To be shocked how much "ordinary" people spend on grooming?

[Daygals]

Let's start by explaining that by ordinary, I mean people on average incomes living not unusual lives. What is normal might also be regional, I live in a world of fake tans and long fake lashes.

I am shockingly low maintenance but I thought I might make a bit of an effort for a special occasion and have my brows tidied and nails done, so I looked up some salons and price lists and this is where my shock comes from.

I had no idea these things are so expensive. The list I'm looking at is a fairly basis salon, nothing upmarket and includes things lots of people I know would consider "need" doing on a regular basis.

The prices are probably fair from the point of view of the therapist's time but I can't imagine spending this on myself on a regualar basis.

Eye lashes £40
HD Brows £20
Gel Nails £30
Pedicure £20
Hair cut £40
Hair colour £80

That's before waxing and and more luxury treatments like facials or anti-aging stuff.

I don't know how often it all needs doing (monthly?) but I know lots of people who are always "done" like this I can't fathom how it's even possible/

I always feel like these threads turn into a massive criticism of women who enjoy doing these things. As if the least you spend the more superior you are. You have no idea how much I earn and why does it matter to you if I want to spend £1000 pounds a month?

How do you have money? (I work)

how do you have time? (I ask DP to spend some quality time with his son so I can have some "me" time)

why can you be bothered? (because I like having colourful nails and lush hair, chatting to the nice therapists and having a cuppa)

why do you care so much about your appearance? (because it's part of me... I also like fun clothes, working out, having lovely baths and massages)

We never had this is my day (cool well you also didn't have mobile phones, easyJet, gay marriage, online shopping ... does that mean you can't do them now?)

Can we not just appreciate different people like different things? There will be things you spend money on that I wouldn't do... doesn't mean you're silly for if!!

I'm so glad I read your post OP, I thought it was just me!
I've never been to a beauty salon, I have nothing against people who do, it's honestly just never occured to me to go. I'm quite unconfident about my looks, which sounds like it would appeal but it's more like I wouldn't want anyone to think I'd made the effort because I think it would fall flat, somehow?
Anyway the thing I find bizarre is that I know I spend a lot of money on sport - I do two sports (quite specialist tuition) + gym which means I spend £100-£150 per month on membership & classes and events. That IS a lot of money and I'm under no illusions it's a luxury - thats my social life and health, fills many an evening and weekend. What I find strange is that my colleagues who have regular hair/nails/tan/brows/waxing/make up + clothes + new clothes think that I'm excessive. I was having a conversation with a peer who was really critical of me spending £45 a month on a particular membership where I trained 3 hrs a week. She had earlier told me about her new blusher arriving, it was £40!

I have my hair cut and coloured every 5 weeks, but go local and it's around £60. Its grey and I'm not going natural yet. I go to the podiatrist every 6 weeks at £45 a go and will also have 2 gel pedicures during the summer which each last the 6 weeks between podiatrist visits and will pretty much cover the time I'll have my toes out. They will be £40 each. I'll also have a facial every couple of months or so. That's it really, I'll slap a bit of Clarins tan on my legs if the sun ever comes out. I am tempted to have a bit of subtle work on my face, but I haven't decided.

I get my eyebrows threaded every 3 weeks, £10.
Gel nails every 3 weeks, £25
A haircut every 4 months, £20.

I don't smoke or drink at all and rarely buy new clothes do not much to spend imo.

I've heard people whinge about the cost of housing but the cost of their personal grooming and nights out make me and

Naturally I am the baby with one eyebrow from the Simpsons so £10 a week on threading is no less essential than food in my opinion! I get my eyelashes dyed every 8 weeks or so and that's it, I don't bother with makeup. But the threading is a non negotiable expense

These seem top end prices and also you can get loads of vouchers on places like Groupon, so having a gel manicure can be as low as £9. They last 3 weeks, more for a pedicure.
Brows only need to be shaped every few months and then maintain them by plucking and keeping tidy.
Hair trim and colour - have a trim once every 3 months (I do 6 months) and a colour as and when needed and use a box dye to do roots.
Doesn’t have to be super expensive.
Also, it completely depends on where you see value, some families have a takeaway or restaurant meal twice a week, or a night out with friends once month, couple of bottles of nice wine a week, regular cinema trips etc....whatever it might be that you enjoy. I personally think takeaways are the biggest waste of money and would rather have a nice pedicure or massage.
It’s all relative to what you see as “value add” to your life

It seems expensive.

