Professional Beauty Care is Not in the Budget

My day off on Thursday was really nice. I had gotten a gift certificate for a spa package for my birthday last fall and I have been hanging on to it for awhile now. I had been just waiting for a time when I was feeling particularly stressed so I could use it to its full effect! The gift certificate was for a full massage, pedicure, manicure and hair cut. I decided to split it in two, (thus savoring it all the longer,) and just use the massage and pedicure appointments this time.

The massage was wonderful! The best part about it was the therapist didn't try to talk to me. Its a personal pet peeve of mine when massage therapists want to have conversations with me. If you have a chatty client, all well and good, but I'm going to be dead to the world, deep in relaxation. Let's not make it uncomfortable for both of us by trying to fill it with chatter, ok? Anyway, the gal I had was great! I did splurge a little on the pedicure - they had an upgrade to their "margarita" package which included a lime soak, lime salt rub and lime lotions. It was fabulous! Any other scent and I wouldn't have upgraded, but lime is one of my all time favorites. So, for just the cost of the upgrade and tips, I had a wonderful couple of hours.

It isn't something I could do on my own though...

The massage alone would have run me over $70... and that is without tip! Let's face it, the way things are right now with my money, I couldn't afford to be doing it. There was a time, back when I was having a lot of back problems, that I used to get a massage every couple of months, but that is out the question currently. Pedicures are a little more reasonable... but also something I feel I can do myself. I have a collection of great nail polishes, brushes, files, lotions, even fizzy salts for long hot water soaks. The same thing goes with manicures. I love having my nails done, but again, this is something I can do myself. Not quite as well perhaps, but at absolutely no cost. Once and a great while my sister and I will get lattes and go get manicures together, maybe once every three or four months. That's a little different though. We don't go to a high end salon, for starters, and for another, it is just as much (if not more) about the social time than anything else.

I'm lucky when it comes to hair. Mine is fairly low maintenance. I love having it colored, but I also like its natural color. I don't get it trimmed nearly as often as I should, but with my hair style, I can stretch it out a little longer than most. Actually, I am probably due pretty soon, I may be using that other part of the gift certificate sooner rather than later!

I asked the pedicurist how business was, and not to my surprise, she said things were pretty slow. She said it wasn't completely dead, but she was seriously reconsidering her yearly fall vacation and had put some of her home remodeling plans on the back burner. I would think with spring break around the corner she might get a burst of business, but it doesn't surprise me at all that she is having a slow spring.

What about you? Are you cutting back on these types of "extras"? Are you doing your own nails? How about your own color? Anyone buy a Flowbee yet?


Photo by: .imelda