Economy

Maintaining that oh so youthful look

By Wang Zhuoqiong (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-03-07 11:19

A woman receiving skin care and body beautification services at a beauty shop in Beijing. Chinese white-collar women are increasingly aware that spending hundreds of yuan at a beauty salon is worthwhile, in that it not only keeps them healthy and attractive but also nourishes their careers. [Photo / China Daily]

The average ages of women who visit beauty parlors are falling

BEIJING - At 16, Amanda Jia experienced her first facial beauty treatment. At 23, she started to apply anti-aging products at a beauty salon.

"I am horrified by the very idea of getting old and ugly," said Jia, now 26. "I'll try anything that will keep me young."

A part of her busy schedule as a public relations manager and a part-time magazine model, Jia spends about half an hour a day applying skin care products and then make-up before going out.

She spends another half an hour removing the make-up and reapplying skin care products at night.

She pays frequent visits to the community beauty salon. Each time the treatment - including deep cleansing, moisturizing, whitening, anti-ageing and detoxifying - costs at least 300 yuan ($45). She then spends an hour on the massage bed.

The time and money invested is well worth it in Jia's eyes.

"Many people do not go to professionals for skin care because they don't find it immediately effective. But in the longer run, those who go will look different from those who do not," she said.

Skin care and beauty salon visits used to be the preserve of high-ranking career women or rich housewives in their 30s or 40s.

Then younger women began to take an interest in their looks and the condition of their skin, seeking out professional help.

The age of women in China attending beauty salons is falling, said a public relations manager at Decleor Health and Beauty Spa, a high-end beauty service provider that owns 100 shops in 40 cities in China. Some of its frequent customers visit once every two days, with each session of 80 to 100 minutes priced at about 600 yuan.

"The age group of our customers used to be around 35 to 45. Now we've seen a younger generation of women willing to pay to maintain a youthful look," said the manager, who declined to reveal her name under company regulations.

The massive flow of information from television, fashion magazines and websites has taught women in their early 20s the importance of skin care, she said.

The generations born in the 1980s and 1990s are expected to take a leading role in the purchase of beauty and cosmetic products, according to a forecast by the China Hairdressing and Beauty Association last June.

As a result, younger consumers will bring new mindsets to, and place more demands on, the beauty business, creating a market for personalized beauty and skin care services, the forecast said.

Most women consider good looks and better skin reflect their own values and quality of life. "A successful woman used to be defined by her real estate properties, haute couture and luxury accessories," said the health and beauty spa manager.

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"But women have now started to realize it is how they look and feel that defines the value of a woman. A treatment at a beauty salon is such an investment that will reflect who they are and how they live."

From working on the face, the beauty business has extended to the entire female body. At an apartment building in downtown Sanlitun, Beijing, I SPA, a high-end Thai style beauty chain, offers all-body treatments.

Its individual rooms, decorated in an oriental fashion, are designed to soothe. Here, female executives and entrepreneurs, mainly aged between 28 and 45, have their faces and bodies pampered, starting with a hot petal tub, gentle exfoliation and an oil massage.

Many of its customers come two or three times a month for a two-hour treatment costing from 600 to 800 yuan on average, said Hellen Xu, managing executive of the spa.

"A woman would look tired if her mental and body stresses are not relieved. Your skin gets better when you start to feel good from the inside," she said.