It costs me about £45 to get my hair done.... ....

Every 6 weeks for a year.... ....

...As in £5 a go.

@Bored40 But a decent blusher will last upwards of two years. Used daily you’d still get 9-12 mths out of a premium blusher. So at 40 quid for a daily product over a year...not a lot really (I don’t buy into the expiry date on cosmetics except for mascara)

Because the money could be spent on something that benefits the short time you have on earth rather than divides society further.

looking good and feeling good benefits me
Being fit and attractive make me happy, give a very good example to my kids, keeps me young and my husband likes it.
Time I am wasting is time spent on MN when I have to kill some.

I am not sure having my hair coloured and cut regularly really divides society that much

I spend a lot of money on sport - I do two sports (quite specialist tuition) + gym which means I spend £100-£150 per month on membership & classes and events. That IS a lot of money and I'm under no illusions it's a luxury

I completely disagree. Working out benefits your body and your health long term, it's the opposite of a luxury. Of course someone will pop up and pretend that you could run, it cost nothing but first proper running gear is not that cheap, and more importantly doing a sport you don't love is a bit of a waste of time.

I spend £80 every 6 weeks getting my hair highlighted with a treatment & £40 getting it cut & blow dried every 12 weeks.

I do my brows myself with a brow pencil, I would like them microbladed but I have a low pain threshold!
I wear mascara instead of getting lashes done as I dislike anyone near my eyes.
I don't get manicures as I work as a healthcare assistant so nails have to be very short & unvarnished.
I do my own pedicure.
I shave as I hate being waxed (low pain threshold again).

I spend £50 on Philips night white gel for my teeth every couple of years to whiten them with the trays I got made at the dentist (initial outlay about £250).

I buy Boots No7 serum & moisturisers, but I do like Clinique make up which is expensive however except for my eyebrow pencil which is £15 per month it all lasts a long time.

Superdrug do eyebrows for £7 I think that is good

Other places are quite expensive

I pay £28 for hair, and had a better cut than I did at a top salon in town.

Don't bother with lashes. Fake tan etc.
I'm still wondering, whether to get acrylics done or not because of my job. But they do look gorge!

I used to be fairly high maintenance; gel nail polish every 3 weeks, hair cut/coloured every 2-3 months, eyebrows threaded every 2 weeks etc.

Now I have 2 kids and part way through a nursing degree today I had my first professional haircut in 2 years. Reader - she fucked up my fringe but the back is very nice.

Occasionally I'll visit my lovely SIL who is a beautician, and she'll fix my scraggly eyebrows and nails for free.

I love how relatively HM women like to consider themselves LM whilst actual LM women think they make an effort.

I’m sat here reading this thread realising I’ve cut my own hair since I was 14, pluck my own eyebrows, shave at home and don’t get any sort of nails/extensions/tan done...ever, but I thought I was rather ‘indulgent’ in my routine 😂

Strangely I think of myself as being quite high maintenance, but this thread has shown the opposite!
I dye my own hair at home, around £5 a time, every 2 months I
Or so I think.
I get my hair cut for about £12-15 about twice a year, if that.
I wear makeup every day (eyeliner, mascara, concealer, powder, blush) and fill in eyebrows.
Paint my own nails roughly weekly, but sometimes have them bare for a couple of weeks.
Wax my own legs only in warm weather when they’re out!

I had no idea other people were spending like this! Although almost everyone else in work has gel nails...

Spiceupyourlife yes!
I get a lot of compliments on my hair colour/style/nails though!

I actually DO consider myself high maintenance. Looking my best has a definite impact on my mental health, rightly or wrongly, making an effort with my appearance gives me genuine pleasure and confidence.

It comes down to choice and being able to afford it, everyone has different priorities and I wouldn't judge anyone else's choices. And to be honest I don't really care if other people judge me for it.

