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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To ask how much you pay for beauty services like your nails, hair, etc?

442 replies

ChattyChai · 17/07/2025 13:48

I’m 39, turning 40 at the end of the year.

My husband thinks I’m being ridiculous with what I spend, but we can afford it comfortably and it makes me feel good.

I spend £42 every 3-5 weeks on nails, and every 3 months or so an extra £15 to get my eyebrows waxed and tinted.

i spend £140 every two months on getting my hair extensions moved up, and then every 4 months an extra £77 to get my roots done.

he thinks this is silly money and an extra £110 a month we could be saving, but I work, it’s my only real splurge each month and it makes me feel great. Am I spending too much? How much do you spend?

OP posts:
Liss19 · 20/07/2025 20:12

I pay £12 every few months for a hair cut and £15 every 6 months to have my eyebrows threaded or when i have a big event, which isnt that often 😅. My mum bleaches my hair every 5months or so. When i was on Mat leave i used to have gel nails which were like £30-35 every 6-7 weeks but because of my job i am not allowed nails done or fake lashes etc, ive never had fake lashes in my life. I do however one day want to try semi permanent makeup and microblading 😅. I just cant justify the money for the latter when i have 3 young children and a high mortgage rate at the min.

Silverpaws · 20/07/2025 20:11

Blimey, no wonder I look like such a state!
Haircut £50 3 x per year
Brow/lash tint when I remember £12 each time

CharlieEffie · 20/07/2025 20:11

If its your money and it makes you feel good its not your husbands buisness

YB1985 · 20/07/2025 20:11

I dont think you need to justify what you spend your own money on to your husband or to anyone else.

he probably spends money on thing others would think is silly. each to their own what you splurge on

Weezee0409 · 20/07/2025 20:09

Op does your partner do any hobbies or honour drinking etc?

carpool · 20/07/2025 18:10

I do think some of this is age dependent. When I was young I wore my hair long, didn't need to dye it as no grey to hide, didn't need to do anything to my brows as they were fine as they were etc etc. The older I get the more I find I need to do just in order to not look terrible, never mind actually looking good. Also once eyesight starts to deteriorate it becomes more difficult to do a good DIY job without glasses and impossible to do certain tasks whilst wearing glasses. I am coming to the conclusion that I am going to have to start paying out more soon or just give up and accept the inevitable decline.

ELCismyspiritnana · 20/07/2025 15:21

I have just got my lips filled and booked in for botox after becoming really unhappy about the way ive suddenly aged. Im thrilled with the difference the filler has made so I will definitely be keeping up with that. Its £100 every 9 months ish.
Botox if I keep up with it will be £280 every 4 months.
I dye my own hair and brows, do my own hair removal and pedicures.
Hair about £35 every 6-8 weeks
I would love to start getting my nails done again but at another £40 every 2 weeks (my nails grow very fast!) I cant justify it.
I probably spend another £40 a month on creams and gadgets to pamper/beautify too.

Swissmeringue · 20/07/2025 12:49

Next to nothing, I have curly hair that I probably get cut once a year and that's about it. I do however spend £150 on a spa day roughly every 6 weeks. I get a massage and spend all day lying around in the hot tub and I regret nothing.

It's important to spend intentionally, rather than being wasteful. But if you enjoy it, it makes you feel good and you can afford it then tell him to get in the sea.

JuniperJuly · 19/07/2025 11:02

Golightly133 · 17/07/2025 23:45

weight loss injection £200 per month
reformer Pilates £200 per month
high lites £100 every 5 weeks
nails £40 3 every 3 weeks
eyebrows wax tint £20 6 weeks
I spent years never doing any of this then found my mojo and love it,

Do you find the reformer does anything? I tried it once a week for a few months. I enjoyed it but saw/felt zero impact. I cant afford to do it more than once a week.

I did other things as well.

tumblingdowntherabbithole · 19/07/2025 11:00

Cherrytree86 · 18/07/2025 09:02

@tumblingdowntherabbithole

what you literally never get your hair cut?? Are you Rapunzel??

I do it myself at home. Have done for years now.

JuniperJuly · 19/07/2025 10:57

MargolyesofBeelzebub · 17/07/2025 21:23

About £40 every three years on a haircut 😂 but I'm not into fashion or beauty so it doesn't bring me joy - and I actually dread getting my haircut and only go when the ends are extra straggly (like now 😬)

If I had time and less expenses, then I would spend money on massages fairly regularly though!

If your hair is longer than shoulder length and you are not after absolute perfection you can do it yourself quite easily.

I hate the hairdresser so when my hair was long enough, I'd just do it myself. I followed the Brad Mondo video where you put lots if bobbles in your hair where you want to cut.
My hair tends to wave and flick out so even if its done professionally I never get razor sharp ends.

