PAMPERING Beauty business gets uplift during recession

People want to pamper themselves more during leaner times.
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
SANTA ANA, Calif. -- People may be reluctant to buy big-ticket items during this recession, but they're still pulling out already-thin wallets to pay for beauty.
Americans pamper themselves by taking trips to day spas, getting eyebrows shaped at salons and having their teeth whitened in dental offices.
But beauty services that span the spectrum from Botox injections to hair highlights are more than a passing fancy -- businesses are experiencing a boom on a global scale, one that has grown exponentially for more than a decade.
With the national unemployment rate at 6.4 percent, people are still fueling the $160 billion-a-year international beauty industry, according to The Economist.
"We just love to look good and feel good," said Gordon Miller, executive director of the National Cosmetology Association, a group of 30,000 salon professionals. "I think a lot of it is that it doesn't really cost a lot today to have those kind of small, feel-good experiences (such as) going to the salon."
Growth industry
The international beauty industry -- which includes fragrances, skin and hair care, cosmetic surgery, makeup, diet pills and health clubs -- is growing at almost 7 percent a year, according to Goldman Sachs analysts, who report that skin care brings in $24 billion; makeup, $18 billion; hair care, $38 billion and perfume, $15 billion worldwide.
While jobs are scarce in many sectors, beauty professionals are in demand.
More than 1.6 million U.S. workers are employed in the beauty industry, according to the National Accrediting Commission of Arts and Sciences, a cosmetology board based in Virginia. That number has grown 24 percent since 1999, the NACAS reported. Many beauty professionals work for small businesses, with more than one-third of the workers employed part time, according to the cosmetology board.
Angelo Pacella, director of retail for day-spa Burke Williams, said he is not surprised that the beauty industry is doing well even during the recession.
"People always tend to want to pamper themselves," he said. "Sometimes even more so when things are bad."
In a culture that values youth and beauty, a new rage -- non-surgical cosmetic procedures -- has outpaced the demand for plastic surgery. Last year, almost 5 million people spent money on procedures that use lasers and injections, compared to the 1.6 million who underwent invasive surgery, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, the largest plastic surgery organization in the world.
People are paying for lasers to smooth skin and injections of everything from collagen to plump lips to botulism toxin to fight wrinkles.
Paralyzing procedure
With increasing national exposure through advertisements and word-of-mouth, Botox has made its way into the popular American vernacular.
The treatment, which temporarily paralyzes facial muscles, is the most common cosmetic procedure in the nation. More than 1.1 million Botox injections -- about one-quarter of all non-surgical cosmetic procedures -- were administered in 2002, a 43 percent growth since 2001, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons reported.
"It's a quick treatment -- there's no downtime associated," said Christine Cassiano, a spokeswoman for Allergan, the largest manufacturer of Botox, who also uses the Botox product. "People can get it done during their lunch break, and nobody's going to know that they've had any kind of treatment done."
Allergan's Botox sales are estimated to reach about $560 million this year, a 27 percent increase from 2002, Cassiano said, adding that treatments usually last for three or four months. Botox injections can cost between $250 and $4,500, according to the Plastic Surgery Costs Forum, which tracks the average prices of cosmetic surgery procedures in the United States.
Teeth-whitening represents another fast-growing sector of the beauty industry.
The American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, a group that sets national standards for the field, reports that teeth-whitening and bleaching procedures have increased more than 300 percent over the past five years.
This year, an estimated 100 million people will spend about $2.3 billion on teeth-whitening products and services, according to an American Dental Association survey.
'Brows'-ing
Madonna, Demi Moore and Jennifer Connelly -- each born with beautiful, full brows -- now have them shaped by beauticians on a regular basis. Men and women who do not grace the covers of magazines at grocery-store stands are also joining in.
Brow shaping is her spa's most popular waxing service, said Christine Marino, a skin-care department manager at Burke Williams day spa in Orange, Calif.
"I spend probably half of my day waxing," she said.
Bikini waxes are also very popular, Marino said.
In addition to offering more than 10 different types of waxing treatments, Burke Williams' range of services includes a menu that encompasses almost 100 different services, many of which were traditionally offered by salons.