In recent months, students have been making alterations to their beauty routines in an effort to counterbalance increased inflation rates and rising prices.
Debbie Rowland, owner of DMR Salon & Extension Bar in Oxford, described these trends as “a combination of the economy and style.”
“We have a trend of more women doing a more lived-in blonde or lived-in color, which is lower maintenance than having your highlights,” Rowland said. “I think more people are trying to just not spend as much money … and just being lower maintenance with their look allows them not to have to come into the salon as often.”
Rowland uses techniques like “tease lights” and root smudge toners to blend natural colors with clients’ preferred look. This strategy helps clients go up to three or four months between appointments, compared to the one- to two-month maintenance required for blondes.
DMR client Kaylin Begley, a freshman integrated marketing communications major, transitioned from a bright blonde to a lower-maintenance brunette in 2024 because she knew she would not have time for frequent salon visits in college.
“It’s easier to maintain,” Begley said. “I don’t have to spend as much on product, which is nice. I’ve only been once in the past few months.”
She used to spend approximately $200 per appointment every month to maintain her blonde color but now visits the salon less often, reducing her overall expenses.
Madeline Champagne, a junior integrated marketing communications major, made a similar change and said that the switch saved her a lot of money.
“Because of the high maintenance of the blonde, it was a lot to keep up with. … So I decided in December to go back to (being a) brunette. I thought it was going to be more gradual at first, but my hairstylist pretty much sent me all the way back from fully blonde to fully brunette in one appointment,” Champagne said.
Champagne said she pays no more than $100 every two to three months, compared to the $150 to $200 she used to pay monthly. She now realizes the financial implications of this decision.
“As I’m seeing patterns in the economy, I think it was a great decision,” Champagne said. “It’s definitely nice not having to pay that much money to get your hair done.”
In addition to saving a buck, Champagne said that her self-confidence has been boosted.
“A lot of celebrities are going back to their natural color,” Champagne said. “I think it’s just a reflection of staying true to yourself. … Embracing my natural hair color has helped me feel more confident.”
For Julia Drozd, a freshman forensic chemistry major, the economic state meant opting for do-it-yourself instant nails rather than professional manicures.
“I normally get my nails done when I’m back home every weekend. But now I’m in college, and I can’t really afford it, so I get Walmart press-ons,” Drozd said.
The average price of a manicure in Oxford ranges from $25 to $75 and lasts from two to four weeks, depending on the type of service, according to Yelp.com. The average price of Walmart press-ons is $8-$12 and can last one or two weeks.
Khaiya Sisaride, a freshman biology major, has also shifted her nail habits to save money in recent years.
“I used to get designs on my nails all the time, but it gets really expensive, so now I just do french tips,” Sisaride said. “Now I only get them when my mom is in town.”
Claire Wright, who has been working at the beauty store Amy Head Cosmetics since 2010, noticed that customers who have been affected by the economy have switched to smaller luxuries that are not such a financial burden.
The 2008 “Lipstick Index” shows that consumers tend to gear their beauty store purchases to “smaller luxuries,” like lipstick, during economic downturns, according to Business Insider.
“When money is tight for some people, they tend to gravitate towards lipstick and lip gloss because it’s an easy change and it doesn’t cost much,” Wright said. “To come out and have your makeup done and buy products that are going to last several months is definitely less than going and buying a new wardrobe.”
Despite nationwide correlations between the economic state and cosmetic services, Wright has noted that Oxford has a higher degree of resistance to “recession beauty trends.”
“I hate to say recession-proof, but as long as it’s a college town, people are going to be there and keep coming,” Wright said.
