• Pre-Summer period the busiest for beauty salons as people rushing to get their body ready for the sun
• Demand for body treatments, waxing and facials up 20% in the past month alone
• Increase in online traffic for hair removal (48%) and varicose veins treatment (164%) over the last month
• Over 450 beauty salons and medical aestheticians listed on WhatClinic.com for South Africa

October 2014 – Holidays are just around the corner, and South Africans are rushing to salons to get their skin, nails, hair and faces prepped up for the sun.

Last year, in the few months leading up to summer time (August 2013 to January 2014)  beauty salons saw their patient enquiries more than triple (231%) while medical aesthetics enquiries shot up by 187%, and enquiries for body treatments increased by an unbelievable 472%.

Between August and January of last year, traffic for Laser Hair Removal soared by 110%, for Waxing by 119% and for Laser Skin Resurfacing by 121%.

Laser Skin resurfacing is a procedure that involves removing skin layer by layer using a very precise pulse of energy.  New skin cells that form during the healing process give the skin a tighter and younger looking appearance.

Demand for Facials also rose by 86% just before summer time last year. Beauty clinics offer Facials for an average of R 528.

The country has also witnessed an increase in demand for Varicose Veins Treatment (232%), Spider Veins treatment (60%) and Sclerotherapy (93%) with people wanting to give their legs a full make over before the beach season.

Varicose veins are large, raised, swollen blood vessels that twist and turn. They usually develop in the legs and can be seen through the skin. Spider veins are smaller, red, purple, and blue vessels that are also easily visible through the skin, typically on the legs and face.

Sclerotherapy uses an injection of a special chemical (sclerosant) into a varicose vein to damage and scar the inside lining of the vein. This causes the vein to close. During this procedure, the affected leg is elevated to drain blood, and the sclerosant is injected into the varicose vein. The procedure is done in a doctor’s office or clinic and takes up to 30 minutes, depending on how many varicose veins are treated and how big they are.

Spider Veins Treatment costs an average of R 942.

The table below shows some of the other most popular treatments in the few months leading up to Summer of last year (August 2013 to January 2014):

This year, people are already starting to get ready for the sun. Waxing salons, beauty clinics and medical aestheticians have seen their patients double in just a few weeks. In the past month alone, enquiries for waxing and hair removal have increased by 247%, and facials and makeup enquiries by 70%.

One of the most popular summer treatments this year is IPL hair removal with a traffic increase of 48%.

Intense Pulsed Light, commonly abbreviated as IPL, is a technology used by beauty salons and medical practitioners to perform various skin treatments including hair removal and photorejuvenation. Just like laser technology, it uses light emission to damage the hair follicle IPL machines differs  from their laser counterparts by the spectrum of light they emit.

Also very much in demand before the summer are varicose veins treatment (164%), lip augmentation (80%) and excessive sweating treatment (59%).

Caelen King, CEO of WhatClinic.com, comments: “While we have noted a surge in people getting ready for the holidays, it’s important to remind everyone that even non-surgical interventions such as laser treatment, IPL and injectables do carry serious risks. We recommend researching your practitioner to ensure they are not only experienced and qualified, but that they are covered for all possible risks. Make sure you are fully informed before you make your final decision, and don’t be swayed by special offers or time-sensitive pricing.”

“A good question to ask your practitioner is how many patients they have performed this particular treatment on. Practice really does make perfect. How often do they get to do this treatment, and how much training have they had? Make sure you have realistic expectations of the results and read patient reviews on sites like WhatClinic.com to get independent opinions.”