Just because we are all feeling the pinch of a slow economy is no reason to stop taking care of ourselves. Women spend billions of dollars each year on beauty treatments and beauty products even during a recession. However, if you are not careful, maintaining your beauty rituals can be quite expensive and will decrease the amount of income you contribute to retirement, savings and other financial goals. There are ways you can decrease the expenses of haircuts and beauty products but it will take a little work, and compromise, on your part.
Decide what is most important to you
I loved my acrylic nails but I love my hair color more; therefore, when my husband’s hours were cut so were my nails. The key to managing your beauty budget is to prioritize the services and products that are most important to you. Then work on lowering the costs for the services and products.
Search for discounts
Ask your salon if they offer discounts for multiple services or if they offer a client loyalty awards program. Do not be afraid to ask for a discount if you pre-book appointments, take an appointment during their slow days or bundle services. Some salons may even offer discounts or freebies for referrals. Search your local newspaper and mailers, as well as online, for coupons to national salons.
Go to beauty school
No, you do not enroll in the school but you do go for discounted services to the student salon. I would not suggest that you do this for a drastic change in hairstyle because that may take a very long time to undo if you are not happy with the results. However, beauty schools do offer manicures, pedicures, facials, massages and other services at dramatically discounted prices. Make sure an instructor is there to supervise students!
Lengthen the time between visits
Learn to do a little home maintenance to make those waxes and hair treatments last longer. In colder months, you do not need to have your legs waxed as often because you are not wearing the super short mini. Consider growing your hair longer because it takes many more trips to the hair salon to maintain a shorter hairstyle than it does a longer one. If you take the time to pluck stray hairs as they grow, you can go another week or two between eyebrow waxes.
Find a cheaper brand
There are some beauty products that I will not, under any circumstance, live without or replace with a cheaper version. Take stock of your beauty products, make a list of the absolute must-haves and then begin searching for less expensive products to replace the others. Doing a little research to determine what ingredients are essential and can be found in other products will save you a lot of money. For instance, I found a great foundation by L’Oreal with Vitamin C that saved me almost $60 and works as well as the expensive brand I had been using.
Remember to take care of yourself by drinking plenty of water and eating nutritious foods – – that will also save you money because a healthy body is a beautiful body.
