Young people spend more on appearance before schools reopen

Young people are spending more money on their appearance before the start of the school year, with customer numbers rising notably at hair salons and beauty businesses, Yle reports.

Beauty and haircare chains told Yle that their services have become part of preparing for a new school year, alongside buying school supplies and clothes. The companies say customer numbers increase significantly in late summer.

Demand for gel manicures also rises clearly before schools begin, according to one beauty industry company. Most salons have an age limit of 16 for gel manicures. Perms for boys’ hair have also been very popular in recent years, with demand increasing at the start of the school year.

Liisa Ramirez from Laukaa says she does not feel much pressure about her appearance, although the situation might be different if she did not have good enough clothes for the start of school. She spent about 100 euros on clothes and jewellery before the school year began.

Mette Ranta, a docent in educational psychology at the University of Helsinki and a special adviser at the Legal Services Authority, says the phenomenon is not new.

“Young people want to prepare for returning to school and seeing their friends. It shows that the situation is important to them, which is why they also want to invest in their appearance,” Ranta says.

According to Ranta, young people partly build their identities through consumer choices. Consumption also reflects which things they consider worth pursuing and what kind of style they want to adopt.

“The need to belong and join a group is based on the fact that young people are creating their own identities. This happens strongly in relation to other people of the same age and those they consider important. Consumption is not a private choice, but a way of being part of a particular social group,” Ranta says.

For example, getting gel nails seen on a public figure or influencer can be part of an identity-building process. Through their consumer choices, young people may seek to reach a similar level or become part of a similar group.

Social media can intensify appearance pressures

Julia Heath, 19, says she used the money she received as a graduation gift to buy a cat, meaning she will not dye her hair this summer. Hair dyeing has usually been part of her preparation for the new school year.

Heath says the start of school can create a desire to change something about one’s appearance or buy new clothes. Influences can come from social media as well as from people encountered in everyday life.

“When you walk outside and notice that everyone has, for example, a certain kind of clothing, it does have an effect. Then you start wondering whether you should have the same,” Heath says.

Appearance pressures among young people have received increased attention in recent years, particularly because of social media. The pressures affect young people regardless of gender.

They may become more pronounced when many friends return to school with trendily cut hair, attractive gel nails or bright white new shoes. A haircut or an updated wardrobe does not necessarily reflect appearance pressure, however.

Some young people instead want to have what is known as a “glow up” before school begins, meaning a transformation aimed at looking and feeling as radiant as possible.

Elli Ala-Heikkilä, who is starting her studies, says improving one’s appearance can at least boost self-esteem. She has not spent money on new clothes or haircare, however.

“Social media does create a situation where you think more about what you look like. It only shows the improved surface, and rarely anything realistic,” Ala-Heikkilä says.

Social media contains many glow-up videos in which young people describe the beauty treatments and wellbeing-related activities they have undertaken before the start of school. TikTok has also featured many such videos.