We all like to look our best, but few would think that the average Briton spends £459 a year in hair salons. According to Totally Money, a consumer website, Coventry is the UK’s vainest city, where residents spend the most on hairdressing, followed by Glasgow, while Aberdeen had the lowest haircare costs.
Luckily, there are cheap ways of maintaining a shiny barnet. Many salons offer free or discounted haircuts if you are willing to be a guinea pig for a trainee.
Don’t worry, they will be supervised by a senior stylist. Vidal Sassoon Academy in west London offers women’s classic cuts for as little as £5, and men’s cuts for £3. Considering that the price of a Vidal Sasson haircut usually starts at £75, trying a trainee could save you a hefty sum.
The Toni & Guy Academy in Tottenham Court Road offers haircuts with a trainee from £5, but the company advises you to be “open to having a fashion-inspired look”.
Why stop at a haircut when you can have a full makeover on a budget. Tints at the Toni & Guy Academy cost from £20, add highlights for an extra £15, or have balayage (where the colour is graduated from root to tip) for £25. Be warned: students take a lot longer to cut and colour hair than a fully trained hairdresser. Toni & Guy advises allowing three hours for a cut and at least four hours for a cut and colour.
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If you would prefer a fully qualified stylist, try Groupon, the discount website that has deals of up to 70 per cent off haircuts and treatments. Get yourself on its mailing list and you will be alerted when a hairdresser in your area is offering a cheap cut, and you get 15 per cent off your first booking. A wash, cut and blow dry with an Olaplex conditioning treatment at Divaz Salon in Bristol, for example, will only cost you £19, reduced from £47. Another cost-saving site you could investigate is Treatwell.com, which collates special offers from salons in ten UK cities. Offers include a wash, cut and blow dry from Fusion Hair & Beauty Salon in Birmingham for £16.80, reduced from £24.