I watched a documentary last weekend called Missrepresentation.  In it, the following statistic is given, “US Women spend $15,00-20,000 a year on beauty products and salon services.”

What?! Even if that stat is inflated by botox treatments and cosmetic surgeries, the number as an average is pretty hard to believe.

Then a post I read last week came to mind. Romona at Monasez shared how she’d be cutting thousands of dollars out of her annual budget by reducing her personal care expenses. Not hundreds. Thousands.

In both of these instances, I was floored. I get the importance of keeping up appearances, I’m an actress after all, but there have to be some reasonable limitations.

So I’ve decided to share how I manage to control my personal care costs….

Hair

 

The amount of money women spend on hair, from cuts to products to highlights to blowouts to extensions, is staggering.

My advice, keep it simple.

I get my hair cut about once every 6 months at a beauty school or through a salon training program.

I found my last cut on Craigslist!  It may sound sketchy, but it was anything but.

It wound up being a high end, Park Avenue teaching salon with strict faculty supervision, and it was FREE.  I gave the student a $10 tip just because.

While I was there another student offered to do my highlights for just $30! I turned it down because even though it was a good deal, highlights require maintenance that I’m just not willing to pay for at this time.

For more on how to get free or cheap haircuts check out this article from Frugal Linda at Wisebread. And see if your city is listed on SalonApprenctice.com!

 

“Other” Hair 

 

Shave and tweeze.

Waxing is just too expensive… and painful.

 

Nails

 

I’m terrible at do it yourself projects, but if I could paint my own nails in middle school I can certainly do it now.

$10 for a manicure may not seem like much, but it adds up fast when you’re going every week or two.

If you don’t want to cut out mani-pedis entirely, consider cutting back on frequency. Going once a month instead of once week will free up a nice chunk of money in your budget.

 

Make Up 

 

Pick and choose.  I have one requirement in my make up bag, my BareMinerals foundation.

I supplement the rest of my beauty regimen with cheap drugstore buys, samples, and whatever I can find on sale.

Loyalty to an entire line of make up can cost you big time, so pick one or two must haves where you splurge and go budget on the rest.

ps. Splurge worthy make up always makes for a great gift, so make sure everyone knows it’s on your list come the holidays or your birthday!

 

Personal Care Products

 

Personal care products can eat up your budget if you’re not careful.

From toothpaste to deodorant, there’s a long list of must-haves.

I’ll admit, I’m not a great couponer like some of my friends and fellow bloggers (If you want to be, check out this post on beginner couponing). I do, however, save a ton by purchasing all my personal care products on Amazon.

The differences in price between Amazon and the Kmart down the street are surprisingly significant (at least in NYC).

 

How about you?  How much do you spend on keeping up appearances and what are your cost cutting techniques?