Monday good day for extra bathroom

Tomorrow's public holiday could save blokes a lot of bother in the bathroom.

The average woman spends 76 minutes getting ready for work on Mondays, four times as long as they do on Fridays, a new study has found.

In contrast, men take an average of 28 minutes to get ready at the start of the week and just 11 at the end.

The study of 1000 people in the UK, found women spent 23 Monday minutes doing their hair, 19 in the shower, 18 on make-up and 16 deciding what to wear.

Kiwi stylists and beauticians were divided on why preparation times were so much longer at the start of the week, but say dress-down Fridays could be a factor.

Stylist Lulu Wilcox said women also spent more time selecting their Monday wardrobe after catching up on their washing and ironing over the weekend. And she understood how some women rushed their morning routine as the week progressed.

"Our lives are so busy, we just sort of tend to forget," said Wilcox.

She recommended women organise their wardrobe for the week ahead to save time.

Time spent on beauty can also be cut back. Wilcox said hair washed, blow-dried and straightened on a Monday could survive not being washed again until Wednesday.

Fellow stylist Anna Kate Paterson said women often wanted to put their best foot forward on a Monday, but could be uninspired by their wardrobe later in the week. But she thought 18 minutes was too long to apply make-up and "less is more".

L'Oreal's Tanya Abbott said: "We're all time-poor, we are all keen to shave off time here and there, for some that includes time spent in the shower and in front of the mirror."

Garth Wyllie, executive director of the Cosmetic Toiletry and Fragrance Association, said New Zealand women used a minimum of three to four beauty products a day, but even allowing for that he thought 76 minutes getting ready seemed "unduly long".

Very casual Fridays

Morning routines vary greatly for Kiwi women.

Urban planning student Aimee Fowler, 22, said she spends about 70 minutes getting ready on Mondays, compared to 45 on Fridays.

"I don't know if I should be proud of that," she said. "On Fridays you've got a little less time, you wake up a little bit later."

Graphic artist Tara Cordes, 21, estimated she spends about 20 minutes getting ready on Monday, compared to 10 minutes on a Friday.

"Everything's more casual on Friday I think."

But office worker Alex Griffin, 20, finds she spends more time getting ready for work on Fridays so she can look good for after-work drinks.

On Monday her routine lasts half an hour, where as Friday is at least 45 minutes.

"Monday is my day where I try to make it as short as possible."