September 27, 2016

Why I Look For Cheap Haircuts

The best haircut I ever had was at Great Clips in Wasilla, Alaska. I remember the stylist's name was Clint, but that's about it.

I grew up with a cousin who cut hair so I always had an avenue to getting my hair done that was less expensive. I never, until I moved to Alaska, went to a stranger for a haircut.

I realized pretty quickly that hair was an expensive market, so I picked up the habit of going to Great Clips and it's something I've stuck with ever since. Then, I got into the habit of going to Veda Salon and Spa here in Colorado Springs a few years ago because I was given an overly-generous giftcard as a trade-off for dog-sitting. After going to a fancy salon for haircuts for a year or so, I got back in my routine of going to Great Clips every 6 months.


1. I don't go for the experience. I don't want conversation or a shampoo/style. If I'm going for a haircut, I realllllly just want my hair cut. Like, if I could do it myself, I probably would. This is why I highlight my hair myself; it takes less time and costs about $120 less.

2. They do what you ask them to do. There's no discussion about it. I've paid $40+tip in the past and they always talk me into a trim because why would you want to cut your hair? and then I paid $40+tip for a trim.

3. I hate making appointments.

4. My hair is easy to maintain. I know people who swear that a certain person is the only one who can tame their hair. I don't really believe that (sometimes I think it's an excuse to splurge), but I don't need someone who knows my case history.

5. I hate it when a stylist blow-dries my hair straight and slaps a bunch of product in it. I never blow-dry my hair straight. It gets so lifeless and stringy. Why do people do this on purpose? Even when you ask stylists to please not blow-dry it straight, they still do to an extent. Usually I just want to go home and wash it in order to get that product out and fluff it up again.

What do you think? Do you splurge on hair? I'd rather pay for a pedicure every month from May to September.


Slightly shorter hair and a look at that purse I got last week. 

17 comments:

  1. I like going to a nice stylist just because I get haircuts 3-4 times a year, so I splurge a bit.

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  2. nope; my hair grows like weeds so there's no point in me paying money for a hair cut. in fact, i ask for a junior stylist to reduce cost. also, i only get my hair cut once a year because lazy!

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  3. Just like with my makeup, I don't splurge on hair either! Besides, I have a favorite at a fantastic sams instead of a big place because I know she can do that and my eyebrows. Score!

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  4. I go to a stylist, probably a couple times a year. I like it, because usually by the time I make an appointment, my hair has reached some stage of feeling like cavewoman hair, so I like emerging from my hair cocoon. I also like knowing that the same person will cut my hair and I've had some really terrible luck with random stylists at cheaper salons.

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  5. I do splurge... mainly because we live in a small town where everyone knows everyone. If I stopped going, I'd be the outcast of the town ;) haha

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  6. That purse is cute! And I cut my own hair because the idea of spending $40+ and having to make small talk KILLS me inside.

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  7. I am one of those people that when I find a good person, I go back to them because I DO need someone who knows my case history and what my hair will and won't do when it gets cut. My current hairstyle requires a trim every 6-8 weeks and it is pissing me off that people in Sitka charge $70+tip whether you're getting 1/2" cut off or 12" cut off.

    My mom and sister got lice from a Great Clips once.

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  8. I didn't use to splurge, but when we moved to AZ I asked around for a stylist, and the same woman kept being mentioned. She happens to be an Aveda stylist which means $$$. I went to her the first time & realized what crap haircuts I had been getting before that! She's seriously the best & I will continue to pay her to cut/color my hair for as long as I live here. I should mention I do have very thick/curly hair so I need it thinned out, and for someone to know how to cut it so it looks right when I style it straight and wear it natural.

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  9. I splurge when I can because I have long, thick, curly hair and it takes a special kind of stylist to deal with it. I also love my hair a lot and like to treat it nicely. That said, I'm not above a cheap haircut at all.

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  10. I love my hair stylist, I am horrible at doing my own color and highlights, and I pay for it. And the pedicures. The manicure not so much.

    I've done Hair Cuttery, etc., and it's not the initial cut that's bad for me - it's how it grows out. That's a distant memory though, I've been with my hairstylist for 14 years. She's a friend from first grade on up, too, so that helps.

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  11. Ugh, I have tried to go better value with my hair but I just end up looking like a mushroom. I have oddly thick hair (it fools you into thinking it's controllable and then BAM mushroom) and bad haircuts make me sad so I tend to stick to the first stylist who gives me a decent cut. Also who doesn't give me stripy highlights. I am thinking of ditching the highlights though because they're too much work/expense and I'm too malcoordinated to do them myself.

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  12. I totally splurge on my hair. With natural curls like mine, I really have to find stylists to understand how to cut it. I've been fortunate to find a few.

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  13. I usually hate making appointments too but the girl that does my hair friended me on facebook so it's easy now to get appointments haha.

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  14. Totally with you. My hair is thin and flat so I honestly don't put much effort into it. I also only get it cut maybe once a year... oops. I was going to a salon but last time, I went to Hairzoo and it was fine. I'll probably just keep going there.

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  15. I don't splurge, but I also don't go to Great Clips/Super Cuts/etc. I only get my hair cut once a year and usually I'll go on Groupon or one of those sites to find a deal and go wherever I find the best one. I think I would splurge if I got highlights or dyed my hair though.

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  16. i am half with you. i grew up with my mum cutting my hair because she used to be a hair stylist, but they didn't do foils back then so i started going to real stylists (sorry mum, you're still 'real') when i wanted those instead of streaks.

    i have never been a regular hair cut getter or whatever, but it would be like $250+ each time i got my hair dyed or cut, a) because it was really long and b) this is sydney by the way and c) because i was like yellow blonde and not naturally. plus i changed my mind a lot and went through weird 'lets dye half my hair black' phases.

    but anyway. i hate getting my hair cut. i hate making small talk with people, i hate paying for something i never used to pay for, and i hate the risk you take with going to someone new or someone you don't trust. i also don't think there is only one person who can tame my hair or anything like that, my hair is easy but boring, it's limp and lifeless and blah. no taming needed.

    all that being said, my best friend is a hair stylist, and i go to her like 2-3 times a year. she gives me a steep discount, but i always feel awful because this is her livelihood, you know? i know how much those products cost, and how much she'd be making if someone else was in her chair. i always tell her to do whatever she wants, because i trust her and she knows me well enough to know i don't ever want to do anything crazy.

    and yeah, i hate the whole blow drying straight thing. when i was younger, places used to give me a proper blow dry, now they just half ass it and then straighten it.. i could do that at home! when my friend does my hair, she might dry a bit if she dyed it to see how it turned out, but she doesn't style it (my choice).

    but (jeepers, long comment, sorry) when she does style it, it's amazing. she is talented, and i could never do half of what she does lol.

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  17. I used to be SO afraid to get a bad hair cut. But I really never went to a place that was super expensive. I have a friend now who is a hairstylist, and she works at a nice (but not pricey) salon. I DO love a wash and style, though, because I find there is nothing better in the world than someone washing my hair!!

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