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dawnss
April 2nd, 2011, 11:11 AM
How is everyone saving money with there current hair care routunes?
I plan on turning off the shower when I am not rinsing my hair or body. Also I plan on finding products that work, which will be hard because when I usually like a product it is usually discontinued. Also I will try to make some of my own products, and I will stop spending so much money on not so great conditioners (the ones that are cone filled and leave a slimy film on my hair). I will go to big lots more often to buy cheap versions of natural conditioners. I want to also use less products. And I want to start buying bigger quantities of oils or find cheap reputable sellers or distriubuters.

lastnite
April 2nd, 2011, 11:34 AM
good questions. I've been washing my hair separately lately, so I just turn the water on when I'm rinsing.

I'm still trying different products to find what works for me. I keep going back and forth between commercial products and natural. While I like the natural care it gets costly since I have to order everything online. With commercial product they are easily available in the stores, I can buy them on sale and use coupons and get them very cheap but they might not be that great for my hair in the long run. I agree when I find something I like it's discontinued or I can't find it again., so I'm afraid to get attached to products sometimes :p

It would be cool to maybe have a thread of suppliers of oils and herbals that have the best prices.

And when everything seems to be costing too much, I remind myself how much I save by not having to go a salon every few weeks to get a trim or color...

MoonlightShadow
April 2nd, 2011, 12:31 PM
i just use olive oil, infusium 23 leave in treatment, eggs, shampoo and conditioner for my hair

xoerincolleen
April 2nd, 2011, 12:44 PM
I turn off the water in the shower when I'm not washing or rinsing. Also, I try to only rinse my hair with cold water!

Firefox7275
April 2nd, 2011, 12:52 PM
I only switch the water on in the shower when rinsing as electricity is soooooo expensive. Leave-on conditioner is great for saving money - less hot water, less product down the plughole. Dry shampoo can be very economical as again it saves water, energy, products and time. I generally buy haircare products from £1 shops and discount stores, once I settle on one I like I stock up! Shower gel and household cleaning products I buy 5 litres at a time online and I just placed my first order for 1 litre sulphate-free shampoo base. I colour my hair myself and get it cut at a barber shop. Most natural ingredients you can buy in the supermarket or on eBay for cheap - in the UK at least food-grade coconut oil is far cheaper than cosmetic grade jojoba or EVOO.

HTH, I will keep checking on the thread to see what others do! :D

annsue83
April 2nd, 2011, 12:52 PM
i have been using a lot of high end products and i personally dont think they make any difference to my hair compared to low end products. so i have decided to stick to drug store shampoos and conditioners. also i save up on a lot of shampoo by diluting a little amount with water before use. this makes the shampoo go a long way! :)

krissykins
April 2nd, 2011, 03:00 PM
Saving money?

*looks at collection of oils bought today for soap making*

Uhh... avoid enabling threads. :o

Tiina
April 2nd, 2011, 03:17 PM
I use shampoo bars so I don't use too much shampoo at once. With liquid shampoos I tend to always use too much and end up buying a new bottle of shampoo too soon AND overwashing my hair. A 5 dollar shampoo bar can last me for up to 3-4 months while a 5USD liquid shampoo is gone in a month or two.

teela1978
April 2nd, 2011, 03:40 PM
I use shampoo bars so I don't use too much shampoo at once. With liquid shampoos I tend to always use too much and end up buying a new bottle of shampoo too soon AND overwashing my hair. A 5 dollar shampoo bar can last me for up to 3-4 months while a 5USD liquid shampoo is gone in a month or two.
I've always solved that problem by diluting my shampoo each wash. Works quite well :) (and suave is quite inexpensive, definitely keeps costs down)

jaine
April 2nd, 2011, 03:48 PM
To be honest, hair care is such a small percent of my spending that I don't even think about it. I'm very frugal on big expenses (apartment rent, car, stuff like that) and buy whatever I like in the less expensive categories like hair care.

CaityBear
April 2nd, 2011, 04:08 PM
Buying really cheap conditioner. Haha, but honestly the stuff that my hair likes for CO is really cheap so I just stick with that.

For the last couple months I will put conditioner in my hair (dry hair) and put under a shower cap and let it sit for a while before I shower so that I don't have to let the conditioner sit while I'm in the shower...thus saving water. :) Lots of water...