Cherrytree86 · 18/07/2025 11:46

@BoudiccaRuled

Also - how much chicken do you eat if that’s a factor in why you can’t pay out for personal grooming??

Cherrytree86 · 18/07/2025 11:46

BoudiccaRuled · 18/07/2025 10:01

I have a haircut occasionally and that's it. Prefer to spend my money on school fees and free range chicken.

@BoudiccaRuled

Ah you should treat yourself! You matter too!

Bowies · 18/07/2025 11:42

CanOfMangoTango · 17/07/2025 21:14

There's an embarrassing divide between people who have straight away dived into the thread with their expenditures on beauty and those who have read the OP's subsequent posts....

There’s such a thing as dealing with the OP and then the follow up posts.

People do that in their own way, yes some may not have RTFT and just respond to the OP, but others don’t think the initial question and the thread development belong in the same response, but respond to both. Some might just respond to the development.

Nutmeg1204 · 18/07/2025 11:12

It’s all about what you can afford and are happy to spend. Some people spend £50-£100 per week on takeaways or the pub and eating out and some aren’t.

for me …
hair (every 3 months) £80
eyebrows (I was getting them waxed and tinted every month £25 ish but have just had them microbladed £350 and now they are good for 1-2 years) so no monthly cost now
laser hair removal £100 every 3 months -6
months
LVL as and when, probably 3-4 times per year £45
nails - manicure & pedicure 2-3 x per year £75

So I don’t have high monthly costs anymore but I do go for the one off expensive costs like microblading or laser hair removal that just need top ups , or replacing skincare products

then there is also skincare, hair products, make up replacement, razors, general beauty products etc

at the end of the day whatever you can afford is fine, and it’s expensive to keep all this stuff up men are lucky they literally just shower and shave that’s it

MrsAlexKarev · 18/07/2025 10:25

Nails about £45 every 4 weeks
eyelashes £45 every 3/4 weeks
hair £55 every 8 weeks.

I just think if you can afford it why not? It makes you happy and makes you feel good and that’s priceless to be honest.

alizee21g · 18/07/2025 10:15

Nails only for special occasion so maybe twice per year, just biab gel. Other than that I do classic manicure and pedi at home. I have been blessed with thick long eyelashes so nothing to be done there, eyebrows I overplucked in the 90s, I had them microbladed once but couldn't afford top ups, would love to do them again though! My hair is £75 every two months with full head once or twice per year which is £120. Maintenance is not the cheapest, my hair is bleached so I spend on decent products to keep them in good shape. And that's it for me☺️

BoudiccaRuled · 18/07/2025 10:01

I have a haircut occasionally and that's it. Prefer to spend my money on school fees and free range chicken.

SloppyThePoodle · 18/07/2025 09:53

I'm 33

I spend £10 a month getting my fringe trimmed. I tried doing it myself but looked like Richard III.

I don't get my nails done or my hair dyed. I probably have the lengths of my hair cut every couple of years or I trim it myself.

I don't get eyelashes or eyebrows because I already have them. All I do is pluck my eyebrows myself to stop them becoming out of control. I've got the meditteranean generous eyebrows gene.

No botox or fillers because I don't care and I don't want them.

I spend the most on skincare, i have stubborn adult acne so spend about £50 every month on topical spironolactone, and retinol.

So overall £60 a month.

diterictur · 18/07/2025 09:52

I think the thing with hair is - if you have naturally great hair, a cheap cut is fine. If you have tricky hair, it isn't.

I have very curly hair which is always tricky to cut but the older I get the more tricky it is. Having finally found a hair dresser who can cut it well, I am not going elsewhere!

TreeDudette · 18/07/2025 09:50

I buy a box hair dye once every 6 weeks at around £10 (less really) and I get my hair cut 4 times per year by the local mobile hairdresser and she charges £15 but I tend to give her £20. So annually £160 which averages out at £13/month.

I spend more than that on dog treats but I am definitely not appearance conscious!

Lollzi86 · 18/07/2025 09:46

Nails £30 every 3 weeks or so. Pedicure £40 once a month. Eyebrow wax/tint £20 every couple months. Haircut £42 probably 3 times a year, lucky enough not to need colouring (yet!)

ACupFullOfCrazy · 18/07/2025 09:35

AInightingale · 17/07/2025 20:55

Where/how do you get your hair cut for twelve quid?! Thought that was a male privilege.

I just go to a drop in hairdresser who does a dry cut, I have vertigo and cannot have it washed as I cannot lean backwards or forwards

JRM17 · 18/07/2025 09:20

I think the nails and brows are acceptable but the amount u pay for your hair is making my eyes water, im with ur husband on that. I pay £40 every 6 weeks for my nails, my brows I wax and dye myself so £12 for a kit that lasts 6months and my hair I pay £25 every 4 months.

VeryStressedMum · 18/07/2025 09:10

I also get regular deep tissue massages £50