Random photo of one of Borja's clients.

Do you have one thing that you splurge on no matter what? Therapy, yoga, Mast Brothers chocolate? Mine is highlights from Borja Cau, a hair colorist in midtown Manhattan who has a way with blond the likes of which I’ve never seen elsewhere. (She does other colors too.) Where lesser talents rely on foil, she uses a technique called balayage, which involves freehand painting. She says it adds depth and looks more natural than foil; I just know she’s phenomenal — I haven’t had a single miss in more than a decade. From Nov. 25 through December 3, she’s offering 50 percent off for new clients. Even if you’re already committed to a colorist (please share below!), she’s worth cheating for. Here is her Facebook page, and some of Borja’s Citysearch reviews from similarly smitten clients.

Borja Color Studio 118 East 57th St. (between Park and Lex), 212-308-3232

If it's good enough for Phil...

Not to get all Allure Magazine on you people, but here’s a pesky question I ask once a day, while lathering up with a dollar-an-ounce conditioner, imagining there must be a better way. What’s the best cheap conditioner? Is there some scraggly-hair salvation in those elephantine jugs of Suave and Pantene at Costco? Is there a secret drugstore brand that’s worth its weight in jojoba oil? So, Broketown, I put it to you. Speak your truth in the comments. Bonus points if your before hair looks like Phil Spector’s (cause you need ‘em).

For best results, blend avocado first. Unlike me.

A few weeks ago, I noticed that my hair was looking like a dirty rag. Whether Seasonal Affective Disorder was taking its toll or the cause was lack of sunlight, I needed a boost. I’d always heard that avocado, beer, olive oil, and yogurt gave hair great shine or body, so I decided to put all of them in my hair (one at a time) to see if any of those claims had a basis in reality.

DISCLAIMER: It won’t behoove you to use these products instead of store-bought shampoo and conditioner, but it could save at least $10 from buying a hair-treatment masque.

(The really good ones, like Kérastase, will run you about $45 or more for a 6.8 oz jar.) For those who have no idea what a hair masque is, just think of it as a marinade for hair. Just like no one wants dry, flavorless meat, no one wants parched, dull hair.

For each treatment, I rinsed my hair with water and then applied liberal amounts of the product being used as a masque, then let it marinate on my head, however uncomfortably, for about three to five minutes. Then I washed it out, sometimes several times, and when my hair dried, I inspected it for ad-worthy shine.

For that blue-ribbon shine

1) Pabst Blue Ribbon tallboy ($4, N7 Market, Williamsburg) Your experience need not be as uncomfortable as mine was — just think ahead and take the beer out of the fridge first. That annoyance aside, the smell of cold PBR at 9 am on a Friday proved extremely nostalgic. I used 3/4 of the tallboy can, and nothing was noticeable right away, but once my hair dried naturally for a night on the town, it shimmered subtly. I happen to know from experience that the longer you let beer sit on your hair and the more often you do it (thank you, college tailgate weekends), the shinier and smoother your hair gets. Just make sure to rinse it all out, or you’ll be that girl who smells like PBR.

2) Regular Olive Oil ($4, N7 Market, Williamsburg) I had terrifying visions of this particular experiment because I thought the olive oil might never come out, leaving me with hair like a 13-year-old skater boy who hasn’t figured out that it is indeed best to shower every day. Using three handfuls, I smelled like a fantastic Italian meal about to be cooked. Upon drying, my hair was still lightly coated in olive oil fat, nourishing my roots and giving me great sheen and smoothness all around.

3) Fage 2% Plain Yogurt ($2.50, N7 Market, Williamsburg) This smelled so delicious going on that I snuck a taste, but sadly it smells a lot better than it tastes, which makes it perfect for a hair masque. I ended up only needing to use half the large container, and in the end, there was no visible change but the feel of my hair was silky smooth, which I apparently appreciated because I ran my hands through it all night long.

4) Hass Avocado ($1, veggie stand at Greenpoint Avenue and Manhattan Avenue, Greenpoint) By far the most awkward application, and most disgusting clean up. I did not enjoy putting crushed avocado on my head. All I kept thinking about was how I wanted to enjoy Product No. 4 drizzled with some Product No. 2 for a snack. However, after a late-night avocado hair masque, I awoke with buttery smooth, shiny, awesome-feeling hair. To avoid the hurdles I ran into, blend your avocado beforehand and use as a liquid or paste, or mash by hand. I figured crushing it with my hands would be enough, but it wasn’t. I’m pretty sure there is still avocado in my drain, another reason for the roomies to love me.

Look at that hair! For best results, try all four.

The Bottom Line: These were all fairly and surprisingly effective, but the best deal and the best result is avocado. However, since that can be messy, your second best bet is olive oil since only a few handfuls of oil are used per treatment with good results (Those who just wanted to drink the PBR can breathe a sigh of relief).

So while you might not be able to cure your SAD, you can step out with hair-commercial tresses for only a dollar per treatment or less. And that’s something to get happy about.

