People love to look smart for special occasions.

It is therefore not surprising that beauty salons are very busy before Tết.

Salons in places like Ho Chi Minh City and Hà Nội are mostly giving people hair and skin care services.

They find this time of year very good for business.

By Bồ Xuân Hiệp

With Tết (Lunar New Year) holiday just a few weeks away, more customers are patronising beauty salons and spas in HCM City and Hà Nội, mostly for hair and skin care services.

Customers say they want to look fresh and new to celebrate the country’s biggest national holiday, which falls on February 16 this year.

Among the popular services are hi-tech skin treatments and other non-surgical cosmetic treatments, according to spa experts.    

People are especially interested in skin whitening and exfoliation services, while customers with higher incomes and more free time request more intensive aesthetic treatments.

Nguyễn Thị Kim Châu, director of Linh Chi Spa in HCM City, said between 100 and 200 customers were coming to the spa each day for hair and skin care services.

“Since the beginning of the new year, we’ve received an averaged 100 clients a day, around 200 per cent more than normal,” she said.

The price for basic skin care services at mid-range spas in the city ranges from VNĐ200,000 (US$8.8) to around VNĐ2 million ($88). Services costing around VNĐ500,000 ($22) suit the budget of most office workers.

For the high-end segment, intensive skin care treatments such as Ultra Vlift skin rejuvenation or skin hydration are among the favourites.

Melasma skin treatment and skin whitening services are also popular, but the cost is high and attracts mostly high-income customers.

For example, the Ultra Vlift skin rejuvenation package at a beauty salon on Nguyễn Đình Chiểu Street in District 1 can cost VNĐ52 million ($2,289) each time.

Alternatively, customers can choose a more affordable package of skin care at VNĐ21 million for each treatment or a white-skin injection package at a cost of VNĐ10 million each time.

“There is high demand for beauty services for Tết,” said Nguyễn Ngọc Hiền, CEO of Evie Clinic & Spa in HCM City. “Due to the limited time, customers need fast, safe and effective beauty treatments at a reasonable price.”   

She said the number of customers to her spa had increased by 30 per cent compared to normal days.

“Most of the customers do not make appointments in advance and just stop by whenever they have free time, sometimes leading to an overcrowded schedule,” she said.

An owner of a spa in HCM City, who declined to be named, noted that the number of customers had surged by 200 per cent at some salons.

Most customers were overseas Vietnamese who like using beauty services in Việt Nam due to the affordable prices and high-quality services, she said.  

Similarly, many beauty establishments in Hà Nội are operating at full capacity.

Nguyễn Ánh Tuyết, owner of Ánh Tuyết Spa in Hà Nội, said customers were making appointments around one month in advance, mostly for eyebrow tattoos and eyelid tattoo services.

With increasing demand for beauty services for both women and men, many beauty experts are concerned about the quality of less reputable establishments.

"The unsafe rate of beauty services and treatments in the market is extremely high," one spa owner said.

Customers should be aware of the reputation of beauty salons and the quality of services, and should look for reputable brands and modern machines with advanced technology, she said.

"If surgical treatment is required, it must be done by a professionally licensed doctor," she said. — VNS

GLOSSARY

With Tết (Lunar New Year) holiday just a few weeks away, more customers are patronising beauty salons and spas in HCM City and Hà Nội, mostly for hair and skin care services.

To patronise a beauty salon means to go there to pay for their service.

A spa is a place where you can go into water that has special minerals and other healthy things.

Among the popular services are hi-tech skin treatments and other non-surgical cosmetic treatments, according to spa experts.    

Non-surgical means without involving operations.

Cosmetic treatment is treatment to make you look different rather than to help fight a disease.

People are especially interested in skin whitening and exfoliation services, while customers with higher incomes and more free time request more intensive aesthetic treatments.

Exfoliation is to do with removing old, dead skin cells on the surface of the skin.

Aesthetic means to do with looking presentable.

Services costing around VNĐ500,000 ($22) suit the budget of most office workers.

A budget is a money-spending plan.

For the high-end segment, intensive skin care treatments such as Ultra Vlift skin rejuvenation or skin hydration are among the favourites.

Rejuvenation means bringing back something to how it was when it was younger.

Hydration means adding water or moisture.

Melasma skin treatment and skin whitening services are also popular, but the cost is high and attracts mostly high-income customers.

Melasma is a type of skin problem that causes people to have patches, often on their face.

Most of the customers do not make appointments in advance and just stop by whenever they have free time, sometimes leading to an overcrowded schedule.

To do something in advance means to do it ahead of time. In other words, beforehand.

An owner of a spa in HCM City, who declined to be named, noted that the number of customers had surged by 200 per cent at some salons.

Surged means hugely increased.

With increasing demand for beauty services for both women and men, many beauty experts are concerned about the quality of less reputable establishments.

If something is reputable it is seen by people to be good and trustworthy.

WORKSHEET

Find words that mean the following in the Word Search:

1. A type of skin treatment that is popular.
2. The month this year in which Tết will fall.
3. A favourite treatment among those at the high-end segment.
4. A word that describes the money that you make.
5. Places where many people work.

ANSWERS:

© Duncan Guy/Learn the News/ Viet Nam News 2018

1. Melasma; 2. February; 3. Hydration; 4. Income; 5. Offices.