I also dilute my conditioner...for a few reasons...one...right now I'm experimenting with salt so I dilute my conditioner with saltwater...two...sometimes it's easier to apply to my hair...and it does help stretch my conditioner and I find sometimes it cleans better if I add a bit of water so that it kind of gets a slight lather to it.

I also try to avoid buying store bought products because I never use them. Sometimes I get wrapped into them because they look sooo nice and smell sooo good. Theoretically I'd use them...but I use so much of my own homemade products (leave in conditioner, hair cream, and oils) that I don't really have to use storebought stuff...

Hmm...I don't really think too much about saving money with hair care...I don't spend much on my hair anyway. I've never really thought about what I do as money saving but I guess it kind of is. lol

CaityBear
April 2nd, 2011, 04:09 PM
To be honest, hair care is such a small percent of my spending that I don't even think about it. I'm very frugal on big expenses (apartment rent, car, stuff like that) and buy whatever I like in the less expensive categories like hair care.

I'm somewhat like that. While I still don't buy whatever I want when it's cheap...I am more likely to buy it but when it's a big expense I think really hard about it before I buy it.

Tiina
April 2nd, 2011, 04:21 PM
I've always solved that problem by diluting my shampoo each wash. Works quite well :) (and suave is quite inexpensive, definitely keeps costs down)

Unfortunately diluting doesn't work so well for me. And the shampoo bars leave my hair much nicer in general. Win-win or win-win? :p

ETA : There is no shampoo under 7$ in less than 90 miles distance from me (I live in a rather remote area) and I haven't seen suave anywhere in norway. The pain of living in the second most expensive country in europe... :( Even if I used regular brand shampoo I would pay more than shipping handmade shampoo bars from abroad.

jesis
April 2nd, 2011, 04:55 PM
Lately I have been buying my gel at Wal-Mart. It gets the job done and I save over $15 a month on that alone. I buy my shampoo and conditioner in Liter bottles from the barber shop downtown. That saves me about about $20 a month. I buy pure oils now instead of using the stuff with fillers and that saves me a little bit. I cut my hair at home, and that saves me about $80-120 a year!

So all in all I am saving at least $40 a month with those changes alone :D

silverjen
April 2nd, 2011, 04:58 PM
Well, you could go WO, and use no products at all.

Barring that, maybe stretching washes, and using 'kitchen stuff' like vinegar, honey, and olive oil as your products.

Aleria
April 2nd, 2011, 05:37 PM
Stretching my Garnier Triple Nutrition with Suave Coconut. However, I also use some of my expensive hair dye, so it might just even out... (I CO with a mixture of the three, keeps my colour from fading)

teela1978
April 2nd, 2011, 05:54 PM
Unfortunately diluting doesn't work so well for me. And the shampoo bars leave my hair much nicer in general. Win-win or win-win? :p

ETA : There is no shampoo under 7$ in less than 90 miles distance from me (I live in a rather remote area) and I haven't seen suave anywhere in norway. The pain of living in the second most expensive country in europe... :( Even if I used regular brand shampoo I would pay more than shipping handmade shampoo bars from abroad.

Ahh. I experienced that in Paris when looking for conditioner. I think the cheapest one I could find was over 5 euros for a small 250mL bottle!

selderon
April 2nd, 2011, 07:52 PM
I'm new to the long hair thing. I suppose you could say I'm saving money by using drugstore shampoo, conditioner and box color and no salon visits.

I just realized that even if I buy a new hair toy every six weeks, I'd still be spending less on my hair than I did when it was short. Suddenly I can't wait to get a job. I don't care where it is. I could afford hair toys! *hoppity hoppity*

elbow chic
April 2nd, 2011, 08:00 PM
I'm not saving money. haha.

Really, though, just got serious about growing my hair out a few months ago and I've gone a leetle overboard with trying new products. Nothing very expensive individually, (a new conditioner here, a brush there, a couple of hairtoys.)

But compared to my previous benign neglect routine, it's really starting to add up. :o

RocketDog
April 2nd, 2011, 08:07 PM
Walking into the salon for a cut/color/highlights visit cost me a good $120 or so, and I was going every 6-8 weeks... that's a HUGE savings right there, although I do go every May for a 'real' haircut, which costs $50 after tip. Still, big savings. I was never a big product junkie, and now my hair stash consists of white vinegar, honey, coconut oil, and tressemme naturals S&C. Not exactly a bank-busting expense.

