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The Price of Pretty: Women Spend $50,000 on Hair Over Lifetime

by Deborah Dunham (Subscribe to Deborah Dunham's posts)
Posted Mar 29th 2010 at 2:00PM  
23 Comments
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Photo: Getty Images

Perhaps leaving the toilet seat up isn't that big of a deal after all. According to a 2010 Pantene survey of 2,000 women, we have better things to get mad at -- like our hair. In fact, during the last month, 54% of us got madder at our hair than our significant other.

Yes, we take our strands seriously. We spend countless hours primping in front of the mirror, getting made-over at the salon, meandering the beauty aisles and perusing magazines with hair envy.

But do you know just how much time and money that amounts to every year? How about over the course of your lifetime? Get ready for some hair-raising statistics:

According to a British survey conducted by Tresemme, the average woman spends a staggering $50,000 on her hair over her lifetime.

Each year, we spend an average of $160 on shampoos and conditioners, $120 for styling products and $520 for haircuts. And for those of us who color our locks, add in another $330 a year.

But money is not the only significant investment we make in our quest for beauty. The amount of time we spend is also astounding when you add it up.

We glamour girls spend an average of one hour and 53 minutes a week washing, blow drying and styling our hair. That may not sound like a lot, but by the time we reach the age of 65, we will have spent more than seven months of our lives on our hair!

Is all of this time and money worth the price of being pretty? Or, is Carly Simon still right 37 years later when she says we're "so vain"?

Meanwhile, check out the celebrity who spent nearly 20 hours on her tresses -- in one sitting!
Read All Comments
Filed under: Hair Care, Cuts & Style, Hair
Tags: cost of hair, CostOfHair, hair costs, haircare costs, HaircareCosts, HairCosts, how much we spend on our hair, HowMuchWeSpendOnOurHair, money spent on hair, MoneySpentOnHair
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READER COMMENTS

(23)Add A Comment

Erika, 3-29-2010, 6:05PM

2 stars vote downvote upReport
Erika

Too much money spent! I just found the best brush system for my hair $99.00 well spent for styling and giving volume to my hair!

Reply »

Cruella, 3-29-2010, 8:45PM

2 stars vote downvote upReport
Cruella

Just figured this out??? More money for...mascara, dry cleaning, tampons, birth control, hair cuts. It is all good, just figure it out early and work hard enough to get a great degree, and love your man and yourself

Reply »

Sue, 3-29-2010, 9:22PM

2 stars vote downvote upReport
Sue

Women on what planet? lol No one I knows spends that kind of money on their hair! They must include rich women who spend a fortune on anything and averaged it out.

Reply »

babymonsta, 3-29-2010, 10:44PM

2 stars vote downvote upReport
babymonsta

No not really. in reality woemn will and do spend that much thru their life on earth,if not more!!!!!!!! im a middle class woman and i know i've probably spent that much so far and im only 40. i think it depends on what you do and where you go!!!

»

stefanatalie, 3-30-2010, 5:36AM

2 stars vote downvote upReport
stefanatalie

I've found that the only people who have been able to properly style my hair charge $60 a haircut. I get them twice a year and I also am a minority in being a white woman with fine curly hair, so it's a bit easy to slip up and make my hair a terrible mess. I've found that whenever I go anywhere else, I need to go back to the expensive salon in order to have my hairstyle repaired to be presentable in public.

»

Sue, 3-29-2010, 9:25PM

2.5 stars vote downvote upReport
Sue

Reminds me of the article they had on here not long ago saying the average women eats a certain amount of pounds of lipstick in their lifetime when most women probably don't buy that much lipstick in their lifetime. Don't know where they come up with these numbers.

Reply »

Sedona Nightwhadow, 3-29-2010, 10:11PM

2 stars vote downvote upReport
Sedona Nightwhadow

harry 3-29-2010 @ 9:40PM
"Mexican women spend that much on junk food thats why they are so obese and ugly !" ~~~ Since Mexican women bothers you that much, why, and I do mean, why, are you paying attention to them? Oh wait... you're married to one, aren't you? Yeah, you are!

