Hannah, a flight attendant with over seven years of experience, demonstrates the significant financial commitment required to maintain a polished appearance while soaring at 35,000 feet. Hannah’s faced being accused of being “high maintenance” for spending nearly $500 per month on frequent grooming and skincare treatments. Because her employer doesn’t pay for any of these costs, she considers them necessary for her job.
Her monthly beauty budget of about $450 covers regular facials, brow shaping, pedicures and bi-weekly nail services. Hannah gets a new color treatment every eight to ten weeks. More importantly, this allows her hair to look neat, clean, and groomed. She gets neurotoxin treatments for her forehead and frown lines every 6 months in order to improve her looks. She began this practice shortly after taking to the skies in her new flying career.
When I first started flight training, they did a whole day on grooming: makeup, hair, fragrance. And then from there, you just kind of keep your eye on what other ladies are doing,” Hannah said. Her employer requires that you follow strict grooming standards that outline your hairstyle, what makeup is appropriate, and what color your nails can be.
Hannah loves the responsibility because it truly is part of her profession. “We don’t get any extra payments for the time it takes to get ready and look presentable. This is just part of the role which you accept when you become a flight attendant,” she noted. She admitted that there’s a grooming allowance built into her pay, giving her some leeway financially.
Hannah is very committed to her looks. She takes weekly excursions to Duty Free stores to walk out with fistfuls of skincare and makeup that’s half-off. She takes the time to budget for regular facials and nail appointments, making sure that these self-care rituals are a priority in maintaining her sense of self. “I still like to look put-together, but it’s more for me than anyone else,” she stated.
So while Hannah fully admits that her beauty routine takes a lot of time, she equally enjoys the process of it. “Getting ready for work is honestly a highlight of my day,” she admitted. As you can imagine, she looks forward to her hair staycations. These visits are an unexpected and enriching capstone to her long career as a T.A.A.P.
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