Ficcares, on the other hand....

firicia
April 2nd, 2011, 08:32 PM
Hmm, this might sound odd but in general I don't usually look at where I can save but more if I need money for something I focus on how I can make more money in order to get something.

MissManda
April 2nd, 2011, 08:38 PM
I'm learning to dilute my CO-washing conditioner. I've already learned how to make a whole bottle of V05 last a little more than a month, so once I get more effective at using my diluted conditioner, that will help me save even more! I also do this with AO Honeysuckle Rose, which really helps it go a long way and keeps it from making my hair too lank.

Before started to CO regularly, I also diluted my shampoo. I'd fill 1/8 of a condiment bottle, fill the rest with water, shake, and use as I normally do. Using that technique felt like I had a nearly infinite amount of shampoo.

Coconut oil is nice and cheap. I have a big jar of it that I got for $3-4 last summer and the only reason why it halfway full was because of my brief experimentation with oil shampoo. It's taking me ages to go through that jar!

dawnss
April 4th, 2011, 08:12 AM
These are really great tips, thank you everyone. I have plans on swapping out my products and really reducing the number of conditioners I have because it is daunting, whenever I look in the bathroom and I have loads of conditioner. I do know that last night I only kept the water on while I had to rinse, that made a world of difference because even though I was in the shower for thirty minutes (I washed, conditioned, and shaved) the water was hot whenever I turned it on! Thank you everyone. Oh yeah I am surprised to hear that no one uses online codes or coupons when shopping for haircare products, is this because some of the products you ladies and men use are not readily available. I know for me the only time I buy phytojoba shampoo and deep conditioner is when there is a sale or when I have a coupon, other than that those products are not in my bathroom.

elbow chic
April 4th, 2011, 09:00 AM
Hmm, this might sound odd but in general I don't usually look at where I can save but more if I need money for something I focus on how I can make more money in order to get something.

That's a good, positive outlook! I'm itching to make me some money somehow, myself.

It feels like the whole of society has been on a frugal-to-the-bone kick for the last three years and it's gittin OLD. :p

I was born a cheapskate but at some point you gotta live and have some fun, too.

terpentyna
April 4th, 2011, 11:03 AM
Hm... well, there's the whole diluting product and stretching washes thing. I'm generally very frugal. When they're available, I go and collect my own herbs for acv rinses and stuff (nettle, horsetail, mint, birch leaves, pear leaves...) I think rinses help care for your hair very well...

RitaCeleste
April 4th, 2011, 11:05 AM
I found out what I liked and looked online and found where I could get it at the best possible price. I order extra so the shipping is less per item over all. I use my favorite conditioner as a leave-in so I don't waste as much of it. I buy my barrettes at Walmart. There is only so much you can save on haircare. I don't spend a lot normally so that's about as frugal as I'm gonna get. My biggest way to save money will be not trying new things. I like Honeysuckle Rose, I'll stop searching for the ultimate conditioner and buying stuff I don't need.

alwayssmiling
April 4th, 2011, 12:26 PM
No hairdresser costs
I definitely recommend cheap poundshop, boots/superdrug conditioners for CO
Using small amounts of shampoo (No second wash)
Henna is cheaper than box dyes
coconut oil/olive oil for prepoos much cheaper than vo5 hot oil.
Using ordinary conditioner as a leave in has saved me money

Firefox7275
April 4th, 2011, 12:37 PM
That's a good, positive outlook! I'm itching to make me some money somehow, myself.

It feels like the whole of society has been on a frugal-to-the-bone kick for the last three years and it's gittin OLD. :p

I was born a cheapskate but at some point you gotta live and have some fun, too.

You can be frugal AND have fun!! :p Whereas most people can't work overtime AND have fun. Stop watching and reading the news if you don't want to be depressed about the recession.

My parents were super frugal when I was young; they still have many friends from that time which suggests they found ways to enjoy one another's company. Ditto my grandparents generation and their parents and gradparents before that - only a tiny percentage had spare money yet they had such a community spirit, friends and neighbours they could trust and rely on. :cool: Many elders have fond memories of The Great War and WW2 despite rationing.