Reply »

wendall, 4-01-2010, 3:56PM

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wendall

Who is this Deborah Dunham and how old is she? You're so vain, not we're so vain! Ha Ha Ha and have you even heard the song, to relate it to women's hair care? Absolutely ridiculous LOL!

Reply »

Pia, 3-29-2010, 10:40PM

2.5 stars vote downvote upReport
Pia

Ha! What a joke! I spend maybe $100 a year on shampoo and conditioner and I cut my hair myself. I don't think I want to know the kind of girl who spends that much for vanity. Thankfully my hair looks fine just being air-dried. I don't own a blow dryer or an iron. Be happy with the hair type you have, keep it healthy, and it will look good without having to spend so much!

Reply »

Olivia, 3-30-2010, 1:20AM

2.5 stars vote downvote upReport
Olivia

I agree Pia! I use Herbal Essence shampoo and conditioner for about a $1.59 each. Never, never use a hair dryer. Cut my own hair and I constantly get compliments about how healthy and shiny my hair looks. It's amazing how advertizing can get these fools to spend all that money!

»

babymonsta, 3-29-2010, 10:45PM

2 stars vote downvote upReport
babymonsta

oops ! i meant women...Lol

Reply »

billybob, 3-29-2010, 11:30PM

2 stars vote downvote upReport
billybob

Spit and shine works every time.

Reply »

llevinsky, 3-29-2010, 11:35PM

2 stars vote downvote upReport
llevinsky

i figured i have bought over 16000 tampons in my lifetime of periods so far... wonder what that adds up to!!!!!

Reply »

Lu, 3-29-2010, 11:41PM

2 stars vote downvote upReport
Lu

Most women look like 50K isn't enough!

Reply »

Mike, 3-30-2010, 12:07AM

2 stars vote downvote upReport
Mike

If women spend that much on their hair, then how much do they spend on shoes?

Reply »

undrgrndgirl, 3-30-2010, 1:35AM

2 stars vote downvote upReport
undrgrndgirl

i sure haven't or won't spend that kind of money on my hair...i keep it very short (think annie lennox) i get it cut about every 8 - 10 weeks at no more than $20.00 a cut...with hair that short i use very little shampoo, i detest conditioner and don't need to use "products"...

Reply »

sjoyce, 3-30-2010, 6:50AM

2 stars vote downvote upReport
sjoyce

Wonder how much time they spend in someones back pocket...LOL!!!

Reply »

sabrina19585, 3-30-2010, 6:40AM

2 stars vote downvote upReport
sabrina19585

Wait. There's something very wrong with the math here. And if this one sentence is any reflection of the accuracy of their stats, I'd say the entire article is BS. The article states, "We glamour girls spend an average of one hour and 53 minutes a week washing, blow drying and styling our hair." Only ONE hour and 53 minutes A WEEK? It takes me AT LEAST an hour A DAY to do my hair! I'm talking washing, conditioning, drying and styling. I have EXTREMELY thick, long, wavy hair that takes four hours to air dry, but blowing it out cuts that time in half. Perhaps people with my kind of hair are an exception . . . and I realize not everyone washes their hair every day . . . but I've got to say, I don't know a single woman who spends less than a half hour a day on her hair routine. I admit I'm mathematically challenged and haven't done algebra in a VERY long time, but will someone please do the math. An hour and 53 minutes divided by seven days (or 24x7 hours) equals how many minutes/day?

Reply »

cecile, 4-01-2010, 3:50PM

2 stars vote downvote upReport
cecile

Good catch. Hahaha fashion journalism at it finest. Yea, I don't think this article was proof read by anyone.

»

Cecile, 4-01-2010, 3:48PM

2 stars vote downvote upReport
Cecile

$520 for hair cuts each year!!! That's insane. These people must be really really rich. My friends and I already think that $50 for a haircut once or twice a year is already expensive. And we are all middle or upper middle class. I rather pay for a vacation than spend that much money on my hair

Reply »

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