Bargain Betty: Beauty needn't come at a cost

Women spend a small fortune on beauty treatments. In fact Newsweek estimated that the average American woman spends more than $500,000 on hair and beauty in her lifetime.

I don't really have the time or inclination to frequent a beauty parlour. The one concession I make, however, is to have my eyebrows threaded every few weeks.

Here in Devonport "the ancient Egyptian art of threading" is seen as something exotic, with a price tag of $20 to match.

In Mt Roskill - 228 Stoddard Rd, to be precise - the Khoobsurat beauty salon charges $5. If you use the salon's loyalty card it's only $4.50 a visit.

The women of Parnell might be interested to hear that at the time of writing, Khoobsurat was preparing to open a branch at 393 Parnell Rd this month, although the prices could be slightly higher I'm told.

When I found myself in Mt Eden with an hour to spare on the day of my brother's wedding in December, I saw an offer I couldn't refuse.

I chanced on the Paradis Beauty Salon at 341 Dominion Rd and made a spur of the moment decision to walk in. It was the words "Happy Hour" on the window that grabbed my attention. The resulting pedicure and purple polish provided a blissful break from wedding preparations.

The Paradis Happy Hour, which runs from 10am to noon on weekdays, offers a worthwhile discount.

A full pedicure with polish was $30, down from $42 usual price.

DIY beauty is catching on. I haven't yet got to the stage of needing to colour my hair. But several friends have switched from salon treatments to supermarket ones with no apparent negative effects.

You can do most beauty treatments yourself. Try Googling the words "DIY beauty" for some ideas.

Another good way to save money on treatments is to go to your local beauty school as a model. You'll find a list of beauty schools in the Yellow Pages.

Some examples of the prices at the Manukau Institute of Technology's School of Hair and Beauty include: pedicure with polish, $14; 1.5 hour body massage, $20; 1.5 hour relaxing facial, $20.