17 Ways to Get Free and Cheap Haircuts

How to Get Cheap Haircuts Near You

Here are legit ways you can save money on your next haircut.

1. Free hair cuts from beauty & cosmetology schools

If you don’t know what a cosmetology school is, it’s basically a college where future barbers and salon artists go to learn how to cut hair.

Now you may be thinking that this is a recipe for disaster. Why would you let someone cut your hair if they are still learning?

There are several reasons this is actually a good, reliable way to get haircuts.

First, students are always under the supervision of a licensed instructor who watches to make sure they don’t make mistakes.

Second, students are required to practice on wigs for several hours in classrooms before they come near people’s real hair.

Most importantly, however, is that student salons have super low prices to even free haircuts for the public.

To find a beauty or Cosmetology school near you, Google phrases like, “Cosmetology school near me” or “beauty schools that give free haircuts“.

2. Happy Hour Trims

You might think the concept of a happy hour only applies to bars but it’s also being adopted by salons too!

You see, many salons experience days that are naturally slow, where clients don’t generally show up for cuts. To increase business, they offer happy hour deals which are cheaper hair cuts.

It will probably take some Googling to find deals near you but the savings are definitely worth it.

3. Volunteer as a Hair Model

Many people don’t realize this but when professional hairstylists are doing interviews, they often have to do a live hair-cutting demonstration to prove they both have the communication and hair skills needed to be a stylist.

This is where you come in. If you agree to be their model, you can get a free or discounted trim. Check out the site Salon Apprentice to get started. You’ll see many requests for volunteer hair models in the city nearest to you.

You can also use that site to get email updates in the future for people needing a model in a city near you.

4. Work-at-Home Stylists

Why not try a work-at-home stylist?

Many professional stylists have setups that work from either your home or theirs. This helps them save money from owning their own commercial salon, which means they can give you cheaper hair cuts!

This is great if you need to schedule cuts for your whole family, don’t have a car, or if you are in a time bind and can’t spend time traveling all the way to a salon.

The best way to find a work-at-home stylist is through craigslist, Facebook, local newspaper ads, or even just googling. In this day an age, many stylists can have social media for their home business. You might even get a coupon for following their page too!

5. The Local Barber

Men obviously know this is a viable option, but for women, you may not have considered checking out the local barbershop for a haircut.

Prices are generally cheaper at a barber and they know how to do almost any haircut. Why spend $50 for a pixie cut at a salon when you could just pay $25 at a barber and get a cut just as good, if not even better?

It’s also a great option if you have children. Most people will agree that kids don’t need super expensive salon haircuts anyway.

6. Coupons and Loyalty Programs

Many salons offer coupons regularly through companies like Valpak, the newspapers, and email. Coupons for Supercuts, Fantastic Sams, Regis Salons, and more can often be found with a simple search for “Salon Coupons” on Google.

You may also want to sign up at the salon websites to receive coupons and other special promotions via email or directly on your cell phone.

Daily deals sites like Groupon and LivingSocial also promote local and national salons periodically where the savings can be as high as 40 percent off specific services.

7. Coupons and Loyalty Programs

Searching for coupons is something we normally do for almost every purchase, so why not haircuts?

You can find coupons by:

• Checking newspaper ads
• Checking social media for your nearby salon
• Google searching
• Groupon
• Salon mobile apps

After you visit your salon for your haircut, try signing up for a loyalty program. The more often you go to get your cut, the more points you can earn. Usually, this means something like a free cut every ten visits or so.

8. Trade Skills

Have a friend who cuts hair? Try trading services with them for something you can do.

It’s a great way to save money and your friend will appreciate it too.

9. Cut Your Own Hair

This sounds scary and can be a recipe for disaster, but only if you aren’t prepared. Back in the day, cutting your own hair was a good way to make yourself look like you ran your hair through a lawnmower.

However, now we have sites like YouTube which can give you how-to videos created by actual professionals. Maybe you just need a trim on your bangs or a few inches cut off the ends.

Here are a few videos we recommend:

• How to cut your hair short and straight
• How to cut your own hair straight
• Men’s self haircut tutorial
• Trimming tips and tricks
• Cosmetology tutorial 
• Long Layered Haircut DIY

10. Work at A Salon

This is obviously not going to work for anyone but it’s worth mentioning. If you enjoy cutting hair, you can learn to do it yourself and get a part-time job at a salon. You’ll get discounts from the place you work at and make extra money.

11. Skip Shampoo Treatments

Many salons charge extra money for things like a hair wash. If you want to save money, wash your hair at home before the cut and skip that extra fee.

There are other charges they can add on too. Sometimes something as simple as adding a product at the end of a cut or even blow drying can cost more.

By the way, if you want to save money on shampoo, read our list of ways to get totally free shampoo samples.

12. Get a Low Maintenance Hairstyle

We mentioned earlier that some haircuts cost more money than others. If you have a short cut, high lights, or dyes, then your haircut with require more visits to the salon. That can add up, especially with all those extra costs involving hair dye.

Change your style to something low maintenance. You can find a cut like this online or you can simply ask your stylist when you get there.

13. Student Discounts 

Are you a college student?

When you go get a haircut, ask if they offer student discounts. Usually, many businesses offer discounts to students to increase business and reach out to the college population. For instance, Supercuts offers 10% to students in the UK.

Places that Give Cheap Haircuts

Other than these tips, it also helps to visit salons that are specifically meant to be cheap to go to.

Now, usually, with these places, you won’t be getting top quality stylists, but for your normal haircuts and styling, they do a great job.

Here are the highest-rated ones you can try.

14. Supercuts

Supercuts is a great company to go to, with over 2,000 locations around the US. They were named the fifth-best franchise in 2010 by Entrepreneur magazine.

If you sign up for their newsletter, you get $2 off your next cut.

• Locations: Find a Supercuts near you

15. Fantastic Sams

This company is a great place to get hair care and other services at a fraction of the price of other salons.

You can get services like:

• Haircut & Blowout
• Clipper Cut
• Kid’s Cut
• Kid’s Cut Blowout
• Permanent Color
• Color Retouch
• Grey Blending Color
• Color Correction
• Trend Color
• Area Highlights
• Full Highlights
• Blowout with Hot Tools
• Set and Curling Iron
• Special Occasion Styling
• And much more!

And the best part is that there is a Fantastic Sams on virtually every corner.

• Locations: Find a Fantastic Sams near you

16. Great Clips

This popular salon has over 2,800 locations across the country. If you need a simple hair cut with no frills or extra add ons, then this is the place for you.

Best of all, they accept walk-ins. No appointment needed!

• Locations: Find a Great Clips near you

17. Rudy’s Barbershop

If you are on the west coast, try checking out Rudy’s Barbershop. Typically they are found around Seattle, Los Angeles, and Portland.

Prices range from around $10 to $30, depending on the type of style you are going for and what services you want.

• Locations: Find a Rudy’s Barbershop

Final Thoughts

Hopefully after reading this article, you’ll have a good idea of how to get cheap or totally free hair cuts.

Are there any ways you’ve managed to save money and lower your salon bill? Is there a place you like to go to that offers deals on haircuts? Let us and our readers know about your experiences in the comments below.