
Beauty Is Pain: 1 in 10 Americans Are Going Into Debt To Look Good—How You Can Save
The U.S. beauty industry raked in nearly $63 billion in 2023, but many Americans are struggling to balance rising costs and keeping up with recent beauty standards. New tariffs could push those expenses even higher.
The average American spends $897 on their appearance each year, with men averaging $728 and women averaging $1,064, according to a survey by Advanced Dermatology. Alarmingly, the survey also finds 1 in 10 Americans have taken on an average of $1,342 in debt to keep up with their appearance with beauty products, services or procedures.
With tariffs threatening more price hikes on your favorite beauty products, now is the time to rethink your beauty budget—and maximize your purchases.
As Trump's tariffs shake up the global market economy, experts anticipate disruption in beauty supply chains, leading to rising costs. Beauty products are heavily reliant on a healthy trading relationship with China, which has become increasingly strained in Trump's second term.
Kimber Maderazzo, a marketing professor at Pepperdine University and global strategy executive for brands like Procter & Gamble and Estée Lauder, told Marie Claire that tariffs would have a pronounced effect on not just raw material sourcing and packaging, but also injectables.
'Providers could face rising costs on imported products, leading to higher treatment prices, potentially reducing patient demand or compressing already tight operating margins,' said Maderazzo.
Trump's proposed tariffs on China (baseline 10% tariff) and South Korea (25% tariff) will have a pronounced adverse effect on the U.S. beauty economy, which brings in $2.6 billion in trade surplus.
Over 25,000 beauty products circulated in the U.S. mass market are primarily from China, and the increased tariff costs could get passed onto consumers at checkout. Korean products, which are the top imported cosmetics in the U.S., will likely also be harder and more expensive to source—and for consumers to purchase.
Beauty budgets can quickly snowball out of control. The average American spends $492 annually on facial care alone, with women averaging $600—and that doesn't include extras like nails or haircare, whose costs can add up month after month.
Unlike other financial 'investments,' beauty is a 'depreciating asset by design,' notes Katie Gatti Tassin, author of 'Rich Girl Nation: Taking Charge of Our Financial Futures. 'Unlike investing in actual capital—which will grow with time, it will become more valuable—when you invest in beauty, the opposite is happening,' Tassin told CNBC. 'It's going to require more and more cash to extend that half-life.'
So how can you keep your beauty spending from eating into your financial future—without forgoing your favorite treatments?
Set a beauty budget—and your expectations. Tally up how much you're spending on your beauty purchases each month (especially those random trips to Sephora) and compare it against your income. Is your beauty spending sustainable? Is it achieving the aesthetic goals you've internalized for yourself? Make adjustments or temper expectations as needed.
For those who like the joys of beauty maintenance but hate the high price tag, there are ways to keep expenditure low. Shoppers can utilize credit card portals to save money on purchases they would make anyway.
Many credit card companies like Chase and Capital One Shopping offer enticing deals if consumers make online purchases through their portals, which often offer discounts from suppliers like Sephora and Ulta. A quick scroll on the portal will display all of the available offers.
To redeem, consumers can either add the offer to their card and purchase from the retailer using the bank's participating card or click through to the site directly on the portal and check out with their bank card. A few minutes to check for offers before you make your quarterly shopping haul could save you some cash.
If you're one of 10 Americans in beauty debt, consider putting yourself on a spending detox from new aesthetic purchases. Tackle any debt that you may have full on to avoid paying interest for an extended amount of time. If you have no debt but still feel the need to do a spending detox, consider putting the money you would spend on beauty purchases into a high-yield savings account to make gains on your money and start building a safety nest.
Read More: 10 Best High-Yield Savings Accounts Of July 2025: Up To 3.80% APY
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
5 minutes ago
- Yahoo
International Business Machines Corporation (IBM): Don't Abandon The Stock, Warns Jim Cramer
We recently published . International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer recently discussed. International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) is one of Cramer's favorite technology stocks. Throughout this year, the CNBC TV host has expressed optimism about the firm's CEO and the firm's consistency in winning contracts for its enterprise computing business. International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM)'s shares fell by 7.6% after the firm's latest earnings report saw software revenue of $7.39 billion miss analyst estimates of $7.43 billion. Cramer discussed the earnings report: 'Most of the news is good this morning, IBM. I still think not as bad, uh, Chipotle we have to talk about. Copyright: believeinme33 / 123RF Stock Photo Previously, he discussed potential future International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) share price movement: 'Oh, I like IBM very much. I mentioned Ben Wright earlier. I think that Ben, he's really turned me on to this stock. We did a very positive piece about it. I think it goes, I'm going to say not much higher but creeping higher over time, and that's actually a great place to be. So I like IBM.' While we acknowledge the potential of IBM as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an extremely cheap AI stock that is also a major beneficiary of Trump tariffs and onshoring, see our free report on the . READ NEXT: 30 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 11 Hidden AI Stocks to Buy Right Now. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
Yahoo
5 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Factbox-Key elements of EU-U.S. trade deal agreed on Sunday
BRUSSELS (Reuters) -The U.S. and the European Union agreed on a framework trade deal on Sunday, ending months of uncertainty for industry and consumers on both sides of the Atlantic. Here are the main elements of the deal: * Almost all EU goods entering the U.S. will be subject to a 15% baseline tariff, including cars, which now face 27.5%, as well as semiconductors and pharmaceuticals. The 15% tariff is the maximum tariff and is not added to any existing rates. * However, the U.S. is to announce the result of its 232 trade investigations in two weeks and decide separately on tariff rates for chips and pharmaceuticals. Whatever U.S. decisions come later on these sectors will be "on a different sheet of paper", European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. * The U.S. and EU will have zero-for-zero tariffs on all aircraft and their components, certain chemicals, certain generic drugs, semiconductor equipment, some agricultural products, natural resources and critical raw materials. More products would be added. The situation for spirits is still to be established. * Tariffs on European steel and aluminium will stay at 50%, but von der Leyen said these would later be cut and replaced by a quota system. * The EU pledged to buy $250 billion of U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) a year for three years, totalling $750 billion in total, as it replaces Russian gas. The EU will also buy nuclear fuel from the U.S. * Under the deal, the EU pledged to buy U.S. military equipment and European companies are to invest $600 billion in the U.S. over the course of Trump's second term. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
5 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Norfolk Southern Corporation (NSC): Jim Cramer Reveals How Its Merger Could Succeed
We recently published . Norfolk Southern Corporation (NASDAQ:NSC) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer recently discussed. Norfolk Southern Corporation (NASDAQ:NSC)'s shares have gained 20% year-to-date and are up by 8.5% since mid-July due to chatter of mergers in the railroad industry. During this episode, Cramer's co-host David Faber discussed reports of Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific merging. Faber outlined that issues in the railroad industry, such as streamlining traffic flows through the Chicago interchange and the handoff of significant volumes in Chicago yards, were driving incentives for railroads to merge. For the deal to proceed, here's what Cramer believes: '[On talks of a merger] 5 year pledge to not raise prices, deal gets done.' Cramer discussed how Norfolk Southern Corporation (NASDAQ:NSC) might be ripe for a deal: 'I think that Norfolk Southern could be vulnerable.' While we acknowledge the potential of NSC as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an extremely cheap AI stock that is also a major beneficiary of Trump tariffs and onshoring, see our free report on the . READ NEXT: 30 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 11 Hidden AI Stocks to Buy Right Now. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data