40% of people would let a non-professional wax them

Research into the UK’s beauty treatment habits has suggested that a large chunk of the British public don’t take the potential dangers of treatments gone wrong seriously, as 40% said they would let an untrained person wax them.

Commissioned by insurance provider Hiscox, which offers Hair and Beauty Insurance, the survey used data from more than 2,000 UK adults to find out about their habits and opinions when it comes to beauty treatments.

Waxing featured frequently in the survey answers, with 50% of respondents saying they “hate” getting a wax, though 1 in 50 Londoners said they enjoy it. Londoners were also found to have the most treatments of the population, spending a median amount of £120 per month, while more than a quarter admitted to a treatment bill of over £500.

46% of respondents in London get monthly manicures, 35% have a wax and 24% get a botulinium toxin top-up. Unsurprisingly, price was found to be least important to those living in the capital when choosing a salon compared to the rest of the country, where 48% said they were more concerned about price and 46% said treatment quality was the most important factor.

People in Wales were more likely to care about being able to get an appointment than anything else, while for those in East Anglia the vicinity of a salon is just as important as it being well-rated.

On the other end of the spending scale were Scots, with a median spend of just £2 per month, while half spend nothing at all on treatments.

When asked for the top reason why they get beauty treatments, the majority (41%) said the biggest incentive is to feel confident. Respondents from Northern Ireland answered overwhelmingly that feeling attractive post-treatment is more important than feeling relaxed (32%).