Save on hair-care costs without scrimping on style

If you’re watching your dollars during these rough economic times but don’t want to give up salon trips, there are ways to save money while keeping your hair in good shape. Here are some tips from stylist Philip Pelusi.

• When you get your hair color done, stay within two or three shades of your natural color. This will help extend your color as your roots will be less noticeable as your hair grows out.

• Frame the face with a few accent lights instead of all-over hair painting. Less color means less maintenance.

• Blend color and maintain its tone with a color-boosting enhancement treatment. This is done with natural plant pigments that stain hair strands to enhance or tone down a color. This costs considerably less than a hair-color service and conditioning.

• Don’t do your color at home. Doing so can waste rather than save money. Statistics have shown that those who color at home often end up with a hair-color mistake. Then they go to a salon for a corrective color service, which often ranges from $200 to $300.

• Try hair products designed to work together as an at-home, anti-fade program.

• Hairstyles that are not too short can have extended life, sometimes six to eight weeks before a new cut is needed and often two more weeks for lengths past the shoulder. On the contrary, shorter styles such as pixies need to be clipped more frequently, typically every three to four weeks.

• Care for hair with an appropriate product regimen. The better the quality of the hair, the better the ends will look and require less-frequent trims.

If you have color-treated hair, celebrity hairstylist Wendy Iles offers these money-saving tips:

•For your next color treatment, try highlighting and lowlighting techniques instead of doing a full single-process treatment that can grow out fairly quickly. Roots won’t show up as fast, giving you a few extra weeks or even months between color visits.

•Choose a more natural color closer to your own so that regrowth won’t be so obvious and hair will be easier to maintain.

•To refresh or add depth to existing color between salon visits, brunettes and redheads can use a monthly color mousse that is applied for 15 minutes and then rinsed off.

•For a polished look without the price, try a pour-through, leave-on toner or glaze after every shampoo. They’re good for any hair color and can counteract brassiness in hair that’s blond, pale mauve or blue.

•Touch up roots with a lipstick-type product that you simply roll on small areas of gray, like the temple area or a part line. The product washes out after each shampoo. For brunettes, any waterproof mascara will do the job.

•For big savings, switch to coloring your hair at home. A color close to your natural shade usually provides the best results. Try going one shade lighter for softer results.

•Using a flatiron to straighten hair immediately fades brunette and redhead color.

•When purchasing over-the-counter hair color, remember that cool ash will counteract reddish tones. White and blond hair is porous, so using an ash shade may produce a result closer to an unwanted greenish tone.

•The words “gold,” “warm” and “honey” on the package mean you’ll end up with yellow and orange undertones. Stay with neutral tones such as “natural” brown and “natural” blond for the best gray coverage.