Israelis Spend Thousands Annually on Grooming, Far Exceeding Official Statistics
While official Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) data suggests an average Israeli family spends around 200 shekels per month on personal care, the actual costs for those regularly using services are significantly higher, according to a Mako report. The CBS figures, which average spending across all households including those who don't use specific services, show a monthly expenditure of just 22.4 shekels for women's haircuts and 5.4 shekels for men's and children's haircuts. However, a single women's haircut can cost between 150-300 shekels, and a men's cut around 60 shekels, highlighting a substantial discrepancy.
Expanding beyond haircuts, the CBS reports an average of 51 shekels monthly for personal care services and 149 shekels for care products, totaling approximately 200 shekels per month or 2,404 shekels annually. This represents 1.32% of the consumer basket. Spending varies by income, with higher-income households spending about 290 shekels monthly compared to 123 shekels for lower-income households. Cosmetics and makeup are the largest expense within care products at 69.7 shekels per month, followed by hair products at 22.8 shekels.
For individuals who regularly engage in grooming, the costs escalate dramatically. A typical routine for a woman, including haircuts, coloring, hair products, cosmetics, manicures, pedicures, and facials, can exceed 500 shekels per month and over 5,000 shekels annually, even before considering aesthetic procedures.
Costs for aesthetic treatments, such as Botox and hyaluronic acid injections, can run into tens of thousands of shekels over a decade. For instance, Botox for a single facial zone, with three treatments per year, could cost 21,000-45,000 shekels over ten years. More extensive facial Botox could reach 60,000-105,000 shekels in the same period. Regular facials, costing around 350 shekels each and performed 8-12 times a year, can amount to 28,000-42,000 shekels over a decade.
The article also points out significant price variations for similar procedures, with treatments like skin tightening ranging from 800-1500 shekels in a cosmetic office to 3,000-8,000 shekels in a medical clinic. Laser hair removal packages can cost around 6,000 shekels upfront for approximately 12 sessions, despite advertised prices per session being as low as 80-200 shekels. Consumers are advised to scrutinize package deals, understand cancellation policies, and verify the qualifications of practitioners, especially for medical procedures like injections, which are restricted to licensed medical professionals by the Ministry of Health.
