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About once per quarter, my wife and I have a…I won’t call it a fight. It’s more like she-comes-home-looking-stunning-while-I-make-disapproving-grunting-sounds-while-giving-the-checkbook-dirty-looks.
I hate salons.
$80 for highlights, $30 for a haircut and $15 for eyebrow “shaping”. It’s an afternoon of chemicals and hot-wax torture, for the low, low price of $125 + tip. Frugal it’s not, but that’s an argument I lost long ago.
This weekend, she tried something new.
Beauty school.
For roughly the cost of materials, she got her eyebrows “shaped” and her hair highlighted and cut by a senior student at the beauty school, under the supervision of a licensed beautician/instructor.
It looks good, and she said she had more fun during her appointment than any other salon trip she’s had. I guess there’s something to be said for interacting with someone who isn’t burned out on interacting with the general public.
What does it cost? What normally runs $125 cost just $35. That’s for a $5 cut, $25 highlighting, and $5 wax. That’s a $90 savings or 72% off. Yay!
Other services they offer include:
- Full color, cut and shampoo for $20.
- A Perm for $25.
- Mani/pedi for $24.
- Full set of acrylic nails for $15.
- Wax for $5. Have I ever mentioned that I am happy to be a guy?
- Seaweed treatment for $10. I don’t even know what this is. A buffet, maybe?
They also have a “Princess” package that we’re going to use for brat #2′s birthday party next month. It’s an up-do, nail polish, make-up, and tiara for $10 per kid. We’ll take the girls out to get made up all pretty-like, then off to the dollar theater, for a $35 party.
The school my wife visited has more than 90 locations in 21 states, but I’d be willing to be every city big enough to support a Wal-Mart also has a beauty school nearby. They don’t tend to advertise their customer services, so you’ll have to call, but for a 70% discount, it worth spending a bit of time on the phone, isn’t it?
I have two questions for you, dear readers:
- Would you consider going to a beautician trainee?
- What the heck is a seaweed treatment?
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I think it all depends on your level of trust. If you are ok with your hair and ok with taking a risk than a beauty school may work for you. If you really particular than you may not want to take the risk. Some beauty students are great but others aren’t and you never know who you are going to get. I personally go the Zellers route- I can get trim and style for under $20.
I don’t think it’s much of a risk. They are supervised by experienced stylists.
When it’s just a cut, my wife goes to Fantastic Sam’s, for $7-12, depending on the night.
That’s good to hear. It sounds like she is going to a legit school and won’t have any worries.
That is a great option. I personally don’t go to salons, but if I need to I will keep this in mind.
Now that i think of it, my grandmother did this all the time. She always enjoyed it.
That would never fly in my house. Consider yourself lucky. I also gave up that fight long ago. I just use it to my advantage on occasion by stating the obvious: my round of golf costs less and takes less time than when you get your hair color changed. Works about half the time.
I don’t understand why my wife doesn’t just do what I do: I have her run the clippers over my head once a month.
I went to a beauty school once, and it took two months for my hair to recover from the butcher job. I have tried to work up the nerve to go again, but I just can’t. Instead, my husband colors my hair, and I get it cut about 4 times a year.
That’s too bad. I used to color my wife’s hair, but I can’t do highlights well.
Now a days, I’m one of those females that gets her hair cut about twice a year and otherwise ignores it. But when I was a teenager, that wasn’t so. And my mom always took me to a beauty school to have it done. And I loved it.
Good for you.
I used to get my haircut once a year, but then I decided that hair past my ribcage was probably holding back my career.
There is one in my building actually and The Wife came and used their facial service…said it was about half the price! Score for Evan for it not going on the Amex.