How to Stay Warm

Most Mentioned Treatments:
• Acrylic manicure
• Gel pedicures
• Lymphatic-drainage: These are the most popular forms of massage and are supposed to smooth and slim by moving lymph fluid through the body.
• Massages
• HydraFacials: The most popular facial, these are medical grade treatments where blackheads, dirt, and oil are vacuumed from the skin while plumping and hydrating serums are applied.
• Injectable treatments such as Botox and platelet-rich plasma.
“I have an account just for beauty purchases and maintenance. I can spend in this category intentionally and guilt-free.” —A 25-year-old spends $4,831 per year

Most of the mentioned products:
• Topical Faded Serum
• SkinCeuticals CE Ferulic
• Dr. Dennis Gross Universal Daily Peel
• Paula’s Choice 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant

Total: $9,314

Most Mentioned Treatments:
• Corrective skin facials
• Laser hair removal
• Botox and fillers
• Microneedling
• Red-light-therapy masks
• Eyebrow lamination
• Invisalign
• Saunas

Most of the mentioned products:
• Caudalie Beauty Elixir and Vinoperfect Brightening Dark Spot Serum
• Youth to the People serum and cleanser
• Tatcha the Dewy Skin Cream
• Topics Clearing Eye Masks
• COSRX Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence

Total: $9,784

Most Mentioned Treatments:
• Acupuncture facial: Often seen as an alternative to Botox, these are procedures that improve skin texture, fine lines, and wrinkles.
• Chemical peels or laser treatments
• Annual Botox or fillers under the eyes

Most of the mentioned products:
• Biologique Recherche Lait VIP 02 or p50 Lotion
• Olay Golden Aura Creamy Foam Face Cleanser and Ultra Moisture Body Wash
• Supergoop Unseen Sunscreen: The most used product among all age groups is sunscreen (52 women apply it daily, often SPF 50-plus). Other favorites include Bioré, EltaMD, and Beauty of Joseon.

Total: $6,213

Most Mentioned Treatments:
• Waxing
• Salon visits for hair coloring
• Homemade hair masks

Most of the mentioned products:
• CeraVe Hydrating Facial Cleanser
• Clinique Take the Day Off Cleansing Balm
• La Mer Moisturizing Fresh Cream

Total: $4,219

Most Mentioned Treatments:
• Hair trims and color touch-ups
• Irregular Botox: “My doctor knows I don’t want to look like those women who have swollen lips and noses. He injects different substances into my face. My wife doesn’t even know I’m doing this.” —A 64-year-old spends $2,300 per year
• Manicures
• Neck lift
• Blepharoplasty surgery

Most of the mentioned products:
• Neutrogena makeup remover, wipes, and moisturizer
• Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye Supercharged Gel-Cream and Perfectionist Pro Rapid Firm + Lift Serum
• Dove Original Beauty Bar: OG brands, including Olay, Vaseline, and even Gold Bond, are starting to show up more in the routines of women over 40.

Total: $2,190

Daily AM
I immediately drink lemon or lime water.

For skin care, I start with red-light gua shua from Silk Skin Co. ($100) and the Kiehl’s Daily Reviving Concentrate Face Oil ($87). Then I clean with Skinbetter Cleansing Gel ($50), TirTir Milk Skin Toner ($25), Skinbetter Alto Defense Serum ($235), and Tatcha the Dewy Skin Cream ($72).

Exercise for an hour, either reformer Pilates (membership is $220 a month) or my personal trainer ($680 a month).

Supplements: sea moss, omega-3, zinc, magnesium, D-3, B-complex.

In the shower, I use Le Labo Noir 29 Perfumed Shower Gel ($63), followed by Le Labo Noir 29 Scented Body Lotion ($83), then Anima Mundi Rose Body Oil ($72), and finish by spraying with Le Labo Noir 29 Eau de Parfum ($235).

Daily PM
I have to drink my teas. My favorite is the Tisane from Ebi ($40). It’s for postpartum, but it has so many incredible ingredients that are great for women’s health in general.

Weekly
I visit my hair stylist to refresh ($80 plus tip).

Whiten my teeth at home with GuruNanda Whitening Strips ($10).