Pam Grier

As a Southern black woman in Brooklyn, I’ve noticed that far more black women around here wear their hair natural than where I’m from (most black women chemically straighten their hair). I’ve gone natural most of my life, so I know too well how expensive getting un-relaxed hair done can be: upward of $100 for a full wash, set and style, compared to $30 for a woman who uses relaxer. When I moved here, I assumed the popularity of going natural in Brooklyn would translate to more reasonable prices. I was wrong—it doesn’t. But I have found a few ways to cut costs with my hair-care… and even afford the occasional salon-pampering (hint: discount to come).

Mirelle Liong-A-Kong, the Brooklyn-based author of Going Natural and administrator of Going-Natural.com suggests meeting your stylist halfway, as many natural salons charge separately for each service. “Braids and extensions may take five hours (to apply). Show up with your hair washed and clean, and bring your own products with you.” Karama Brown, author of the blog SavvyBrown.com, also advises trimming your own hair prior to a salon visit. One simple way for women to do this is to separate the hair into two-strand twists, cutting the ends while in this style.

But if you’re still unable (or stubbornly unwilling) to afford that salon visit, Brown has some suggestions for how the natural woman on a budget can wear her hair simply for an entire week:

1) “Wear your hair in a puff,” says Brown. “I wrote an article on how to wash and dry your hair in one hour. The key is a big ole shammy I got at AutoZone for $4. What’s the difference between the thing guys use to dry their cars and the microfiber hair towel I saw at Bed Bath & Beyond for $22? The difference is $18.” After washing and drying, she ties her hair back with the cut leg of a stocking.

2) Wear twist-outs: This is a famously simple protective style. When the hair is wet, put your hair into two-strand twists with a little natural gel. Let dry, then undo the next day for a crinkly, wavy look. The longer you let your twists dry, the more defined with twist-out will be.

3) After the initial definition of the loose twist-out wears off, pull the hair back into a puff or bun, again using the stocking leg. Brown recommends applying a little castor oil or Get Set hair jelly (2 oz. jar for $5), tying the hair back, and shaking it out.

All natural.

4) Stop trying to make your hair look like someone else’s. Don’t fight it or buy unnecessary products that tout their ability to make kinky hair curly. Embrace your own texture and work with it, using as few ingredients as possible.

Why are natural-hair salons so expensive? Natural strands are less porous and can have a bad reaction to cheaper products with chemical additives. So, salons catering to natural hair spend more money on natural products. And the more women who shun chemical straightening (in Brooklyn, especially), the more who use natural ingredients in their everyday lives and choose like-minded salons. “Natural is trendy,” says Yendys Nefer-Atum, proprietor of The Cowrie Shell Center, a natural hair salon in Bed-Stuy that specializes in locs.

But, high-price aside, everyone needs that salon-special treatment every so often. So here’s a little something to help with that: For the month of July, The Cowrie Shell Center is offering a 30 percent discount to Brokelyn readers for all natural hair services. Just mention this article when making your appointment.

Suggested styles only. Image courtesy of Weird Things Moms Do.

Considering the high cost of grownup haircuts these days, this seems like quite a bargain. There’s a touted hairdresser in Park Slope who charges $50 for an adult cut—and does kids’ hair for free. So we read on the extremely useful BK parenting blog, A Child Grows in Brooklyn. Blogger Karen Connell says former Soho stylist and Brooklyn dad Louis Radcliff did a “rockin’ ” job on her hair—along with her two kids’ heads, all for fifty bucks. This impossible deal was confirmed by a commenter who says Louis is “amazing.”  See A Child Grows for info on how to get an appointment, and if anyone else knows of any other great cheap haircuts, please let ‘em rip here in the comments because everyone’s always asking us.

As if that weren’t enough of a contribution to the betterment of society, two Brooklyn salons are offering Farrah blowouts to raise money for the lion-haired legend’s pet causes.

On Friday, July 10, The Beehive Salon in Williamsburg is doing an event called “Feathers for Farrah,” a full-day of $50 Farrah-style blowouts. Half of the proceeds will go to Sanctuary for Families, a New York state group that helps victims of domestic abuse, a cause close to Farrah’s heart.

And through the end of the month, Park Slope’s SlopeSuds is also offering $50 Farrah blowouts, with half of their proceeds going to the American Cancer Society, a charity Farrah supported.

You can’t go wrong at either one—especially not if you send us a photo of yourself winging it Farrah-style. We’ve decided to do our own Farrah tribute: a Brokelyn Best Farrah Hair Contest. The winner gets $75 worth of Davines products. (You can also enter with a DIY Farrah blowout too.) Send pics here by July 15. And yep, we’re gonna run ‘em.

Beehive Salon, 115 N. 7th St., 718-782-8376 (phone bookings only) www.beehivesalon.com.

Slope Suds, closed for a move until July 7 but reopening at 462 7th Ave. (on the corner of 16th Street), 718-788-7837, slopesuds.com.