I used to have a friend who was incredibly cheap and swore by free haircuts at the local beauty school. It turns out that beauty schools are always looking for guinea pigs for the students to practice on, so if you have one in your area, try giving them a call. Not sure if you have a local beauty school? Check out this very extensive list of beauty schools throughout the US.

High-class salons will also sometimes cut your hair for free. They’re constantly trying out new stuff, and they like to experiment on non-paying customers. For instance, in NYC, there’s Bumble and Bumble. They force you to go through a screening first in which they evaluate the appropriateness of your hair (whee!) and you might have to wait a while until you can get an appointment - but haircuts at this place normally run you $100, so getting one for free is an incredible bargain.

Craig’s List is also a great place to find somebody who’ll give you a free cut. It’s as simple as going to the sub-site for your area and searching for “free haircut” under “services.” I was able to find free haircuts in Chicago, Phoenix, LA, Atlanta, San Diego, you name it. Thing is, these ads are often posted by cosmetologists looking to practice a certain style at a certain time, so your haircut will be on their terms and not necessarily your own.

I have to confess that I myself have shied away from free haircuts. I’ve always been a little bit frightened about what those students might do to me - but I have to say that my friend never got hacked up too badly, so it’s probably just prejudice on my part. If you consider yourself adventurous, this is a great way to save a little cash.

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