Monthly
Structured gel manicure ($85 for simple, $125 for design and tip) and a spa pedicure to keep my feet smooth; it includes lavender sea-salt scrub with vitamin E and amino oil and paraffin treatment from Bliss Nails ($70 plus tip). Refresh my extensions. HydraFacial at Skin Spa New York with dermaplaning ($400).

quarterly
Masseter Botox for my jaw at a local medspa.

Annually
New set of extensions for my hair, which could be around $600 (and that’s if I only get one set). I also do three sessions of body sculptingwhich includes lymphatic drainageskin tightening with radio-frequency therapyand wood-tool massages. Before my birthday, I’ll try the same treatment on my arms and thighs to see if it’s just as effective ($460).

Every day
Wash my face with Dove soap and water. At night, I remove makeup with Neutrogena makeup wipes and wash again with soap and water. I bought wipes at Costcoand they last month ($21.99).

Monthly
I get my hair colorand every third visit, I get it both cut and colored. It costs me $65 with tip per visit just for color, and each trim-with-color visit (three to four times a year) costs $90.

28 of our respondents get Botox, and more than half of them are in their 20s and 30s. Meanwhile, women 40 and older often say they try to stay off injectables as much as possible. “I may do Botox eventually, but for now, I’d rather be natural,” said the 49-year-old. “I was curious about it, but I’ve seen a lot of bad Botox. I don’t want my face to change,” said a 54-year-old. Others prefer to stick with less invasive alternatives. A 51-year-old went for a full face-and-neck treatment at Sofwave, which uses ultrasound technology. And a 46-year-old highly recommends her annual Rescue Spa facial: “I swear it reverses age me. I don’t need Botox , and I think it’s because their facials are so good.

Especially with extensions and hair installments. A 29-year-old breaks down her regimen: “Because I’m a perfectionist when it comes to my hair, I cut back on my extension installations and re-installs once a month. Takedown, silk-press, and tape-in ​​installation comes to $525. I usually reuse the hair I’ve had for at least six months but often I have to buy a fresh bundle, because I usually dye and cut the hair I use. My bundles run me about $200 each, and I need four for the entire installation.

You used to have to go to a salon or medspa to get certain procedures done, but more of those treatments are now available as DIY kits. “There are great sets you can buy on Amazon that work really well,” says a 29-year-old who recently started tinting her lashes at home and can now skip the mascara. Another woman, 33, does at-home cupping therapy using $10 silicone cups from Amazon; others swear by their personal hair steamers and face steamers, which, according to one 29-year-old, “keep skin hydrated, prevent acne, and help fight redness.” One 30-year-old even does her own dermaplaning. “My friend’s mom taught us all how at a middle-school sleepover,” she said. “He used a scalpel, but I’m not pro enough. I buy dermaplane razors at the drugstore.”

Ten women — all in their late 40s, 50s, or 60s — included vacations when examining their beauty and skin-care regimens. For some, it was a seven-day journey; for others, it’s a Caribbean vacation. And for a 47-year-old, it can be as simple as a solo staycation. “Taking a single trip is a necessity, and it’s not even out of state,” he said. “Some years it’s a trip, and other years it’s a two-night stay at a fancy hotel in the city. The thing is I won’t tell anyone about it, and I mean anyone.”

People’s beauty regimens include the gamut of faddish treatments, but there’s one that’s very new: salmon DNA therapy. During the procedure, which is not widely available here, a mixture of salmon blood and reproductive fluids is injected into the skin to promote cell regeneration. “It hurts,” says a 32-year-old who tried it in Korea, “but I love trying Botox alternatives to give me a healthy glow.” Six women get platelet-rich plasma injections, aka “vampire facials,” which involve taking plasma and injecting it back into the face; microneedling or small holes in the skin; and CO2 lasers, a new treatment to resurface the top layer of skin.

From dry brushing to body-sculpting massages like lymphatic drainage, people are spending more time and money on getting in shape. A woman in her 20s spends $700 a month to get “body sculpting for her abs, back, and legs, as well as Emsculpt treatments for her hip dips and butt.”

Photos: Retailers

See All