While the Left and Right Brains take the month off to work on a new Beauty Brains book, Mid Brain will report on cosmetic science news.
Mid Brain reports:
We’ve blogged before about the recession causing stress acne. Now here’s another beauty problem caused by the bad economy: bad hair days! The Wall Street Journal (via Consumerist) says that more consumers are cutting costs by cutting their own hair. The result: lousy looking locks. Follow the link to find out why.
What do YOU think? Are you saving money by cutting your own hair? Leave a comment for the rest of the Beauty Brains community.
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{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Yes I trim and thin out my fringe and cut out split ends from longer sections. I have not been to the hairdresser since June I think. My highlights are growing out…
I won’t sacrifice my eyelash extensions though!
YES! I currently live in Hawaii and I have horror stories to last me a lifetime with these hairstylist. I usally go home (NY) twice a year to get my hair done, I thought I’d save my usually $800 dollar hair visit (roundtrip plane ticket & visit to my salon of 18 years) and decided to give Hawaii another try. WRONG! my hair is soo messed up that I AM SCARRED. I will have to wait till it grows out decent for my NY hairstylist to perform some kind of miracle
Interesting post! I haven’t tried cutting my own hair during the downturn, but I’m definitely going longer between trips to the salon. I found that hair masks keep my hair healthy between cuts.
(Um…Leslie? I think the article was about cutting one’s OWN hair.)
I have been cutting my dh’s hair for years and cut my son’s before he grew up and moved out. My dd cuts hers although she left the shaving-half-the-head to a pro she trusted. The most I can do for mine is put it in a ponytail and snip what’s on one side of the rubberband, but my hair is very wavy and I don’t do any more than wash and let dry; no styling
. If I had color, highlights, layers, then no, I would let someone else do it, recession or not. Just maybe find a cheaper salon.
All cosmetology schools teach the same curriculum, so it eventually boils down to how well the person learned and how well-suited they are to the profession. My dd’s favorite stylist (who does an excellent job) works in an affordable chain salon in a strip center because he couldn’t afford to pay his dues and loans back while working his way up as a shampoo tech at a pricier salon. He’s our secret.
I do, but mine’s nearing knee-length, and it just involves sliding a ponytail holder down to the ends and then snipping with a good set of barber’s shears.
Among the super-long set, self-trimming is very much loved; most stylists will hear you say, “I want a half-inch off” and act like someone held a gun to their head and forced them to chop half a footand they had no choice. Hence, we tend to avoid salons.
There’s a great mathod called Feye’s Method that’s often used for self-trimming if anyone else out there is interested.
I have long trimmed my own bangs–I can keep them exactly the right length, instead of the “too-short then too long” problem I get from stylist cuts. My hair is baby fine so it goes from “pop-up too short” after a cut, to “weighed down too long” in about two days, it seems. I have an A-line bob. My husband cuts the neckline underlayer and evens off the top A-line layer—so far so good. He uses a pair if Fiskars embroidery scissors. He also has been doing my roots with Robert Craig color–also so far so good.I may have to go in to my real stylist in a few months to get the cut reshaped, but she tends to cut too much off!
To save money in this recession, I have been going to a beauty school for haircuts. It makes it a lot easier because it’s an Aveda beauty institute and all the students are very talented! So far, I have not had a bad cut yet. Soon its time for me to redo my color….and I am getting nervous. Not sure if I want to go to Aveda…but organic hair color can be very pricey and that is all I use!
I’m going to be honest here and say that I usually ALWAYS cut my own hair! I have a fairly plain ‘do, so it doesn’t take much – just a little off the bangs and that’s all. I also cut my children’s hair! Is that bad? I also hate to pay the ridiculous bucks for a hairdresser, when my husband gets a full treatment (ie. hot towels, massage, trim, shave etc.) for a fraction of the cost for me to get a shampoo, cut and blow-dry!
Robin, what do you mean by organic hair colour? I’m not familiar with that term when used to describe anything by a high end brand.
Henna (lawsonia inermis) is the most popular natural hair colourant I know of & it is dirt cheap. Its also a great strengthener. Beware of falling into the marketing fairytales about “organic” this & that.
I research DIY hair, nail & beauty regimens online and do everything myself. I was so proud of my first time results with acrylic nails, after doing what I had seen at salons and watching youtube tutorials. I know what works for me & I don’t rely on salons anymore.