Home Salon

I am nervous to estimate how much of my credit card debt was accrued in salons of various sorts over the years. This was an area where I never saved and always charged. It was a great treat to get my nails done and I didn't think twice of $200+ trips to the hair salon.

Those days are gone. Below are lists of salon-type services I will save up to pay for in a salon and those I can do at home for a minuscule fraction of the cost.

Spend

Hair Cut: Despite a friend's suggestion to check out Ebay for a vintage Flowbie, I must get my hair cut by a professional. If you have ever seen my hair you know why. Luckily I do not have to have it cut very frequently and I have successfully put away the money to pay for a salon cut next month which should get me through the end of the year.

Pedicure: Not every week, but a professional pedicure once or twice a year is worth the money. I live in New England, after boot season is over my feet need help before being seen in public in strappy little sandals. For simple grooming and polish I can certainly do that on my own.

Highlights: If you get highlights save the money and have a professional do them, you can buy at home highlight kits, but this is a process you should not attempt without training. Highlights are supposed to look natural and if they are uneven and crooked they will look anything but. I gave up highlights a couple years ago because of the cost, thanks to my curls I get enough play of light and shadow on my own.

Save

Manicure: Like a pedicure a once in a blue moon professional manicure is nice to get your nails in good shape. A good quality manicure set, however, is not super expensive and a manicure is a great thing to do while watching TV (instead of eating Twinkies). Bored with your polish choices? Invite some friends over and pool your resources.

Hair Color: There are a zillion high quality hair colors in drug stores nowadays and there is bound to be the perfect match for you. All over hair color is easy to apply and kind of fun. Remember to wear the rubber gloves they give you!

Eyebrows: It is faster and less painful to pay to have your eyebrows waxed, I totally agree and if you can afford it without putting it on a card, go for it. I try to keep up with the tweezing so it isn't an all day project, I fear Saturday night the bulk of my time will be dedicated to this though. I have never attempted DIY waxing.

Mini-Pedicure: While I leave the serious scraping to the professionals, I can certainly do the mini-pedi myself. A nice soak and scrub, pay my toenails some attention and slap on some pretty polish, it's a snap and makes me feel fierce watching reruns of America's Next Top Model.

Facial: I admit to neglecting my face and now that I am closer to 40 than 30 I have to do more to keep my skin in fine condition. I love a good face mask and have a couple of excellent ones in my beauty drawer.

Girls, face it, we are all vain in our own ways and while all of this may be your regimen or only one or two items pertain to you it is safe to say we could all save some money on beauty.

This Saturday evening I am turning my apartment into Salon Annmarie and dedicating some me time to soothing my own vanity needs for under $10.