Frugal Life Hack: DIY Personal Grooming

Frugal Hack: Do your own Grooming. All of it…every last unwanted hair and unruly nail. I promise you will save the big bucks. This is not to say that treating yourself every once in a while is not allowed. We do not believe in the total scarcity mindset. Yet, it was a HUGE expense (more for myself) that we cut back on.

To give you an idea of how much I used to spend on our grooming each month I have created an embarrassing list and ghastly total. Also, this is the monthly cost- I did not have a Mani/Pedi every month so I caclcuated for this. Did I mention this is embarrassing? Ok. You get it.

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Previous Monthly Grooming Costs:

• HerFI Hair cut and color: $125 (Once every 8 weeks for $250 total)
• HisFI Haircut $20
• HerFI Bikini, Brows, Pits Wax- $112
• Mani/Pedi – $30
• Fancy Shampoo- $20
• HisFI Shaving Razors- $30
• HerFI Shaving Razors- $10

Monthly Total: $347

Yearly Total: $4,164

This is an insane amount of money and -granted- mostly spent by yours truly. This does not even count the hoards of beauty products I used to purchase. It really has been a mixture of healing, confrontation and re-evaluation in order to get here. I think it is important to mention that often this amount of money is spent in order to achieve an ideal instilled in young girls from the day they are born. More on this from The Fairer Cents here in their conversations on the Double Standard of Beauty.

What we Cut and Snipped

That said, during what we like to call the “Transition Phase” where we started cutting expenses and having a major personal growth spurt this was an area that we made some serious changes.

First, we started with the hair. I changed stylists. This was really challenging for me, but I felt it was time. My stylist was EXCELLENT at doing bright colors which was perfect when I had blue hair. My hair stayed healthy and and looking good even with the harsh treatment. I decided for cost’s sake, I needed to head back towards a more natural color and find a stylist who was closer and more affordable.

I found my current stylist who is only 5 minutes from my work and charges much less. Granted I do a simple highlight and trim only every 12 weeks or so.

HisFI asked me to brave learning how to cut his hair. At first I was resistant, I did NOT want to ruin his hair and I had never cut human hair. I did groom a lot of dogs when I used to show professionally, so maybe I had an edge. We went to Ross and $30 on a Wahl Clipper set and never looked back. His hair cuts are free and a sweet way for me to care for him.

Second big change was the waxing. If this is TMI for you then skip it- and please refrain from telling me what to do with my body hair. Previously, I would get my armpits waxed weekly, brows and Brazilian done monthly. This was expensive and probably a little over the top since I do not have unruly or fast growing hair.

I decided I would learn how to wax myself and save on that expense. Yup.

If I thought learning to cut HisFI’s hair was scary- learning to wax myself- especially “down there” was even more terrifying. I first asked my waxer for some tips and was open and honest with her before leaving. Ugh! It was a hard decision. I also decided I was over the Brazilian and now would learn the quick, clean and proficient bikini wax which seemed more approachable for me to do.

My waxing kit was on Amazon and it has yet to fail me. This combined with the tips from my waxer and I was ready to roll. If any of you would like the tips etc- let me know. I have gotten it down to a science and now even bring the little set up over to my friends and Aunts to wax…their brows- we do have some boundaries.

While I prefer waxing to shaving and always have this is why my razor expense was $10. I only have to shave my legs every two weeks as my leg hair is fine and thin.

HisFI on the other hand has quickly growing facial hair that is thick and coarse- thus he was going through a 12 pack of razors (at least) every month costing $30 minimum. HisFI found the ultimate solution by using a safety razor shaver. He made a one time purchase of a brush and razor head that cost approximately $45. From this point on he only needed to buy Proraso Shaving Cream for $10 (Lasts for year or so) and the Safety Blades which come in a 100ct for $10. He goes thru a blade once every 2 weeks- meaning the blades last him about 4 years.

Lastly, it was time to cut out the mani/pedis and fancy shampoo all together. Instead I decided to buy two bottles of my favorite polish from 100% Pure and learn how to make my own hair masks to compensate for my luxury hair products. I still purchase relatively “spendy” shampoo that is vegan, cruelty free and has no harsh sulfates.

Current Month Grooming Costs:

While some of the switch over required we purchase some items like the waxing kit, shaver and clippers- we have been doing this now for over a year and it has paid itself off- some even in one use.

Here is what we now spend on grooming each month and a not so ghastly total. Plus, we still think we look hot and that is what counts.

• HerFI Haircut and color- $25-37 (Done once every 12 weeks)
• HisFI Haircut – $0
• HerFI Waxing- $4 (wax and strips)
• HerFI Mani/Pedi-$5 (color if I choose to buy one every 3 months)
• Shampoo and Homemade Hair Masks- $7
• HisFI Shaving Razors/Cream- Basically Free- ok $0.60
• HerFI Shaving Razor- $6

Monthly Total Now: $59.60

Yearly Total Now: $715.00

The beauty industry is definitely a racket and I talk a bit more about this here if you are interested. Whatever your grooming habits, we found that cutting these back and learning to do it ourselves was a great way to save. You never know- maybe I can cut it all back….Honestly, I do not know if there will ever be a day when I want HisFI to cut my hair and certainly not color it, but you never know. I have started learning not to say never since this FI journey.