You want to look like a million bucks, but you don’t want to spend a millions bucks on looking good. There are ways you can cut down on your monthly grooming budget. You don’t want to go into caveman mode and just not use any products, but you don’t want to go into hyper metrosexual mode with hundreds of little bottles with various uses either.
You can achieve the balance between the two extremes by following these handy tricks.
5 Ways You Can Save Money Every Month
1. Less Is More
No, your face won’t feel smoother if you put twice as much moisturizer on it. It is estimated that 90% of people put too much product on their bodies. Follow the instructions and the bottle will most likely last much longer.
For moisturizer and face wash you can put a pea-sized amount on your face. Overdoing the product will not only hurt your wallet, it could have a negative effect on your health as well. Your face has to absorb the product you put onto it and if you overdose, your poor skin has to work twice as hard to deal with the excess product.
Try stretching your hair between washes as well. You can go three to four days between washing sessions. This is actually good for your hair. Too much washing will strip your hair of its natural oils. Getting out of a daily washing routine might take a few weeks, but in the long run your hair will be very grateful and your wallet as well.
Make sure you also don’t use too much shampoo when you are washing. Depending on your hair length and type the amount will vary. When using shampoo, for fine hair use a cherry tomato sized dollop and for thicker or dirtier hair use a walnut size sized dollop. When using conditioner, for fine hair use a quarter size dollop and for thicker hair use a golf ball size dollop.
When you’re spraying on deodorant, spray under your clothes to make sure the smell last longer, otherwise you will be topping up too many times during the day.
2. Select Quality Products
When you’re trying to save money, it’s tempting to just grab the cheapest product off the shelf. The problem is, that cheap moisturizer might in the end cost you more because you have to use double the amount of product to achieve the same results as a higher quality product would.
The same principle applies to your other grooming products such as your shaver or shaving brush. Sure, you could save money once off by paying less, but how long will that cheap shaver last? Most of the time it is worth it to invest in high quality product to save more in the long run.
Switching to shaving soap instead of shaving cream could also make a big difference in your monthly budget. The soap lasts much longer, but make sure you buy the triple milled type not cold-pour or glycerin. The bonus of using soap is that your shaving brush will exfoliate your skin while you apply the soap, so you don’t have to buy an extra product for that.
3. Make Do and Don’t Spend
If you’re experiencing an especially tough month, don’t opt for the caveman style of not doing anything to take care of yourself. There are alternatives to store brought products and you probably have most of the ingredients already stocked in your house. Read this article for a few DIY recipe ideas.
There are other little tricks you can try as well. To stretch your shampoo, mix in a dollop of dishwashing liquid into the bottle. It will assist your shampoo to tackle the grease and oil build-up on your hair. Just make sure you use a scent-free one.
Advertisement
4. Don’t Judge A Bottle by Its Cover
Focus on checking the ingredients, not just the price. There are a few companies that decided to use more humble packaging to cut down on manufacturing cost, to offer the consumer high quality at an affordable price.
Don’t be a snob that gives the simplistic bottle one look and pulls up their nose. Rather make sure that you know your skin type and what type of product you need to use to take good care of it. You might not need that fancy extra exfoliating function in your face wash.
Also, if there’s a 250ml option and a 500ml option, check if you will be saving money by rather buying the bigger bottle. You can roughly work out how much you are paying per milliliter by simply dividing the price by the ml’s to compare the two bottles.
5. Try an all-in-one product
Sure, the metrosexual trend has made men more aware of the fact that they should be taking better care of themselves. But a man’s skin is different from a woman’s skin. This means that a man’s beauty regime is inevitably different than a woman’s. So you could get away with putting less product on your face and still looking handsome.
The great thing about this fact, is that you can buy combo products to save you money and time each day. Some products you can give a try:
American Crew Classic 3-in-1
Shampoo, conditioner and body wash in one. The product includes an invigorating cleansing agent that will stimulate your hair and scalp while you are rubbing it in. It will revitalize and restore your hair. The special formula will condition, detangle and add shine to your hair. It is also gentle enough to use on the rest of your body as a body wash. One bottle to take care of all your cleansing needs.
Jack Black Double Header
If you find the idea of using shampoo on your body weird, try this two in one product. The combo will hydrate and improve the overall health of your hair. It removes product and oil build-up to leave your hair soft and shiny. It was a Men’s Health Award Winner in 2015. Vegan-friendly and cruelty-free, alcohol-free, sulfate-free, paraben-free and colorant-free. It is also free of synthetic fragrances and has been tested by a dermatologist.
URSA MAJOR 4-in-1 Essential FACE TONIC
This formula will clean, brighten, soothe and hydrate your face. The cleanser function removes grime and oil, while the exfoliator brightens dull skin. This handy multi-purpose liquid tonic helps to soothe inflammation and irritation after shaving and it will accelerate healing if you’ve nicked yourself while shaving. The product also hydrates and firms your skin without leaving any residue behind. Plus, it smells refreshing with hints of lavender, fir and orange.
Think Smart, Save Money
Your grooming products budget doesn’t have to drill a hole in your pocket every month. If you take a little bit more time to plan your purchases, you can easily save each month. And if things are really tight, there’s always the DIY homemade products as a fall back.
Have you discovered any handy tricks to save money on your grooming products each month?
Advertisement
