Hairdressers: Are hairdressers too expensive?
Australians have cut back on clothes shopping and in fact all our discretionary spending in the past couple of months and now the word is that we are stretching our hair appointments - going that extra one or even three or four weeks between salon visits.
Retailers are reporting lower sales, even from the abundant post-Christmas sales events which seem to be going on and on. And now hairdessers say they are seeing their clients far less often, even the regulars, and even the well-heeled regulars. ''They're going eight weeks or even 10 weeks between cuts instead of six,'' said one Melbourne CBD stylist. ''With longer styles you can get away with it.'' Others said that budget-conscious women are requesting simpler styles that don't require as much maintenance.
But what about shorter hair that goes flop or (speaking from experience) curly wild? And can you really stretch colour? Isn't tell-tale silver around the temples a false economy, grey roots a giveaway? There are some alternatives to eking out those expensive appointments. If you're a capable type of person, there's home dyeing. But what about instead finding a cheaper stylist? My mum has just had her best colour yet and it was at a suburban salon that charged two-thirds the rate of her usual South Yarra haunt. It was well worth putting up with the instant coffee. A workmate paid $75 for what he described as a ''camp'' cut (no comment) at a top salon. The next cut was a cool cut (my words) from an outer suburban shopping strip salon. It cost him $30.
Who are the clever ones here? Is it time to turn our backs on expensive salon visits? Are cuts and clours overpriced? How do we make our hair-care dollars go further?
Australians have cut back on clothes shopping and in fact all our discretionary spending in the past couple of months and now the word is that we are stretching our hair appointments - going that extra one or even three or four weeks between salon visits.
Retailers are reporting lower sales, even from the abundant post-Christmas sales events which seem to be going on and on. And now hairdessers say they are seeing their clients far less often, even the regulars, and even the well-heeled regulars. ''They're going eight weeks or even 10 weeks between cuts instead of six,'' said one Melbourne CBD stylist. ''With longer styles you can get away with it.'' Others said that budget-conscious women are requesting simpler styles that don't require as much maintenance.
But what about shorter hair that goes flop or (speaking from experience) curly wild? And can you really stretch colour? Isn't tell-tale silver around the temples a false economy, grey roots a giveaway? There are some alternatives to eking out those expensive appointments. If you're a capable type of person, there's home dyeing. But what about instead finding a cheaper stylist? My mum has just had her best colour yet and it was at a suburban salon that charged two-thirds the rate of her usual South Yarra haunt. It was well worth putting up with the instant coffee. A workmate paid $75 for what he described as a ''camp'' cut (no comment) at a top salon. The next cut was a cool cut (my words) from an outer suburban shopping strip salon. It cost him $30.
Who are the clever ones here? Is it time to turn our backs on expensive salon visits? Are cuts and clours overpriced? How do we make our hair-care dollars go further?
Source: http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/beauty/blogs/beauty-beat/are-hairdressers-too-expensive/20110216-1aw4c.html
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