Over the past several years, treatments like waxing, pedicures, all those sort of high-end spa treatments people get to maintain their appearance have become very popular and more normalized. AFAICT many more people do that sort of thing as a routine, not as a luxury. Not to mention treatments like botox, various types of injections to plump up lips, plastic surgery etc.
But now we’re seeing a downturn in the economy, and it looks like more people will be looking for ways to to cut costs and make ends meet. What do you think–will spa treatments stay as a normal thing for many people, or will folks stop spending their money on such luxuries as monthly Brazilian waxes?
I’m a nature girl and have yet to subject myself to such things, so educate me.
I read an article in NYTimes about spa treatments for cheap. There are already tons of places, at least in New York, where you can get them at a fraction of the price as at the big time spas. Chinatown is full of places to get your hair done, for example, with lots of hairdressers doing as good or better than the hairdressers on Park Ave but not charging an arm and a leg. Most of the hole in the wall places all over the place charge way cheaper for manicures, pedicures, waxing, and so forth.
I asked my eyebrow waxer and hair stylist this question. They said people haven’t stopped entirely but what some of them are doing is going longer in-between. But they said they haven’t seen a gigantic downturn, mainly because people will cut back on new clothes and expensive purses rather than getting fewer haircuts. Also, while I go to nice salons (the waxer and the hair woman are at different places) I picked places run by young kinda hip women located outside of the Santa Monica/Beverly Hills scene and they have priced and designed the salons to lure in the service professional set who work in the area. More or less Aveda quality (probably slightly better/trendier)-I haven’t found a need to downgrade services because I picked moderate places to begin with. Maybe if I had started out someplace like Frederick Fekkai I’d be on the hunt for bargains but I can afford the prices I pay-$55 for a haircut (minus tip), $65 for a brazilian wax (minus tip) and $25 for the eyebrow wax (minus tip).
I’ve also found that because I’ve always tipped generously that my hair stylist and waxer are giving me free bonus treatments these days as an incentive to keep coming in.
Anecdotally, my friend who was a receptionist for a massage therapist got laid off a few months ago because there wasn’t enough business. I don’t know if it can be entirely blamed on people cutting such luxuries in an economic downturn, but that has to be a large part of it.
The only spa-ish thing I do is get a massage - maybe 3 a year. Right now I wouldn’t say I’m cutting down, but you bet your ass if I got laid off I wouldn’t be scheduling any. That’s frivolous money right there IMHO.
I love a lot of the spa-type treatments, but it’s such an easy way to cut back and save $$ because you can do so much of it at home. I can do a pretty passable mani-pedi and facial at home for a lot less. And if I get a good eyebrow way every few months, I can follow along and keep it maintained pretty sufficiently.
The one exception is the bikini wax. Some things are better left in professional hands, IMHO.:
I can’t do my own pedi, so I have the nail tech do it once every 7 or 8 weeks.
If I feel that I need a massage, I will do that, but nothing beyond that.
My massage therapist friends and my hairdresser both have told me that they are experiencing a downturn in their business, significantly so in some cases. Personally, I do spend money each month on massage therapy, pedicures and hair styling, and I am lucky enough (knock on wood) that I have not yet had to reduce those expenditures. The pedicures will be the first to go if I do have to cut back, then the massage therapy. I will cling to my hair stylist with both hands since that’s my one beauty.
On my way home from work, I saw a sign advertising the massage place and remembered that a couple years ago, one of hubby’s Christmas gifts was a gift certificate for ten massage sessions. I chuckled ruefully. [See? I can write like J. K. Rowling!]
We didn’t exchange gifts last Christmas and we probably won’t this year either. If we did, it’d be something practical, like gloves or jammies.