I do a lot of things myself, it's a lot cheaper obviously. But the main reason is the practicality of fitting all the appointments in around 2 small children. I can just do my own treatments when I get chance.

I do the following at home:-

Permanent hair die every 6 weeks
Eyebrows plucked and shaped weekly
Eyebrows & eyelashes died every 3 weeks
No waxing- shave underarms, legs and lady bits at least weekly in the shower
Gel manicure on toenails every 6 weeks
Intensive conditioning hair mask weekly
Gradual tanning moisturiser twice a week
Gel manicure onto false nails which are then glued on, every 3 weeks

And get the following done professionally:-

Hair cut every 3 months £25
Botox every 6 months (3 areas) £280

Make up is mainly Rimmel. The only expensive items I use are Estée Lauder Double Wear foundation and concealer.

Don't do fake eyelashes or fake tan.

Just read that back and realised it takes a lot of effort ha ha.

You don't remove your own brows with microblading. I had micropigmentation which is a single tattoo needle because my own eyebrows are v v pale. They're natural looking, not dark and not at all slug like

im very very low maintenance i dont do nothing on that list

i trim my own ends,hair is naturally jet black so dont dye it but i do hair treatments a few times a week

i do diy facials and treatments twice to three times a week and use only lush products,i dont even shave so dont spend any on shaving products and ive never wore make up

I've never had a manicure or pedicure, never had a fake tan or been waxed and don't pluck or shape my eyebrows at all. I feel like an alien when I read threads like these! I do wear a tiny bit of makeup and like nice though not overly fancy or expensive clothing, so hopefully I don't look like a total slob! I'm always surprised at how much money and time women spend on their appearance. I would never judge any individual woman for doing so but I do think there's a lot of pressure, both visible and subtle, on women to invest in their appearance. Yes, many women enjoy it and I'm not taking away from that, but there are huge industries built on making women feel like regular 'maintenance' is necessary.

It’s hilarious how judgmental some people on here are, and also the perception that anyone who has some of these treatments automatically means they look stereotypical “Essex”.

I get my hair cut approx once every 7-8 weeks at £50 a time with maintenance “shaving” every couple of weeks at a tenner a go (I have an undercut). Coloured once every 12 weeks atm because I’m going lighter but eventually this will reduce in cost. Approx £80-90 each time.

I’m about to start getting eyelash extensions again. I love these because it means I can skip eye makeup for daily wear and still feel put together. I’m getting my initial set on an offer and infills will be around £30 every three weeks.

I had microblading about 18 months ago but again, this was on offer at £100.

Botox twice a year at £230 a time, and lip filler once a year to eighteen months at £200.

It doesn’t feel excessive to me. I don’t spend a huge amount on clothes, I don’t drink much, I don’t smoke, we don’t own a car, we don’t have children. I spend money on education, holidays, books and some minor grooming.

As for time, it’s not much time. Haircut is 45 mins, colour is maybe an hour and a half. Eyelash infills about 90 mins. Tbh, it’s amazing that I am forced to just stop and relax during those times.

@EarlGreyOfTwinings I suppose what I meant by luxury is that I'm well aware many people couldn't spend three figures on themselves in a month, regardless of how important it might feel - my mum certainly couldn't have done this, and I'm grateful that I'm able to.

@Grumpos my colleague would touch up her make up multiple times a day at work, I'd be very very suprised if her blusher lasted her 9-12 months!

When I was at school all the bullies went to do beauty salon training, I think that's why I never went near, the thought terrifies me! I think it's great if people find it pampering and relaxing to go to salons, I have personal space issues so its not going to be my thing. My sports are a different version of 'me time', both are equally valid, I just find it odd that some of peers can't see the similarities and think mine is a crazy excess but that theirs are essentials and affordable.

I’ve never coloured my hair and recently found out how much people spend on it, and how long it takes. I was

I'm high maintenance but can do a lot of it myself, I'm like a nice old car that can e kept mostly going at home but needs the occasional help from a professional..
Eyelashes £25 a month
Highlights/toner £54 3 monthly
Hair extensions £230 last a year.
Do own
Nails
Toes
Eyebrows
Tan
Shave legs/pits/bits
I love looking glamorous, it's my thing .