My parents retired at 50 and have travelled the world for the last fifteen years even tho they have a huge duplex apartment here in the UK. Having expensive beauty products doesn't make me any happier, and it won't help me get to where my parents are now. :shrug:

spidermom
April 4th, 2011, 01:11 PM
I cut down on the long soaks in the bathtub - uses too much water, plus the energy to heat the water, and it makes my scalp sweat, which makes my scalp gunky so that it needs to be washed more often.

I noticed that our gas bill went down substantially while I was gone for 3 weeks, which really highlighted the amount of energy $$ those long soaks cost us. (Our hot water tank is gas.)

RitaPG
April 4th, 2011, 01:34 PM
1- Cononut oil before washing.
2- Cheap shampoo and conditioner (like Garnier Ultra Mild, it's less than 3€ in here)
3- A drop of a cheap coney conditioner or oil on the ends after washing, as a leave-in (I use Herbal Essences, again, less than 3€)

I find these 3 steps work better than ANY expensive hair mask. And all these products cost me around 15€
An old colleague of mine used to spend more that 70€ on products for hair and they really didn't do much.
Also, diluting conditioner with a little honey is great for a boost in moisture :magic:
I only switch the water on in the shower when rinsing. My mom taught me to do this since I was a small kid.

And La Piéce de Resistance: I never went to a salon, ever. The few times I dyed my hair, I did it at home. My mom used to cut my hair then I was little and I have been doing it myself for years :) I also cut my sister's, my dad's and recently my brother's hair too. I never understood people that spend hundreds in a salon :p

RecklessCharlie
April 4th, 2011, 01:40 PM
I've never been one to spend a lot on products. But since I've been COing I've spent even less! I get my CO at the dollar store, I'd never been in to one until I went in there to try and find bandaids in an emergency and I saw White Rain and Suave condish for only a dollar!
Also I dilute my CO so one bottle lasts me a while. I usually apply the CO in the sink, then let it sit for 10 min, then get in the shower for general cleansing and hair rinsing.

RitaPG
April 4th, 2011, 01:45 PM
I wish we had the dollar store where I live :(

julierockhead
September 2nd, 2011, 02:13 PM
If you shop online -
LOVE Ebates - I have saved over $500 dollars since 2006 on my online shopping (not counting the coupons I have used), which may not sound like a lot but it all goes into my Paypal, which pays for my personal "splurges".:joy:

It's a great site if you are shopping online at drugstore.com or walmart.com, or hundreds (actually 1500 or so!) of other stores. If you click to these stores through their site you get cash back - I get 8% back from what I spend at drugstore.com. They have lots of online coupons too. It's free and they don't sell your information, I've been using it for years with no problems, you can get your money back in mailed check form or directly to your paypal. Here is the main page:

http://www.ebates.com/

MidnightStar
September 2nd, 2011, 03:47 PM
Buying really cheap conditioner. Haha, but honestly the stuff that my hair likes for CO is really cheap so I just stick with that.

For the last couple months I will put conditioner in my hair (dry hair) and put under a shower cap and let it sit for a while before I shower so that I don't have to let the conditioner sit while I'm in the shower...thus saving water. :) Lots of water...

I also dilute my conditioner...for a few reasons...one...right now I'm experimenting with salt so I dilute my conditioner with saltwater...two...sometimes it's easier to apply to my hair...and it does help stretch my conditioner and I find sometimes it cleans better if I add a bit of water so that it kind of gets a slight lather to it.

I also try to avoid buying store bought products because I never use them. Sometimes I get wrapped into them because they look sooo nice and smell sooo good. Theoretically I'd use them...but I use so much of my own homemade products (leave in conditioner, hair cream, and oils) that I don't really have to use storebought stuff...

Hmm...I don't really think too much about saving money with hair care...I don't spend much on my hair anyway. I've never really thought about what I do as money saving but I guess it kind of is. lol

/Thread hijack: I'm curious, what does the salt do? I use a lavender and sea salt mist sometimes which gives my hair a bit more body, does it do the same kind of thing? /end hijack


Hmm, this might sound odd but in general I don't usually look at where I can save but more if I need money for something I focus on how I can make more money in order to get something.

I like this philosophy!!


