Best Affordable Salon Tools to DIY Beauty at Home

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Nothing feels quite as good as walking out of a salon with your hair done, makeup on point, and hands and feet looking polished and beautiful. But, paying the price for beauty is pretty hefty.

In fact, just getting a basic haircut these days can add up if you have a few people in your family that need one at the same time.

Salon Visits are Expensive

It’s hard for me to justify paying so much for a salon trip. Ever since I was a teenager, I’ve always wanted to learn the basics of salon services so I can DIY them at home and save money.

I understand that you may not want to DIY your beauty regimen all the time. But, it’s nice to know how in case you’re strapped for cash, but still want to look polished.

Everytime I do a DIY beauty service at home, I add up the cost that I saved. I don’t know if it’s the frugal person in me or if it’s just super exciting knowing how much I could save by doing it myself.

Here are some of my DIY Beauty tasks I do at home

Blowout/straighten my curly hair

Full pedicure with soak

Layer cut for my hair

Pluck my own eyebrows

Gel or a regular manicure at home

Facials

Hair masks

And I’m still learning all the time. It’s a fun pastime of mine ever since I was in highschool, before “DIY” was even a thing, haha.

And while I know that not all of these things are easily done at home (cutting your own hair can be a challenge), there are so many tutorials and videos out there that have made it a little easier to practice.

But, you need to have good tools to make it look and feel professional, not to mention make it easier on yourself to do the task.

So, there is a little bit of an up front investment, but these tools have lasted me for years! Some of these tools I’ve had for more than 15 years and they still work perfectly.

In an effort to help you navigate the thousands of available tools out there, here are some that I know work really well and are cost less than just one salon trip.

For my hair:

Blow Dryer: HOT TOOLS 1023 Salon Turbo Ionic Dryer

I’ve had this blow dryer for about 5 years now and it’s the best one I’ve ever used. It’s easy to hold, has cool, warm and hot settings for every purpose and is powerful enough to get my curly hair beautifully straight.

When I first got this dryer, I wanted something that was going to be easy and could straighten my hair without me having to use another tool.

This is it. It’s powerful and makes me feel like I’m getting a blow out from the salon, without having to fork up $60.
Flat Iron: Salon Creations brand

I bought a flat iron from Sally’s beauty supply, but it seems it’s not on the market anymore (entire sad face here).

It’s too bad, because it’s a great product. I tried to find it on Amazon for you, but it’s not there either.

The point is that I bought this flat iron for less than $40 and it has done the job really well and has lasted for more than 10 years! I only bought it because I wanted something cheap that could do the job.

It doesn’t have to be expensive.

You don’t need to purchase a $200 flat iron to get the job done. The standards of flat irons these days are high, so you can find a decent one that will last and will be super affordable.

I suggest buying it from your local beauty supply store to try it out. That way, you can return it if it doesn’t work well.

That was my plan for this iron, I would return it if it didn’t straighten very well (which would be expected from a $35 iron). But to my surprise, it exceeded my expectations, haha.

This was such a bargain! Not only has it held up, it gets hot enough to straighten my hair with ease. I even compared it to my mom’s CHI straightener and, believe it or not, mine was so much easier, faster and straightened my curly hair better.

I don’t feel like I have to press down on my hair very hard to get my hair straight, so it saves my hand from cramping (if you have curly hair, you understand my struggle, haha).  

Curling Iron: Gold ‘N Hot GH9207

This is the oldest hair tool I have in my repertoire. I got this bad boy on my 16th birthday from my aunt. I’m 37 now, and it gets just as hot as before and does a great job of curling my hair.

The only thing my flat iron is missing is the little stand that keeps it from touching the surface it’s on, but I just lay it on a folded towel and it’s never burned a surface of mine so far.

Unfortunately, they no longer make my exact model, but I found one for you that is practically the same, but has more options. Mine just has an on and off switch… I told you….it’s ancient, haha.

Cutting Scissors

I recently (a couple of years ago) bought a pair of cutting shears when I wanted to start cutting my daughters’ bangs and trims for practice. These cost about $10 and do the job well.

Some cutting shears can cost $50-$100, but I’m not trying to be a professional, I just needed something that was decent and could get the job done. These work fine for the money.

Below, is my mom’s before and after of the DIY haircut I did for her.

I layered my mom’s hair for the first time a month ago and it turned out much better than I expected. It looked professionally done and she absolutely loved it!

Before: Mom’s hair
layered haircut DIY
After: Mom’s DIY Layered haircut (I colored it for her too)

My mom wanted a layered short cut. These scissors made it easy! That, and watching a bunch of tutorials, haha.

My DIY Manicure at Home

In a couple of weeks, I’ll share with you my DIY manicure at home. It’s super easy and lasts about a week despite cleaning and cooking. The bonus is that my nails look like they have gel polish, because the gelous nail base makes them hard and shiny.

Love your face.

For my face, my absolute favorite product is Beauty Water. It seems expensive, but I’ve had my bottle for more than 2 years and it still has about 40% left. I use it almost everyday and it has lasted me forever.  

My face feels so fresh and clean and it takes away any residue my soap left behind. I love that it also gently scrubs away dead skin without it being harsh because it just feels like water on my skin.

Carve out time for self care.

With our busy schedules and always catering to our kids and husbands and homes, moms like us need some self care too. Taking a little bit of time to pamper yourself, makes a big difference in how you feel.

Beauty is universal, everyone wants to feel beautiful, but it doesn’t have to cost you an expensive trip to the salon and waiting for hours to be serviced.

It just takes some practice and you’ll be pampering yourself at home in no time.

I have to share with you:

My girls have been watching me pamper myself at home and now they have their own beauty routines! My oldest is 17 and she has a skincare routine every single day. She’s learned what works and doesn’t work for her face (my routine at 17 was just wash my face, haha).

My 12 year old likes to take care of her nails. She grooms them so they grow healthy and polishes them regularly. She still colors outside of the lines, but I love that she practices all the time and she gets better with each application.

I understand that pampering yourself seems like a chore sometimes. Not to mention, it is time consuming. But, taking just an hour a week to do something for yourself can pay off in feeling happier.

That self care can go a long way in your self esteem. It’s one of my favorite pastimes and now my kids and I have “spa days” where we spend time together beautifying ourselves and getting pampered.

It’s a lot of fun and not a lot of money.

All of the tools I mentioned have an initial cost, but don’t need to be purchased all at once. I purchased them gradually as I needed them and they’ve lasted a long time (if you take care of them). You don’t need to go out and buy a bunch of tools every year or spend hundreds in a salon to look and feel fabulous. You just need some DIY TLC at home with a few decent tools to help you get your beauty on.

I’d love to know what your favorite beauty tool is and how long you’ve had it. Comment below!

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One Response

  1. Congratulations on being able to do a decent haircut your first time. Having the proper tools are a must as you detailed. We bought good Wahl clippers to do my boys’ haircuts, plus the cape and neckstrips. My husband already had a very good quality pair of Japanese hair shears that he bought on sale at half price for about $80 at a cutlery shop as they were a left handed model. He does my hair every couple months to keep my ends neatly trimmed and shaped. Boys get theirs monthly. Great results after each one and it saves us hundreds a year.

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