We are all looking for ways to cut costs in our lives. We’ve shut off our cable, canceled our gym membership, started making more meals at home, started cutting coupons and we even started shopping at consignment stores. But we’re still looking for more ways to lower our spending.

Many of us will wait as long as we can to try to cut costs on our haircuts. How we present ourselves to the world is important to us. And we’re afraid of what we might get at a “discount” hair salon. But, it’s finally come to the point where it’s inevitable: we need to find ways to save money on our haircuts.

Img: haircut by http://en.wikipedia.org/ – source

Luckily, there are still ways to get high quality haircuts, but without spending the large bucks we’re used to spending to get the quality we’re looking for.

Here are 5 ways to save money on your haircut:

1. Have it done at a school.

Hair schools are great places to get inexpensive but great haircuts. Hair school students are studying to become professional hair stylists. They take their learning and their opportunities for experience very seriously. Many times you can get an even better haircut from a hair student because of how meticulous they are in this stage in their learning. On top of that, their instructors, or professional hair stylists, will come around and check their work when they are done; fixing anything that may need fixing. So you get their expertise, but at a fraction of the cost of going to a salon.

2. Use an apprentice.

Many salons, even high end salons, will employ apprentices to do basic haircuts and colors. These apprentices are less experienced hair stylists that are trying to work their way up in the salon industry. But they still had to go through an audition process and prove their skills before being allowed to work there (a salon owner isn’t going to risk their entire reputation and salon on one inexperienced stylist!). So you can still have your hair done at a very high end salon, but for up to 50% less than you would pay one of the other stylists in that same salon.

3. Find a stylist that works out of their home.

Stylists that work in salons are usually having to pay “booth rent” to the salon owner, or rent for the space they are using in a salon. Because of this, they are forced to charge more for their haircuts to help cover these costs. The same thing goes for salons that employ hair stylists at an hourly wage: those salon owners have to bump up their prices to cover their employee costs, as well as rent, utility costs, etc. So if you can find a stylist that works out of their home, you can usually receive much lower prices on your cuts and colors, because they don’t have near as high of an overhead as those working in salons.

4. Find a coupon.

If there is a specific stylist or salon that you can’t imagine going without, there are still ways to save money on the salon or stylist that you want. You can watch the paper or mailers for coupons, or watch out for commercials advertising specials. You can also call the salon or stylist and ask if they have any specials coming up. Also don’t be afraid to ask your stylist if they are willing to offer you a punch card (half of a haircut after every ten haircuts or something), or a referral program (half off a haircut for every new client you refer to them).

5. Learn to do it yourself.

Now of course this one I wouldn’t recommend to most people. You will be greatly disappointed with just one bad hack job. But if you feel that you have the ability to cut your own hair, especially if you keep a pretty basic look, then of course this one will save you the most money because it doesn’t cost you anything at all (except the price for a good pair of scissors).

About the author: Nicole is a writer for the beauty industry. She recommends http://www.lurossacademy.com/ for a great beauty school.

Other hair style might you like: Golden brown hair or Light brown hair