With eight people in our family, the cost of hair cuts quickly adds up. Here are a few tips to save money on hair care for your family.
- Learn to cut hair. This is probably the most obvious and difficult tip. Learning to cut hair is something people go to school for, it takes practice. It does not take much practice to give a little boy a buzz cut. Since it is summertime now is a great time to practice. A good set of clippers costs under $40. These will pay for themselves in a few months depending on how many boys you have in your family.
- If you really don’t feel comfortable giving haircuts, how about a trim? When we first started saving money on haircuts I could not cut hair at all. My boys had buzz cuts all the time. We then realized that I could do a pretty good job of trimming the hair around their ears and the back of their neck. While this didn’t eliminate the need for haircuts, it did extend the time between haircuts.
- If you are not opposed to this, let your boy wear a longer style. I personally prefer shorter hair on boys, but a longer style will lengthen your time between trips to the barber.
- If you have a little girl, avoid bangs. Bangs need constant trimming in order to look nice. Invest in some pretty clips or headbands to keep the hair out of their eyes.
- Teach your kids to close their eyes. We have been using adult shampoo on our kids since they were old enough to keep their eyes closed while we wash their hair. Kids shampoo is expensive.
- For moms, get a hairstyle that doesn’t need constant maintenance. There are many styles today that will allow you to go for 3 to 4 months before getting a trim.
- Donate your hair. Many salons will cut your hair for free if you are donating it to Locks of Love or another similar organization.
- Color your own hair, or have a friend help you.
- Go natural, that’s how God made you anyway!
- Shampoo your hair every other day. This might be harder in the summer, but for people with a dry scalp it might be better to wash every other day.
- Compare shampoos and conditioners. Many people use a certain product out of habit or because someone recommended it to them. Try a less expensive brand sometime and see you if you can tell the difference.
- Do not follow the advice on the bottle. Does anyone actually shampoo their hair twice in one shower. I see this as a total waste of time and money.
Scroll down and read the comments section for many great frugal hair care tips from my readers. Thanks ladies!
For more frugal tips stop by Crystal’s blog.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks so much for the tips!
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The only one I do not do is color my own hair. BTDT, never again
haha Oh and forget natural. Too much grey. I am only 34 for goodness sake 
LOL
I actually go to the local Beauty College to get mine colored. Which might be a good tip for others. If you have a beauty school in your area, they don’t charge much, and they rarely mess up since they are getting graded!
And if they do feel ill at ease, they call their instructor over to do it for them, anyway 
I use Suave shampoo on my kids. We haven’t used baby shampoo in forever.
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Before I daughter was born I used a salon shampoo that cost $30 a bottle… what a joke! I switched to Suave (about $1.50) and guess what? No difference!!
I actually do wash my hair twice in one shower, but I only wash my hair once or twice a week so I need to. Thanks for the tips!
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Lawanda-
Great tip about using a Beauty College, I know many people who do this with great results.
Steph-
Great point about washing twice but only washing a few times a week, that would definitely save me time in the morning.
Thanks for sharing ladies!
Toni
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I have a simple bob that I can cut myself (with a little help from Mr. Frugal Urbanite.) Since it’s so short and simple I need very little shampoo and I very rarely need to use any styling product at all.
I find the biggest money waster is using too much product. People want to use a whole palm full of shampoo and conditioner when all you need is about a quarter sized dollop for all but the longest and driest of hair. The bottles all the hair care stuff comes in is made to dump a ton of product at one time, so I grabbed some pump bottles from the dollar store and pour my shampoo in them instead.
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I get a perm for my hair but b/c it holds so nicely I only need to do it 1 1/2 times a yr. I usually have to do the top again. But it is a simply style.
Shampoo I get the family size and use the pump. That helps control the amount used.
I use to cut the boys hair until they learned about girls. At lest one of them. They don’t like long hair that goodness.
Dd donated her hair once. She felt so proud.
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great ideas!
i’m a little too scared to cut my own hair but i do my own coloring
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The one thing I will not skimp on is haircuts and coloring. That is my luxury. And yeah bangs are lame anyway
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