Consequences of quarantine: why do girls go to beauty salons less often?

Olesya Koryakina , makeup artist, morning show make-up artist
Morning with Ukraine" on the TV channel "Ukraine"

Like a bolt from the blue, quarantine affected not only our perception of the value of health, but also hit the pockets of all areas of business, partly the beauty industry. I would like to share with you some observations that I have come to and which, in my opinion, are important for all beauty professionals to pay attention to.

Lockdown period

In the first weeks of strict quarantine as such, there was no panic about the closure of salons, studios and beauty specialists’ offices. At that time, only the brides who were left without weddings and who had to postpone their long-awaited event were panicking. Birthday people began to instantly replay the holiday scenario and even learned how to blow out candles as safely as possible using a hairdryer.

Naturally, birthday boys and brides, who most often resort to the services of beauty artists, temporarily settled at home and canceled visits. The waiting period began. Some of our clients started learning how to do their own hair coloring or apply gel polish to their nails by watching a bunch of videos on YouTube. Speaking of masters, makeup artists have begun to actively teach the art of makeup online. On the one hand, no one was bored, but the quarantine dragged on and both makeup artists and clients wanted banal human communication.

End of strict quarantine

At the end of the announced strict quarantine, everyone who could not cope with overgrown nails or hair roots on their own literally cried in Instagram stories and begged to open beauty salons. And as soon as they opened, in the first week we could see a huge rush and queues of people wanting to get themselves in order.

Then everything calmed down, and beauty professionals noticed that the flow of clients that was there before quarantine was no longer there. What happened? Why did it happen so?

Many believe that people have less money, which is why many refused services. But, in my opinion, the problem lies much deeper.

Reasons why girls stopped going to beauty salons

1. During the lockdown, many girls began to accept themselves for who they are, and the trend towards naturalness and naturalness became more relevant than ever. Crazy shading on the eyelids, eyelash extensions, nails and hair are gradually becoming a thing of the past. Everyone wants to see natural beauty, and thanks to quarantine, this process has accelerated. It is important that the girls, seeing themselves as natural, were not afraid. On the contrary, they liked to see their real selves, and accordingly, going to the salon became not as popular as before.

2. Some of the girls who could not refuse beauty services simply began making appointments with so-called masters at home. In their opinion, it is safer - the less contact with strangers, the better.

3. Another cohort of clients are people who remained at home even after the lockdown ended. They are afraid to go out because the virus is still active. It is very difficult to get such clients anywhere; they avoid any contact, so the beauty industry outside the home is not yet available to them.

4. The fourth category of clients are people who, after months of stress, after canceling all trips and projects, just want to celebrate life. They want a dress, sandals and glasses. And, it would seem, this is the group of girls who should run for lip gloss and blush. But here’s what it turned out: for many consumers, beauty services are no longer relaxation or entertainment - it’s just the norm of the society in which they worked and lived. No society - no need.

This is perhaps the worst thing for the beauty industry: if women really don’t enjoy spending time in beauty salons, the beauty services industry could face a long decline.