If you shop online -
LOVE Ebates - I have saved over $500 dollars since 2006 on my online shopping (not counting the coupons I have used), which may not sound like a lot but it all goes into my Paypal, which pays for my personal "splurges".:joy:

It's a great site if you are shopping online at drugstore.com or walmart.com, or hundreds (actually 1500 or so!) of other stores. If you click to these stores through their site you get cash back - I get 8% back from what I spend at drugstore.com. They have lots of online coupons too. It's free and they don't sell your information, I've been using it for years with no problems, you can get your money back in mailed check form or directly to your paypal. Here is the main page:

http://www.ebates.com/

I looked into ebates awhile back but just never did it, figured I didn't do enough online shopping to make it worthwhile. These days, though, most of my shopping is done online, so perhaps I should reconsider...

Saving money:
-I quit going to the salon. I cut my own bangs, and I'm going to (very carefully!) experiment with trimming my own hair. If I absolutely must get it cut, I go to Fantasic Sam's - the girls there do what I tell them, don't hard sell their products, and don't try convincing me to cut more than I want to.
-I started COing with Suave and VO5, which are cheaper than the expensive shampoos and conditioners I used to buy.
Not hair related, but I recently switched to the oil cleansing method for my skin, and while the initial expense of the oils was a bit much, the bottles will last a long time - definitely cheaper than the $20/month I was spending on Proactiv!! Also, my skin seems happier.
I've spent a lot of money the last couple of months trying to find the hair routine that works for me, but I think I've finally got it, and luckily it's cheap. :D
I spend WAY too much money on hairtoys, but I'm trying to cut down.

jeanniet
September 2nd, 2011, 04:01 PM
I haven't left the water running for years, so that doesn't really count. Don't go to the salon, and I've really simplified my routine so that all I use now is soapwort shampoo, an herbal rinse, citric acid/ACV rinse, and Nightblooming's Panacea. Probably save some money there, but with my hair toy addiction I'm pretty sure overall there are no savings...nope, zilch. :rolleyes:

SarahKayfa
September 2nd, 2011, 05:19 PM
Hmm. I just changed my hair back to my natural color to avoid the upkeep. I use dry shampoos and co wash once a week to save on water. I use versatile & inexpensive hair toys. I use drug store brands of conditioner bought with coupons and oils bought in bulk. I air dry my hair & don't use styling products. I share my baths with my lover;)

chou
September 2nd, 2011, 08:42 PM
Since I started diluting my shampoo, which is sls free and cheap in the first place, my hair feels so much less stripped after washing and the shampoo lasts forever. Stretching washes and giving up my brief and disappointing CO experiment also keeps down on the amount of products and water going down the drain. I still have a hard time resisting trying out new nice smelling natural conditioners, though... That's my vice! Still, the hair products I get at the health foods store are all cheaper than the Redken products from the beauty supply store I used years ago before switching over to cone and sls-free stuff. Also, knowing that most pricey salon products are just recombinations of the same chemicals and cones in fancy bottles drives away all temptation to use them. I use silicones sometimes, but from a cheap drugstore conditioner.
I'm still working my way up to cutting down on my consumption of hair products, natural or not.

Jen123
September 2nd, 2011, 09:20 PM
I'm really working on turning the water off, but it is soooo hard. I love hot water.

I CWC, but instead of rinsing the first conditioner out before I wash, I just wash my scalp with diluted foamed up shampoo with the conditioner still in. CO just won't work for me.

From reading these ideas, I think I'm going to tweak my routine a little more by watering down my conditioner, applying the conditioner before getting in the shower, AND washing my scalp with the foamy shampoo before I get in the shower as well.

I have not seen any inexpensive SLS free shampoos. Which ones are there in the US? I need to save as much as I can, so I can make up for the Mason Pearson BB brush I just bought.:o

starlamelissa
September 2nd, 2011, 10:12 PM
I save money on my hair by not experimenting with my hair. I have found what works, and I stick with it. No need to always chase the newer shinier thing.

My mom has made me an enviable stash of scrunchies, in satin and velour of all different patterns. My cost there was under 10 bucks for like, twenty scrunchies.

I get my length trimmed once a year or so, and my bangs trimmed every five weeks. It costs me four dollars for my bangs, 20 for a full cut.

