Let’s be honest, hair can get expensive. Oftentimes the most covetous looks from celebs and magazines are the types of styles that can take a full day of treatments and hundreds of dollars to accomplish. Let’s be honest, again. We are in a recession. That doesn’t mean that you can’t treat yourself and your tresses to a beautiful, salon look and still afford to pay the rent. I have pulled together a few very on trend and stylish looks that we have been seeing a lot of in the salon lately, that don’t skimp on impact but won’t empty your bank account either.

Balayage is a trend that has been happening for a few years now. The effortless look of a full head, hand painted balayage is reminiscent of summers spent with your toes in the sand, but the look of a perfectly imperfect highlight can be quite costly. Not so for these brunette styles. By pairing a layered razor cut with a few strategically placed caramel highlights to maximize the dimension of their natural chocolate tones, each of these women has achieved a cool and custom look, for a fraction of the price of a full head balayage. Another cost effective benefit to this stylish look, is that a certain level of growth can occur between appointments. While some hair color styles require maintenance every 4-6 weeks, this look would only need a touch every 10-12 weeks. If this is the look for you, come on in and ask your stylist for a partial balayage and a razor cut with layers.

Picture this, around this time last year you walk into the salon and ask your stylist for the platinum look you have been contemplating for months. You know where this story goes, that’s right, quarantine (and the many months of regrowth that go along with it). One inexpensive way to turn a rooty and neglected head of hair into a stylish and bold one of a kind style, is to take advantage of your bleached out ends or grown out highlights. Because you have the advantage of hair that has already been stripped with bleach, adding a bright fantasy color (or more than one if your are really feeling adventurous) can be both quick and definitely won’t break the bank. At Wayward, we have seen many clients ready for a bolder look (check out my preovious post on Fu** It Hair) and use both Pulp Riot and Aveda hair color to accomplish vibrant styles that won’t fade overnight. All you need to complete the look is an edgy haircut to accentuate the color placement, and you go from Covid hair to bright and beautiful without breaking the bank.

One of the most impactful changes you can make to your hair, and incidentally also one of the most inexpensive, is a single process color change. But we’re not talking about your mother’s Clairol from the drug store here. Single process isn’t a dirty word. A solid application of a bold color can certainly make an impact, and when an expert stylist helps you choose and formulate a color that not only matches your style, but is unique to you and complements your skin tone the results can be amazing. May I recommend the perfect ginger hue to kick off 2021.

So, the moral of the story is as follows: even if you are on a budget, great hair is within reach.