China's elderly emerge as new driving force of beauty salon customers

China's senior citizens have gradually emerged as a major consumer group of beauty salon services, thanks to the growing number of elderly people in China and the continuing increase in their retirement pensions.

China is home to 260 million elderly people and has increased retirement allowances for 10 years in a row. This has resulted in significant expansion in the consumption power of senior citizens, who prefer not to be confined to a traditional retired life, but are embracing new experiences provided by regular body conditioning and facial care.

"When I was young, I couldn’t afford to go to beauty salons. Besides, I was focused on raising my children and doing household chores. Now that I have retired, I think it is worth spending some time and part of my pension to live for myself," said a 65-year-old woman surnamed Huang who spends half a day at a beauty parlor every week.

Huang said she used to be an amateur in the field of beauty care, but her consumption concept underwent a drastic change last summer after joining a model team under a university for the elderly after her retirement.

"I wanted to learn from other teammates of similar age who care about skin care. I also wanted to look good," recalled Huang, adding that she feels greatly refreshed and relaxed every time after her weekly facials and body care sessions.

An 88-year-old woman surnamed Jiang has been a frequent visitor to beauty salons for years. Jiang revealed that in addition to beauty treatments, her routine has been made all the more rewarding by the new friends she has made. Meanwhile, she has found that a significantly growing number of her peers receive cosmetic treatments.

In recent years, more and more elderly people have joined the ranks of beauty salon costumers, according to Zhang Mei, a therapist who has worked in the beauty industry for 15 years.

"70 percent of our customers are over 60 years old, and there is also no shortage of customers aged 70 or 80. Apart from facials, they also have a preference for head and body physiotherapy," remarked Zhang, noting that in the past, customers in beauty salons were made up predominantly of rich people, but now more and more working class and elderly people have become their regular visitors.