Weekly blowouts are the most expensive habit on this site. At a typical $50 service with a 20% tip, that's $60 a visit, 52 times a year, about $3,120 annually, before any add-ons.
What a year really costs
At a budget $30 blow-dry bar with tip you're still near $1,870 a year; at a premium $90 salon you're well past $5,600. Most weekly regulars land somewhere around $2,000–$3,500, a recurring cost that rivals a vacation.
How to cut it
A one-time at-home tool is the biggest lever. A $199 Shark FlexStyle or a $499 Dyson Airwrap pays for itself in weeks at a weekly habit, and after that every blowout costs only a few dollars of electricity and product. Even keeping two salon visits a month and doing the rest at home can halve your annual spend.
A year of weekly blowouts by salon tier
- Budget blow-dry bar ($30 + tip): about $1,870 a year
- Mid-range salon ($50 + tip): about $3,120 a year
- Premium salon ($90 + tip): about $5,600 a year
The gap between tiers is bigger than most people expect. Switching from a premium salon to a blow-dry bar for routine weeks saves more than $3,000 a year on its own, before you factor in any at-home styling.
Three ways to bring it down
- Buy the tool. A one-time styler pays for itself in weeks at this cadence, then costs only pennies of electricity per blowout.
- Split the week. Keep the salon for the days that matter and do the rest at home to roughly halve the bill without giving up the professional finish entirely.
- Stretch each style. A silk pillowcase, dry shampoo and a loose pin-up can turn one blowout into 3–4 good-hair days, cutting how many you pay for.