Less than 3,000 yen/month on beauty for 40%. 60% of working women cut beauty expenses from last year / 'Woman type' survey [130th]

Career Design Center Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President and Chairman: Hiromi Tada), which operates the women-focused job portal 'Woman type', conducted a survey on 'beauty and makeup' targeting 266 working women.

'Woman type', a job site for women seeking long-term full-time careers, regularly conducts the 'Women and Work through Data' survey to investigate the real working perspectives of women and openly shares facts about their working environments.

▼ For more details, please visit here:
https://woman-type.jp/academia/discover-career/data/vol-130/

■ Survey Results Excerpt
★ Most common monthly beauty expense is '2,000 to under 3,000 yen'
★ Prep time is 36.6 minutes on workdays and 45.4 minutes on days off
★ About 70% would use saved prep time for 'sleep'
★ The younger the generation, the more they demand 'aesthetic medicine or hair removal' from their partners

[Q.1 How much do you spend on beauty every month?]
When asked about the average monthly amount spent on beauty (purchasing skincare/makeup products, hair salons, nails, esthetics, beauty clinics, etc.), '2,000 to under 3,000 yen' was the most common at 17.7%. Those who answered under 5,000 yen accounted for 59.4%, representing a majority.

[Q.2 Has there been any change in your 'monthly beauty expense' compared to one year ago?]
When asked about changes due to the impact of inflation, the most common response was 'Decreased slightly' at 31.6%. Combined with 'Decreased significantly' at 26.7%, 58.3% of respondents reported a reduction. Although some individuals increased their spending, it is evident that under inflationary conditions, beauty expenses are a household budget item highly susceptible to cuts.

[Q.3 How much time do you spend on 'getting ready'?]
The top times spent on morning preparations on workdays were: 1st '30 mins to under 1 hour' (43.6%), 2nd '15 mins to under 30 mins' (24.1%), and 3rd '1 hour to under 1.5 hours' (16.2%).
Conversely, when getting ready to go out on days off, '30 mins to under 1 hour' was the most common at 34.2%. The average was 45.4 minutes, which is about 10 minutes longer than the 36.6-minute average for workdays.

[Q.4 How much makeup do you wear on remote work days?]
*Only those who answered they have remote work
Regarding makeup on remote work days, 'No makeup (skincare only)' was the most frequent answer at 50.8%. This was followed by 'Significantly less than office days (base/powder and eyebrows only)' at 22.3%, and 'Slightly less than office days (omitting some eye makeup)' at 10.0%, revealing that over 80% reduce their makeup.

[Q.5 Do you feel pressure that 'working women should wear makeup'?]
When asked if they feel expectations or pressure from their surroundings that working women should wear makeup, the most common answer was 'Do not feel it much' at 35.0%. Combined with 'Do not feel it at all' (18.8%), 53.8% 'Do not feel' the pressure. On the other hand, those who 'Feel' the pressure, combining 'Feel strongly' (10.2%) and 'Feel slightly' (30.1%), stood at 40.3%.
Looking by age group, while 56.0% (more than half) of those in their 20s fall into the 'Feel' category (12.0% 'Feel strongly' + 44.0% 'Feel slightly'), the percentages drop to 41.4% for the 30s, 39.6% for the 40s, and 31.4% for those 50 and older. This shows a trend where older generations feel less pressure that working women must wear makeup.

[Q.6 If the social expectation that 'working women must wear makeup' didn't exist, how would your thoughts on makeup change?]
When asked how their thoughts would change without such social expectations, 'No particular change, I will enjoy makeup' was the most popular at 50.4%. This was followed by 'Only apply makeup to areas of concern' at 28.9%.
Negative responses towards makeup were in the minority, such as 'Only enjoy makeup on days off' (6.8%) and 'Stop wearing it completely except on special days' (3.8%).

[Q.7 If you could shorten your prep time on office days, what would you do?]
*Multiple answers allowed
Regarding what they would do if they could save time getting ready on office days, 'Increase sleep time' overwhelmingly took 1st place at 67.7%. Others included 'Enhance breakfast' and 'Self-improvement/hobbies' at 21.8%, and 'Exercise/stretching' at 21.4%, indicating that many wish to use the time for physical and mental health.

[Q.8 What level of beauty do you expect from your husband/partner?]
When asked about the beauty level expected of a partner, many sought basic care: 1st 'Minimum grooming' (48.5%), 2nd 'Care as a form of grooming' (20.3%), and 3rd 'Basic skincare' (10.9%). Those who 'Expect nothing in particular' were a minority at 10.2%, showing that some level of beauty awareness is generally expected.
By age, while 60.8% of those 50 and older answered 'Minimum grooming', only 32.0% of those aged 20-29 chose this, revealing that younger generations demand higher beauty levels from their partners.

▼ For more details, please visit here:
https://woman-type.jp/academia/discover-career/data/vol-130/

*Survey data (graphs) may not sum to exactly 100% due to rounding to the first decimal place.
*This survey was conducted targeting individuals who self-identify as 'female'.

★ Survey Insights ★
Kayoko Kobayashi, Editor-in-Chief of Woman type
This time, we investigated working women's attitudes and behaviors regarding beauty.
With about 60% spending less than 5,000 yen a month and nearly 60% reporting they cut beauty expenses due to inflation, it is clear that beauty costs are highly susceptible to review amid tight household budgets.
Furthermore, while the majority keep their workday prep time under 1 hour, it tends to be shorter than on their days off. Since 'securing sleep time' is overwhelmingly the top choice for using saved time, we can see a desire to make morning preparations as efficient as possible in their busy daily lives to allocate time to other highly important activities.
There are also signs of change in the notion that 'makeup is a working woman's duty.' Overall, more than half answered they do not feel the pressure to wear makeup. However, there are differences across age groups: 39.6% for 40s, 41.4% for 30s, and 56% for 20s. The younger demographic may still feel burdened by the sense of 'professional manners.'
On a positive note, regardless of external pressures, more than half believe they 'enjoy makeup for themselves.' While seeking efficiency in daily life, they still want to enjoy it for their own sake when necessary.