Why Visits to Beauty Salons are Nightmarish Experience for Many

Let's admit it! For  many of us those weekly or monthly visits to the beauty salons are definitely a nightmarish experience.

Uninvited comments about our physical appearance, unnecessary interference in our personal lives and skewed sense of what looks attractive is propagated by most, if not all beauty salons. In fact, whenever you feel that you are too confident about yourself, visit a beauty salon and brace yourself for a reality check.

SheThePeople.TV spoke to some young girls to know their beauty salon experiences.

Making you super conscious about your looks

Chaitanya Singh, (23) pursuing Masters in Political Science from IGNOU says,"I once took my younger sister to get her haircut. The lady there saw me and said that I looked 'damaged'. I think she was talking about my skin but it was weird to hear someone saying this to me."

A 22-year-old Sonali Kathuria working with a reputed airlines company in Gurugram recalls a horrifying experience when she was told that she had so many pimples on her face that it seemed she hadn't washed it ever.

"I was also told to get my upper lips done, as soon as possible, because moustaches are for boys and not girls," she adds.

Nikita Kumar, a student of Jawahar Lal Nehru University recollects a hilarious experience when the lady at the salon shouted at her 'You have blackheads' as if an apocalypse was near.

Also: Stories of Strength: A healthy skin for beauty from within

When your absence worries them

As if your presence is not enough for them, your absence from the salon becomes an important topic of discussion.

Ishita Chikkara recalls how the salon owner thought that her sister had got engaged because she didn't show up for a few months.

Also: In A First, Forbes Releases List of Beauty Influencers

Taking the diplomacy route

"The beauty salon I visit is very diplomatic. They assured me that I have nice features but I must maintain myself by getting spas and facials done from time to time to look more beautiful.", says Ayushi Jain pursuing a foreign language in Delhi.

The pressure to fit in

Tara Khandelwal, a resident of Mumbai, shares that she was one of the last to go get body hair waxed. Also that there was a lot of peer pressure on her as girls young as nine were getting beauty treatments regularly in her school.

"Once I walked into some birthday party wearing sleeveless, and the girls were like look at her arms. And in Physical Education class as well while wearing shorts," she tells us.

Also: New Delhi To Host Beauty Pageant For Transgender Women

Ria Das residing in Bengaluru harked back to a time when people around her started commenting on her eyebrows stating that it looks like a bush and if she doesn't thread it in time, boys won't notice.

"I never mind people and their silly talks so much", she admits when asked about her defence mechanism to such nasty comments.

Obsession with beauty and grooming?

A joint study conducted by Assocham and research agency MRSS India  says that India's cosmetics and grooming industry market size is expected to rise manifold to $35 billion by 2035. The survey proves how obsessed the country is with beauty and grooming.

Redefining beauty

Talking about how physical beauty is merely a societal construct, Ayushi Chaudhary says,"what is considered beautiful keeps changing from time to time and place to place. For instance, once fuller bodies with facial hair were considered beautiful. Now, slim and faces without hair is beautiful.”

Such distasteful comments made at beauty salons are a hindrance to young women's process of becoming more comfortable with their bodies as the thought that "looking a certain way" is more desirable is constantly reinforced in their heads.

Read Also: Survey Reveals A Shift in Attitude of Indian Women Towards Beauty