The High Cost of Hair

 So now I have hair - and now I have to maintain it.  In my previous posts, I lamented about my new Alopecia hair and how unnatural the new hair is - very strange color of charcoal and very coarse texture.  I know - whine whine whine - at least I have hair right?  Well, yes and no.

When my hair grew back, the first thing I noticed is that I didn’t have any shampoo - a staple in most homes.  I tried using my husband’s dandruff shampoo.  It worked fine at first, but as my hair grew, it started to dry my hair, which already lacked shine and luster.  I’ve grown accustomed to getting compliments galore on my silk beaubeaus, so I’m adjusting to compliment-free days.  Instead, I now feel as though the new stares say - “Honey, do you need the name of a hairdresser?”

So I decided to visit a salon that I used to frequent and see what improvements I could make.  I am certainly not up to speed on 2011 hairstyles, products or trends.  I sat down for what I thought would be a quick fix.  She was fussing about and suggesting this, that and the other thing - and I just went along with it…what do I know… hair is a recent phenomenon to me.  I expected to be there for an hour - I only have 1 1/2 inches of hair - how long can it take?  Well, 3 hours later and (gulp, choke, sputter) some $200.00 later, I have new color and 1/4 inch cut off my hair.  I feel like Repunzel who just woke up from century long sleep and is trying to adjust to the new economic world.  Oh, and did I mention that did not include all the shampoos, gels and sprays?

So I did a quick calculation in my head of the money I have saved over the last 11 years without hair (with today’s prices).  If women get their “roots” done every 6-8 weeks and a hair cut on the same time schedule - I have saved $19,066.66 by having Alopecia.  To be fair, you can subtract the price I’ve paid for beautiful scarves to cover my head - approximately $3000 - and maybe throw in a wig or two or three for $6,000 and I still have a net savings of $7066.66.  If you want to add to that the price of shampoos, gels, thickeners, sprays and hair ornaments, my savings jump to over $10,000.00.  That does not include time spent at the salon, travel time to get there, the extra time each day to maintain my hair and the extreme sticker shock of today’s prices.

Yup - Alopecia- the perfect disease for difficult economic times.

Susan Beausang, President, 4Women.com