My mother says the same thing, she has colored her hair since she was in her 30s. My hair, never colored, is dingy gray with streaks of white.
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My hair is thick and about 3 inches past my shoulders. My hair has turned platinum blond versus gray as I have aged. I have my hairdresser add highlights so it is not all one color.
I do a single process every 7-8 weeks to cover greys ($100). My longish wavy hair is very dry now so I don’t wash it very much. Try to get blow outs every other week ($45). I put argan oil on the ends. Cut every 6 months.
I have never had interest in changing my hair color. I don’t mind my natural color which is a medium brown. So for many years, I never had any color put on. Now, I just want my natural color to be put on where grey hairs show up, which is mostly at my temples. But I do like having highlights.
Lucky you to be able to not have greasy hair every few days.
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It has changed so drastically in the last 10 years.
I don’t do manicures either, I can’t stand how long it to get it. But my kids do it often.
But my hair coloring is ash brown, the ash color blends into my greys as they fade, maybe that’s why I have the illusion that I don’t have a lot of greys.
Same prices in Charleston. And appointments have been hard to get.
I touch up my roots myself in between.
I paid about $150 in NoVA for cut and color, more if I added highlights. Have only had it done once in my new location, but prices are a bit higher here. I know it is a lot, but I have thick, wavy hair (not pretty “beachy waves”) the kind of hair that will stick out in multiple directions if it isn’t blown bone dry. So I will pay a lot for a stylist who is good.
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In the upper Midwest I pay $120 to $140 for cut, color and some highlights on past shoulder length hair. While working, I wanted color as the work cohort was a young one, and I wanted one less way to stick out as OLD. The stylist I ended up with has been so good however, that I been really happy to have my hair a little fancier than for most of my life. At a point I’ll go grey, but I despise the grey pattern inherited from my mom, a swath of white surrounded by dishwater dullish. The longer I wait, the more the dishwater disappears.
I pay about the same in the Boston area. I have thick frizzy hair and it’s a treat to get a blow dry that comes out without frizz. I have to always use a flat iron after I dry my hair. I also dye and highlight my hair because I don’t like how I look with grey hair. It’s a personal preference.
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Covid took my every 4 week cut/color off the table. Given my medium-dark brown former natural color, my nearly shoulder length hair and my 95% silvery white current color, it was a 2 year high contrast grow out made more tolerable by social distancing. I have never colored my own hair and was curious to see how it would look. During early Covid, my stylist of 2 decades came to the house to cut my hair on the porch; I recruited friends to help her out. Cost for a haircut now is $75 in my HCOL suburb and I believe coloring is $100. I used to pay $155 plus tip every month. My schedule is now driven by Covid surges. I miss a regular cut schedule.
Both of these quotes perfectly describe me. Thick, wavy but coarse hair that does not look good (looks frizzy) without blowing it completely dry. I finish with either a curling iron or flat iron. I have medium brown hair with some natural gold/auburn highlights, but now have a fair amount of gray on the crown of my head. It’s not a nice gray and with my skin tone/complexion and age, I have no desire to let it go. My hair grows super fast so my roots are apparent rather quickly.
I had been going to a home salon for 15 years where she charged $90 for cut, root touchup and some added highlights. Stopped going to her last spring when she opted not to get vaccinated and did not require masks or wear one unless a customer asked. Fortunately I found someone new who understands my hair. Now I’m paying $140 for cut/color and over $200 if I get partial highlights at a reasonably priced salon (i,e, not Hair Cuttery but not hoity-toity either). My hair is one of my only personal indulgences when it comes to grooming, self maintenance. It is my best feature and I’m not “handy” enough, nor do I want to color it myself.
I live in the DC area in terms of COL.
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I do my own hair. I’ve no patience and honestly never been anywhere that I didn’t come home and recut it anyways. Believe me, I’ve tried over the years. The chemical smells in salons give me a headache from the start. But hair products have vastly improved and offer easy options these days. Between “root touch up”, “blended grays”, “cream” coloring (no drip vs the mess of years ago) and even spray on hair color. it’s easy to maintain hair color. Or at least easier.
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I usually have my sister highlight my hair and I pay her like 20-40 bucks or so for her time and materials.
Haircuts I think are like 15-20 at the place up the street. Or, I have my sister cut it after the highlights if I’m due for both at the same time.
I think one thing that I’m curious about are massages. I go for a massage every week. It’s either 30 or 60 depending if i do a 30 minute massage or a 60 minute massage… and then i usually tip either 10 or 20 additional. If only because it’s easier than me asking for change. I go to a pretty reasonably priced place. If i went to a more expensive massage place, I wouldn’t be going 3-4x a month like I do here.
There seems to be lots of discretionary income out there for lots of the posters here. Between hair, manicures and pedicures, makeup, and now massages, my head is spinning. I have some money but am frugal and not that into any of those things. My husband got lucky! I’ve saved us a bundle!
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Hahaha! I never used to splurge for massages, (i used to go just on my birthday) but I was in 2 car accidents a few years ago and if I don’t go for my massages, it’s not a pretty sight. Every time I go they comment on how much of a mess my muscles are. I wish I could go more often. I spent over a year in PT and got released not because I was all better but because it was healing so slowly it couldn’t justify going and i can do the exercises at home. It’s much better than it was then, but I still go weekly to get the muscles worked on. I actually didn’t go this weekend because we were too busy and I can definitely tell that I missed a week.
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If you need it then do it, I used to get 3 massages per week, sometimes 2 hours at a time. One day I asked the massage therapist if it’s possible to do 3 hours, she said she had to rest in between, that’s when I knew that’s the limit, lol.
But since this pandemic, I’vent been back. I’m very surprised that body doesn’t need it.
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They used to say that about me, but ever since I do my floor exercises I don’t have any problem. I don’t even use the TENS system anymore.
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Yeah, I know what you mean. I didn’t go for a bit during the pandemic due to lock downs, and then again for a bit after when it was really bad - longest that i’d not gone since I got out of PT. I tried to do extra stretches at home to make up for it. My boyfriend was massaging my neck/shoulders like every night. When I finally did go back (after like a 6 month break) my girl gave me a huge lecture on how massage is therapy and therapy is medical and medical doesn’t pause for a pandemic. LOL.
Nobody that works at the place I go to has caught covid, they all wear masks, require that customers wear masks (They give you one if you don’t have one), they have everyone sanitize their hands when you come in, and they take everyone’s temperature as well. I think they’ve taken it more seriously than every other place i go to added up.
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