How I Save 80% on Salon Services

About 10 years ago I used to get my hair colored and cut at an upscale salon or day spa. I'd bounce around from place to place, eventually getting tired of each location for some reason or another, one of which was high prices. There was one Fancy Salon where a haircut with an entry-level cosmetologist was $35, and color with highlights were $135.  Without tip that totaled $170! And once that cosmetologist became more experienced they could charge even more for their services!

One day, a new beauty school opened near me. While not as luxe as a Fancy Salon, it was pretty nice and had a "salon feel" to it. Turns out prices are a quarter of what the the salon charges! A haircut was $18 and color service was $25 - that's $43 compared to $170. The only "price" for this cost savings is Time. Students take longer than a skilled professional. I usually allow for twice the normal amount of time. But everything is monitored and approved by a teacher so you do end up with quality results! I highly recommend Beauty Schools if you are looking to save money on your salon needs!

But let's see if we can reduce this cost any further:
I noticed that this school offered a special on gift cards during the holidays - for every $50 in gift cards purchased, you would get a $10 bonus gift card. So I started thinking: I calculated the number of haircuts and color services I would get in a average year, and calculated that cost. Then I purchased that approximate amount in gift cards. Let's say I color my hair every 6 weeks and cut it every 12 weeks. That would mean about 9 color services a year and 4 haircuts. So here is the math:

9 color @ $25 = $225
4 haircuts @$18 = $72
total for year = $297

I could buy $250 in gift cards, get $50 in bonus cards, and have $300 in gift cards to fund my hair needs for the year. That's a 20% savings right there! Now my $43 service is only costing $34 - that's 80% less than I was spending before!

So give beauty schools a try! Or look into gift card specials at your favorite salon. You can have the same fancy service at a much lower price. Now that's FUNTASTIC!