How much do you spend on shampoo? An insta poll I ran recently suggests that as many as 40% of us spent upward of $11 on each bottle, with the average bottle containing between 200-300ml.

Now, this is a money website, right? Many frugality experts would recommend that in order to save money, you should ditch that salon-bought shampoo and get your tushy to The Reject Shop and go basic for a while.

Well, this is The Broke Generation and we are all about being nifty, not thrifty.

So, how can we stop our fancy shampoo get in the way of our dreams of homeownership?

Well, I crunched some numbers (obvs) and found out how much money we could save if we washed our hair with the same fancy pants shampoo, just less often.

HEAR ME OUT OKAY

My research has shown that many young women wash their hair every alternate day, if not every day. Head and Shoulders recommends that women use around 10ml of shampoo per day, so let’s say that 250ml bottle gets you 25 washes. And let’s assume it costs $22 from your fave salon.

At this cost, your cost per wash is is $0.88.

If you wash your hair every day, you’ll be racing through 14.6 bottles of shampoo a year, bringing your annual spend on shampoo to $321.20.

By washing your hair every three days, you’re getting 75 days per bottle, rather than just 25, meaning you’ll go through 4.8 bottles per year, reducing your annual shampoo spend to just $107.06.

So, let’s look longer term.

Let’s say Julia is currently 25. She switches up her hair washing routine and cuts her annual spend by the above calculated $214.15. Between now and her 50th birthday, she’ll have saved $5,353.75!

…and don’t even get me started on the conditioner!

I know the sound of washing your hair less can be daunting if you’re a serial over-washer, but it’s actually so much better for your hair – and apparently your wallet! Here’s the science on the hair thing if you don’t believe me. Your hair will actually get used to it, too, and you’ll be able to see the benefits from that fancy pants salon shampoo for much longer at a time. I used to wash my hair every other day. Now, I was it once every 6-8 days – I’m going through like 1 shampoo bottle every 6 months!