Quality vs. Price in Beauty Products

[Ecrivaine32]

I've only recently begun to try to be more frugal in my life.

My question is: "How do you know when you should pay more for a beauty product to get the quality you seek vs. when you can pay an average or lower price?" -- i.e. when there is no difference between a consumer-level product and the professional one...

Please advise how you balance good quality beauty product purchases and being frugal as much as possible.

I've cut down on dining out, which was my second biggest expense each month after rent. That has been an immediate and amazing change. For the first time in my life, I'm using my savings account!

However, being in my mid-30's, I'm concerned about doing all I can to ensure I take care of my skin.

I wonder if I should give up buying the natural high-end skincare products I use, like Aveda and Origins ($200 or so every 1-2 months), which I've always seen as necessary to do the best I can to look good later in life (very important, not only for personal reasons, but to a business career).

Is it really only marketing that makes these products seem better? Or are they better? Would I be no worse off if I bought something like Neutrogena brand products from Target? Any advice on this would be useful, whether it is about specific products, or general thoughts from personal experience about this topic.

For example: I also can't seem to get around spending $100 (ugh, plus tip) every 6-8 weeks, in the area where I live, to get my hair colored and cut. For a while, I tried coloring my hair out of the box, but there really was a definite difference. Without the professional touch, my hair was turning into a frizz ball.

[Thursday Bram]

Personally, I don't think that it's unreasonable to spend a little extra on skin care or something else as a small indulgence (assuming, of course that you're managing your finances well). I generally think that there are some differences in quality that correspond to price — though not nearly as much as the various companies would like you to think.

But I do think it's very worthwhile to explore the alternatives. When I started looking at options for beauty products, I quickly realized that my grandmother didn't need all sorts of products to take care of her skin. Her stories of growing up included making lotions and facial masks with her sisters from things like apples. Unfortunately, I don't have any recipes from her, but a lot of different DIY websites have recipes that seem like they provide high quality beauty products, albeit items that you have to use before they go bad because of the lack of preservatives.

DIY is, of course, taking frugality to a certain extreme. But you do wind up with a lot more control over both quality and cost. And it doesn't work for all things — I'm more than happy to leave hair dye to the professionals.

[lucille]

I quit using Estee Lauder products a few years ago. It was really expensive and the results were good, not earth shattering. I have found that Neutrogena, Boots and St. Ives are pretty good cheaper alternatives. I am getting better results on my face using St. Ives Apricot scrub a couple of times a week than I was getting with any of the expensive face washes. It is $3.95 for a big tube of it. Another product I recently found that works great is C.O. Bigelow lemon lotion. Bath & Body works sells it or you can buy it direct from C.O. Bigelow online. I have major problems with chapped hands and dry skin on my feet. This stuff worked like a charm. I have been using it on my face and getting better results than with the face moisturizer I was using. I bought it on a 4 for $10 sale right before Christmas.

I have used baking soda as a toothpaste alternative in the past. Even after not going to the dentist for a few years I didn't have near the build up one would expect. I started using Toms of Maine last year, at the next checkup I had tons of build up. The bottle of Tom's was almost $6 and did a lesser job. I looked at the label and it is hardly "natural", it was full of chemicals just like any other toothpaste. So I made my own tooth powder out of baking soda, sea salt and lavender essential oil. It works great and your mouth feels really clean.

Your right about box hair color. It really damages your hair. I switched to having mine done with professional dye two years ago and it made a massive difference in hair quality. I get it done at a local cosmetology school. I have always had good results.

[lilac]

I consider myself pretty frugal, but like you Ecrivaine32, I tend to spend what some would consider to be a lot of money on personal care products, even though I'm young. I too think it's important to take care of your body. While the products I use aren't quite as high end as yours (Avalon Organics, Burts Bees, Lush, Kiss My Face, etc.), they cost considerably more than a lot of my friends pay for theirs.

As long as you use the products you purchase and you get out of them what you like, I say that you shouldn't feel bad for what you spend on them. Thursday Bram does have a good point of exploring alternatives though if the price of your current setup does concern you.

Concerning hair coloring... I haven't used it myself (I think I read that blondes shouldn't use it), but Lush have Henna hair color: http://www.lushusa.com/shop/products...enna-hair-dyes that you might want to look into if you want to cut costs. It sounds like fun trying to get it into your hair and it definitely isn't an easy solution, but if it works it's worth a shot!

Bottom line though, if those products help you feel your best, it's kind of hard to put a price on that higher self-esteem.

[Julie Rains]

Just a few thoughts about some of the reasons skin ages (besides the age thing): overexposure to sun (use sunscreen on your face everyday); smoking; weight fluctuations but specifically dramatic/quick weight loss.

As an general moisturizer, I like Cetaphil or its generic equivalent.

[lucille]

Another price factor is if your throwing away product because it is old. Mineral cosmetics don't have the oil and water in them that liquid foundation does so you can use it longer and you end up throwing less or nothing away.

[FruWiki Meg]

The more I read about various beauty products, how the "clinical" trials are done, how the ingredients work or don't, what amounts of the ingredients you need (vs. how much is in the products), etc. etc. etc. the more skeptical I am.

I do wear makeup often, including a tinted moisturizer instead of foundation, but I really don't use other beauty products that much. I have some under-eye cream that does reduce puffiness temporarily (yay, caffeine!) and brightens the area by making it shinier, and I use sunscreen if I'll be out for a while, but that's really about it. I even use my shampoo as face wash -- when I need more than water to get makeup off. And instead of a facial scrub, I just use a rough wash cloth.

Now, I am young, but my skin seems happiest when I just leave it the heck alone!

Going forward, my plan is just to eat healthy (where you should spend money, imho), stay out of the sun, and be gentle with my skin.