Why do you go to a beauty salon? To get a hairstyle, manicure, or facial? Is that all you get from the experience?
Think back on the last time you walked out on the street from a salon. Did you feel relaxed, energized, and beautiful? That’s because a visit to a salon is more than a way to get a quick cosmetic fix. It’s a way to boost your mental health on several levels.
We now live in a world where the awareness of mental health and its importance is increasing, but as authoritative sources state, we desperately need more effective prevention methods. Those salon visits can become yours.
Mental Health Benefits of Visiting a Beauty Salon
The first, and often most important, the benefit of a beauty parlor visit is stress relief. Stress is a literal killer and billions of people today lead overstressed lives. Regular relaxation is essential for both your physical and mental health. However, few of us can get frequent vacations or even truly rest on weekends.
A couple of hours in a salon can do this for you. In essence, this visit is your scheduled relaxing “me time”. You’ll spend it by reposing on comfy waiting lounges and in luxurious hair salon chairs. You can also get treatments like massages to further your relaxation.
And the best thing is that this visit is actually you being “busy”. It’s a set point in your schedule, which means you are much less likely to skip it than you would a beauty-dedicated hour at home.
But while relaxing while enjoying some gentle manipulations of your stylist or other beauty professionals is very nice and good for you, it’s not the only mental health booster you get from a salon visit. Another important benefit you get is to help with building up your self-esteem.
Millions of people suffer from some insecurities and lack in self-confidence. Getting a beauty treatment and compliments from your stylist or beautician helps deal with this problem. Note that this isn’t a short-term effect that only lasts until you wash off the makeup applied by a pro.
Visiting a beauty salon regularly means getting regular treatments, which result in healthier and more beautiful skin and hair. Therefore, your confidence grows along with your natural beauty. This effect is so potent, you can use it as a part of the therapy that focuses on developing self-confidence.
Seeing your skin, hair, and nails glowing with health will also offer another important benefit. These cosmetic changes become a great motivator for making more positive lifestyle changes. As your beauty experts will explain, eating, exercising, and sleeping healthy are all things you’ll have to do in order to keep your new look.
Hairstyle Changes as Therapy
Do you remember how often in movies the protagonist will chop off their hair for a dramatic change and become a completely different person, not only in looks? That’s because cutting your hair truly has a therapeutic effect. This is a technique you can use to cope with a major change, regardless if the change is good or bad.
The point here is the act of taking over some measure of control over your body and life. Wearing your hair short will also literally change your appearance quite a bit. This constant reminder you’ll see in the mirror will help adjust and get used to your new circumstances.
And if nothing else, it will distract you from the thoughts of the change that triggered it all.
Of course, in some cases, you might regret cutting your hair or dislike your new look. Not all changes are positive, and that’s another important lesson you can learn from your salon visits.
However, this is a type of issue, which will literally fix itself. Watching your hair grow back into a style you want can be therapeutic as well, albeit in a different way. One thing is for sure, humans have a deep emotional connection to their hair. This is why since the dawn of time hairstyles had meaning, like a mark of belonging to some social group.
This connection is what you influence every time you go to a salon. Therefore, all you need to do is to learn how to use it to boost your mental health and address your personal issues.