Justifying the cost of frequent haircuts, coloring, brow shaping and other expensive beauty treatments is difficult these days. Here are some simple ways to save money and look gorgeous longer by getting more mileage out of your beauty treatments.
Haircut
Even though it’s pricier, get your initial cut from an experienced stylist rather than a novice. A precise cut looks better longer, and you’ll be happier with the results as they grow out. Then, try these tips to make your look last:
- Keep ends hydrated and looking newly trimmed with a daily leave-in conditioner. Once a week, work in a small amount of shine-enhancing oil to smooth them even further.
- Use an at-home glossing treatment to help seal strands and add shine. Split ends start to appear about five or six weeks post-cut, and this helps keep them smoothed down until your next cut.
- Trim your bangs yourself. Smooth down dry hair with a comb. Then, hold scissors so that the tips point up at a slight angle and trim a bit at a time. Don’t snip straight across, which can leave you with shorter bangs than you wanted.
Hair color
Rich, lustrous color makes hair look healthy, thick. and shiny. The right shade can even brighten your face. Sadly, within a month, your new hue will start to fade. Here’s how to stave off the fading as long as possible:
- Use shampoos and conditioners formulated for color-treated hair. They contain gentle cleansing agents that won’t strip color from your strands.
- Try a color-depositing shampoo once or twice a week, which leaves behind a layer of semi-permanent pigment for a subtle color boost.
- Apply temporary color with a touch-up wand when roots start to show. Try Avon Color Protection Grey Root Touch-up ($8) for no-mess root coverage.
Spa facial
Monthly facials are ideal but not always feasible. To maintain the look of skin that just came from the spa, tweak your skin-care routine to maintain radiance for up to eight weeks:
- Use a toner that contains salicylic acid every night after cleansing. This sloughs off pore-clogging dead skin cells.
- Apply a clay-based mask to help draw out dirt and other impurities once or twice a week. This helps keep blemishes at bay.
- Use a mild at-home peel once or twice a month to keep skin smooth. Look for one that contains alpha hydroxy acids, which exfoliate skin gently. Try Juice Beauty Green Apple Peel Full Strength ($45), which brightens and revitalizes your complexion.
Professional brow shaping
Your brows take about four weeks to grow back in after a professional shaping. If you can’t head back for a touch-up, you can preserve the shape yourself:
- Pluck wayward strands between brows and under the arches as they grow in, using angled tweezers for accuracy.
- Stand close to a mirror when plucking errant hairs, but then step back to check your progress so you don’t over-tweeze.
- Fill in your brows with pencil and set them with brow gel. This makes them look as if they’ve just been professionally waxed or tweezed.
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