Ummm, I color my hair at home with manic panic stirred up with conditioner. A jar of manic panic lasts me 4 months on my waist length hair.

kidari
September 3rd, 2011, 11:33 PM
Lately I wash my hair separately from my body. When I take a shower I just put my hair in a bun, wrap a terrycloth hairband around the hairline, and put a shower cap over it. My shower is so quick. When I wash my hair I just do it bending over the bathtub and use my shower head that has a hose on it and of course turn off the water when I'm not wetting or rinsing. That allows me to put a plastic bag over my conditioner for as long as I need to when I have a conditioner or treatment on and then just come back and rinse it all off. Washing upside-down also gives me more volume at my roots since I put my hair turban on that way like plopping. Also, I never blow dry.

I have kept track of which places have certain things for the best prices and when they also have a sale I stock up but only on things I know are necessities that I go through pretty fast- even better if I have a coupon. I noticed that using more natural pure products saves a lot of money since they can be used for different purposes and mixed for various different concoctions, not just for hair either. I dyed my hair close to my natural color, cut off all the damage 2 years ago, embraced my natural texture, and learned to style and wear my hair in a more time efficient way. Now I easily maintain my color and cut my own hair at home. If there is anything that costs more money I don't impulse buy. Instead, research it quite a bit and really think about it if I'm really going to use it, if I really need it, then I will carefully choose the most practical one. Of course, it's nice to splurge once in a while. Experimentation is a nice way to learn and have fun and splurging is a nice luxury once in a while.

racrane
September 4th, 2011, 10:32 AM
I use shampoo once a week. I use a 99 cent shampoo and dilute that. It lasts me a year. My conditioners are also 99 cents VO5. I use coconut oil that's from Roundy's - the generic store 'round here so it's cheaper than others. I hardly spend money on my routine. I have spent money on pretty hairsticks, but that's nothing. :D

MiamiPineapple
September 4th, 2011, 11:03 AM
I find that the cheapest, natural products work best for me....coconut oil, shea butter, olive oil, tea tree, the list goes on...

Superfine
September 4th, 2011, 11:38 AM
Not so much saving money as saving water. We have a well & in this TX drought the aquafir has almost gone dry. So...super save water. No showers anymore - spray bottle with water,vinegar,EO & a couple of drops of detergent. Spray on the body, rub around, wipe off with wet wash cloth. Can clean the whole body with about a quart of water. Washing hair - in the sink into a dishpan using water collected from the window A/C. I use about 1/2 gal. for 2 diluted poos & ACV rinse. Brush teeth with baking soda. Mostly water to clean face, maybe some ACV.
Latest all purpose cleaner: water,white vinegar, drops of dish detergent in a spray bottle. (Just like the body wash). It cleans everything! Glass, dishes, counter tops, furniture, floors, etc.

LouLaLa
September 4th, 2011, 12:09 PM
I use castor oil which was really cheap and a generic shampoo. I always make sure I dont waste water in the shower and rinse my hair using a jug of water.

My hair has never been better than when I ditched all the junk I used to put on it!

PurusNox
September 4th, 2011, 12:13 PM
I generally take more days between washing than I used to, I also make sure to turn off the shower when i'm waiting for the conditioner to do its thing :)

tigereye
September 4th, 2011, 12:18 PM
I wash my hair once weekly. I dilute my shampoo about 1 in 4 or 5, and just use a small amount on my scalp with each wash, so a diluted bottle lasts me a good 2 or 3 months, and a bottle of store bought shampoo lasts maybe about 10 months to a year. I like to stock up on condish when theres a sale on at the pound store or ASDA (which is sometimes cheaper and more often has my fab condish on sale). The bulk buying at sale times means I save money in the long run.

Other than that though, *goes to look at hairtoy stash* ,erm yeeeeeaaah. Stay away from enabling threads, etsy, and eBay!

MandyBeth
September 4th, 2011, 12:30 PM
I stopped trying to color my hair - henna is EXPENSIVE. Other than that, not much.

archel
September 5th, 2011, 12:14 PM
I'm saving by buying my jumbo sized Giovanni condish and shampoo at Marshall's where it's 50% off. This means I have to stalk the store quite a lot since they don't always have the ones I like. But hey, 50% off!

