Young girls, men and pensioners are increasingly having beauty treatments usually popular with adult women according to South West London beauticians.
By Joel Durston, Nadine Burnham-Marshalleck, Lizzie Dearden and Thomas McMahon
Pensioners, 12-year-old girls and business men are increasingly shelling out for specialist beauty treatments, say South West London beauticians.
Beauty treatments are spreading into unprecedented demographics in recent years.
Interviews with spas and clinics in South West London suggest teenagers are increasingly turning to treatments which are usually popular among adult women.
Some local salons have had girls as young as 12 undergoing waxing treatments.
Lisa Ketley, manager of Southfields salon The Beauty Room, said parents take children in to avoid bullying at school.
“It’s more for children’s welfare than sexualisation,” she said.
This year has seen an explosion of 12 to 15-year-olds visiting Wimbledon Therapy, according to beautician Homa.
She also reported a dramatic rise in the number of men treating themselves to eyebrow-threading – a treatment that involves individually tying eyebrow hairs with thread and plucking them out.
Angela Conway from Bourne Beautiful, Epsom said their customers start from 15 to 16 years old and Amee Hudnott from Spirit of Beauty, Surbiton said their youngest regular customer is 14 years old.
And it seems the beauty bug has extended to even the most veteran South West Londoners, as The Beauty Room has a regular customer at the age of 93. Spirit of Beauty has a 79-year-old customer who has been visiting for 13 years.
Mothers are increasingly enjoying weight-loss treatments to look good in the eyes of other mothers at the school gates.
The Universal Contour Wrap which supposedly delivers a short, sharp, shock into shape, is growing in popularity at Escape Spa, Putney.
But some young Wimbledon residents insist they would never have a cosmetic treatment.
Tamara, 16, and Leah, 17, disapproved of cosmetic treatments.
“Everyone gets old, they just need to deal with it,” they said.
“No I don’t think I would ever have a treatment.”
Ms Ketley does not believe health scares will discourage people from undergoing cosmetic treatments.
She said: “If people want it they are going to have it no matter what people say is bad for you.”
