When it's easy to drop $100 on a salon visit every six weeks, keeping hair well-behaved and presentable can seem like an impossible luxury in this economy. The trick is to remember that the haircare industry revolves around making money, not around making your hair beautiful. Women and men have maintained healthy, gorgeous hair for millennia using frugal and gentle hair care methods.
Stop Using Commercial Haircare Products
It may seem extreme, but quitting shampoo and conditioner cold turkey or even cutting the amounts back to half can save significantly on costs, especially for those who use salon products. Natural haircare methods such as water-only washing, conditioner-only washing, washing with baking soda and vinegar and herbal haircare are gentler on the planet, the scalp and the purse. Not every method works for everyone, but mixing and matching a few different methods can result in a highly personalised, customisable haircare routine that works more effectively than products sold en masse in bottles.
Protect Hair From Damage
Anti-frizz serums, split end removers, hair strengthening lotions and masques are designed to remove physical damage to hair or give the appearance of repairing it. The obvious solution to spending money on such products is to prevent the damage from occurring in the first place. Ease into gentle haircare techniques to prevent your hair being torn, rubbed, pulled or dehydrated and the need for these products will all but disappear.
Trim Hair Less Frequently
The canard that healthy hair needs to be trimmed every six weeks is helpful for your hairdresser's bank balance, but not for your hair. Trimming hair does not prevent split ends, as splits do not conveniently occur in the last half-inch of hair but all over the head. Trimming hair also does not cause hair to grow faster or thicker. Short haircuts require more frequent trims than long to look neat, so consider opting for a longer cut in which an extra inch of hair will go unnoticed.
Use Henna and Indigo to Dye Hair
Dyeing hair a shade lighter than your own requires commercial products which are chemical-laden, expensive and very damaging to hair. Going darker, fortunately, is easy to do using natural dyes which are extremely cheap. Pure henna can dye hair, depending on its initial colour, from fiery orange to a sheen of mahogany on dark hair. Adding indigo to the mix can result in hair ranging from cool red through brown to jet black. Research henna and indigo carefully before dyeing: but if you decide to make the leap, you can dye your hair for only two or three dollars per application.
Work With Your Hairtype, Not Against It
The success of many expensive haircare products depends on people fighting their hair's natural state of being. Changing straight hair to curly, kinky hair to smooth, thin hair to thick or textured hair to slippery usually involves using expensive products. If you can make the mental change to appreciating your unique hairtype and finding hairstyles that complement it, you can avoid spending money and energy fighting a losing battle against the way your hair wants to look.
For more information on many of the techniques and principles outlined here, visit Sarah Tennant's hair care articles.
Sarah Tennant - Sarah Tennant is a onetime English major who lives in New Zealand with her husband and two small children. Her interests range from ...
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