Or arms and legs... Or any of my senses... But i could loose a finger nail or two... I feel like a few months of pain beats the loss of my hair and a part of who i am...

It's funny, I think I would give up a fingernail or two to keep my hair. Honestly I might even give up a toe. LOL This thread went morbid. I LOVE it!!! Bahahaha

[MeganE]

I get what you mean MeganE. Something like a formula...
Cost of products you have ever used + cost of salon visits + cost of time you spent doing your hair, etcetera, etcetera...

Wow, that would be hard for me to calculate. I could take a guess of how much over the last year...I'd have to say $500 at the very least. Over a lifetime....whoa! That's a lot of money! Even though I get it cut short once in a while, I still spend money on it. Wow, putting it in that perspective is a real eye opener!

Happy dance. It blew my mind when I thought of it this way.... although I didn't take it through my entire lifetime, I only thought of it as far back as LHC. Going pre-LHC makes my head spin, LOL.

[MeganE]

This. I was curious as to how much my hair truly was worth, and found a site that estimates it's worth from length, thickness, colour and whether it's virgin or not. Mine came to almost $650 and I'm not even at tailbone yet, never mind that there's henna in it. To the OP, you might be surprised how much monetary value your hair actually has on the market. Enough to justifiably say "don't touch the hair"

ETA: case in point. I put in the OPs stats (using borderline 3 for the thickness) and hair-colour, and went safe by saying non-virgin. The number it spat out was $720 - that's how much wig-makers or extension-makers will pay on average for hair your colour, length and thickness.
If it's considered virgin (which is difficult to know with cassia or henna since it's not damaging like other dyes), then it's worth around $1000. And if it's thicker than borderline III, it's worth even more. In other words, a lot more than your friends glasses.

YES! Thank you!!!!! I am totally going to use that. :)

Although I'd still prefer to be able to say it's worth $10,000 I think it'll be more... understandable on his part to put it your way. LOL. I know this thread sort of went train wreck (WHY DO MINE ALWAYS SEEM TO DO THAT) but I'm still finding it a fun topic. :D