Ardellis
September 5th, 2011, 01:00 PM
I buy VO5, Suave, and White Rain conditioners (SO much cheaper than the coney junk I used to buy, not to mention clarifying shampoos). Olive and coconut oils are cheaper than commercial leave-ins and oil treatments. Plus I haven't set foot in a salon for over 25 years.

Alienor
September 5th, 2011, 01:53 PM
I save money by never going to the hairdresser :cheese:.

Carolyn
September 5th, 2011, 02:24 PM
I buy VO5, Suave, and White Rain conditioners (SO much cheaper than the coney junk I used to buy, not to mention clarifying shampoos). Olive and coconut oils are cheaper than commercial leave-ins and oil treatments. Plus I haven't set foot in a salon for over 25 years.Just an FYI here...the new formulation of White Rain conditioner has cones in it.

Libbylou
September 5th, 2011, 04:02 PM
I use only natural products on my hair, face and body. I have even carried this into my household cleaning also. I use things in the kitchen cupboards to clean with. I buy Jason's shampoo and I use ACV for conditioner about once a week(hair is fairly short now so no tangles). I use Dr. Bonners in the shower and on my face. So I don't spend a lot. Shampoo usually lasts several months for 12oz bottle and I shampoo at least once per day sometimes twice. For body lotion I use almond oil and fruit of the earth which is like less than $4 at Walmart for two jars.

squiggyflop
September 5th, 2011, 04:29 PM
How is everyone saving money with there current hair care routunes?

well, i do semi-extreme couponing.. i find things that are cheap or FREE.. recently, i got a whole bunch of aussie conditioner for 1$ a bottle (like 6$ normally).. i stocked up and saved money.. so now i have maybe 4 months of conditioner for the price of half a month worth..

i dont do the natural hair care thing.. or natural anything thing.. i need my cones.. without them i cannot grow my hair past BSL without it becoming a huge rats nest..

i dilute my shampoo.. not really to save money, but because it makes better foam if i do.. but i suppose that since one 80 cent bottle of shampoo lasts me 3 months then that means im technically saving money doing it.. i see no reason to pay over a dollar for shampoo.. it isnt like conditioner, it just washes out.. soon with couponing when i get the chance to buy shampoo, i will try for free or nearly free shampoo.. buy a years supply at once if possible.

um, as for water usage.. i take baths, not showers (chronic pain+hot bath=nice,, chronic pain+shower=nothing but smelling better and getting water in my eyes).. i watch a dvd while im in the bath usually.. my dad bought me a tiny portable folding dvd player with a little screen so that i could soak for longer (longer soak=less pain) in the scalding hot water (i only use HOT water when i fill it, and the water temp is set illegally high because my dad was paranoid about bottle sterilization when we were babies) without getting bored and getting out of the tub..

i buy my henna for 2$ a box.. so thats like a dollar every 2 months spent on henna..

now when my hair was short, all i needed was shampoo.. i never ever needed conditioner.. so if i were to chop all my hair, then my hair care expenditures would be greatly reduced..

i also stretch washes.. i wear my hair up pretty much all the time so its not a big deal to me..

as for hair dresser costs.. well i never really got into the habit of going to get my hair cut even when i kept it short.. i would just head into the bathroom and cut it myself.. occasionally i would get my hair cut as a child.. but generally we did that stuff at home.. i was also in charge of sheering my brother.. his head is like orange sheep fur.. thick and curly.. i would buzz it all off every once in a while when it turned into an orange afro poof 2 inches high.. i never really understood why people went to stylists.. i guess i was just brought up differently.. anyway i never factor hair dresser costs into my saving money formula because i wouldnt go anyway even if i had loads of money.. im good at cutting my own hair, and i never enjoyed going to a place where someone manhandles my hair and cuts it wrong.. i know what i want, and how to get it on my own head.. no need to pay someone else.. and i never felt 'pampered' going to them, i always felt anxiety because apparently i am the only person in the world who knows how to detangle my own hair..

as for oils, i buy my coconut oil from indian grocers (while im buying henna at rock bottom prices).. i use it for cooking too..

the only thing i spend money on and refuse to budge on is my Vo5 detangle and shine spray..

oh and as if people here didnt know.. i make my own hair accessories.. i see no reason to pay 8$ for a hair stick when i can make one myself for 25 cents.. though i have been known to scavenge the 3 for a dollar bin of hairtoys at 'the icing' in the mall