There comes a point every month when the roots need touching up, the nails are chipped, and your brows take on a life of their own.
Enter the "maintenance day", a dedicated session of hair, nail, and beauty appointments that acts as part routine upkeep and part essential self-care. For many women, these monthly rituals aren't about luxury or vanity; they are a predictable reset that directly fuels personal confidence and mental well-being.
A monthly maintenance day is part beauty routine, part self-care ritual and for some, simply something that makes them feel confident and ready to take on the month.
We spoke to women about what goes into their maintenance days and how much they typically spend, with around R1 000 emerging as a common monthly figure.
For Busisiwe Mahlalela, a 23-year-old store manager, she explains that she roughly spends around R500 per month, depending on the type of hairstyle she chooses.
“On my nails, I roughly spend about R250; hair dye plus cut, it’s R150, and if I’m installing, it’s about R250, and for my lashes it’s R150,” she says.
Twenty-three-year-old Khanyisile Nkosi, a nail technician, explains that she spends approximately R300 for her nails; to install her wig, it costs her R350, and for her individual lashes, it costs her R180.
She also shared that since everything altogether takes quite a lot of time, she would do them on different days.
While Bonolo Makhura, a 29-year-old nurse, there are some things that she excludes for her maintenance day; however, she always makes sure her hair is always done.
“I don’t do my nails every month. But when I do my nails, I usually spend around R250 for my manicure, and if I decide to, I also do my toes; my nail technician adds R150 on top. For my hair, I get charged R200, but it usually depends on the type of hairstyle I do,” Makhura says.
For 21-year-old university student Bonolo Mtsweni, she adds that her braids cost her R250 excluding fibre, her nails cost R230 while her eyelashes cost her R80.
She explains that she also doesn’t do everything all in the same day.
“I normally do not do them on one day because I prefer doing hair and lashes the same day, while for nails, I usually do them the next day because it gets too tiring to sit down for too long,” Mtsweni says.
Mbalenhle Skosana, 25, is an entrepreneur. She explains that she’s not really a big fan of eyelashes or nails, but she always makes sure that her hair is done.
“I just do my hair most of the time, and it depends on the hairstyle I get, but it usually costs me roughly about R200 or R300, depending on the hairstyle. For nails, I only get them done for special occasions. I’m also not a fan of eyelashes,” Skosana says.
Nthabiseng Phahlamohlaka, an entrepreneur, explains that she prefers to do her appointments on different days, adding that it also takes her a lot of time to do everything.
“I usually spend around R500 for braids; for my nails I spend R220 - R250, depending on the design and length,” she says.
The reason they do not mind spending this much money? They revealed that it's because they want to look good at all times.
They shared similar reasons that when one looks good, it adds to one's overall confidence.
The psychological effects of maintenance day
According to Mandisa Buthelezi, a counselling psychologist, it fundamentally comes down to engaging in activities that foster our personal happiness.
“I think the essence of it mostly comes down to self-esteem. Like the saying says: ‘when you look good, you feel good & you do good.’ Our moods and behaviours are heavily centred about how we feel about ourselves,” she says.
Buthelezi further explains that when we look good and also feel good, our happy hormones called dopamine and serotonin are released as well.
These neurochemical responses help elevate overall mood, enhance emotional well-being, and reinforce a positive self-image.
By engaging in these self-care practices, women can experience both immediate emotional satisfaction and long-term improvements in psychological wellness.
“Also, if it happens on routine, then your happiness ‘hormones’ also build a routine on when to be released.
“Whether it is every morning, every night, every week or monthly. The more predictable it is, the better the effect,” Buthelezi adds.
kamogelo.makhura@nationalmg.co.za