Hair can be a big money suck, especially if you have long or sensitive tresses.

I have fairly long hair, and I’m blonde. Naturally. Now, if you’re not blonde, you may not know what naturally blonde hair entails. In short, the plight of naturally blonde hair is as follows:

• Fine
• Thin
• Sensitive
• Easily broken
• Full of static

In addition to these lovely qualities, blonde hair tends to pick up color in everything (chlorine turns it green, sun bleaches it out) and likes to never let the color go.

That being said, a head of blonde hair, if well taken care of, can look great. And is really soft.

I know it’s not just blonde hair that is picky, but regardless of your hair type, you can save money by doing the following things.

Don’t Wash It Every Day

At the hair dresser’s one day, my stylist frowned while sectioning off my hair for a cut. “Do you wash your hair every day?”. “Of course!” I quickly replied, wondering why she was asking, lest she thought my hair looked dirty.

She spun my chair around and scolded me for doing so. Not only does the chlorine in the water mess with my hair, washing hair every day strips the hair of natural oils needed for nutrients on your scalp.

I’ve since washed my hair every second day, which I found saves me a surprising amount of money on shampoo and conditioner, as you are using half as much in a month.

This also saves money on treatments, as it’s less damaging.

Brush with Care

With long hair, the way that you comb it is particularly important in taking care of it and saving cash.

If you have long hair, start from the bottom and comb the tangles while working your way up. Don’t comb tangles out when your hair is sopping wet; very wet hair is weakened and susceptible to damage.

If the comb gets caught in a nasty snare of knots, be gentle! Pulling the comb through will break and split your hair, which will require you to have trims more often.

I find my hair easiest to deal with when it’s damp. Don’t towel try your hair; pat it dry with the towel. The friction against the hair folicle can also cause splitting, which requires you to go for trims more often.

Depending on your hair, going for two less trims per year can save quite a bit of money.

Cheap Out on Product

My hair stylist will kill me for saying this, but I don’t think you need to buy expensive shampoo and conditioner. I typically cheap out on the shampoo, and use a better quality conditioner. The purpose of shampoo is to clean your hair, and it will be rinsed out completely by the time you finish washing it anyway.

Conditioner, on the other hand, is meant to restore some of your hairs flexibility and strength, nourish it with vitamins and minerals, and moisturize it. If you splurge on one or the other, my conviction is that conditioner is the one to splurge on.

Another tip to save money on product is to use half the amount but leave it in longer. For conditioner and hair treatment, this works great.

Cut it Yourself

Proceed with caution. I’m certainly not brave enough to do this, but I know some women who are.

I would recommend looking up some YouTube tutorials that explain how to do this, and try to find a tutorial that deals with your hair type. Every head of hair is different, so it’s important to tailor it to your hair.

If you trim your hair yourself in between hair cuts, it can save money and time. It’s less noticeable if you have thick or long hair. Even less so if you have curly hair. I have a friend with curly hair that can go for a year without a cut and it looks just fine. If she trims it herself, you’d never know it wasn’t a professional that did it.

If you have the right tools, which may require a small upfront investment, and some patience, trimming your own hair can be a viable solution to saving money on hair care.

How do you save money on hair care?