Sure, there are only 4.1 plastic surgeons per 100,000 people in the New York City region (compared to Salt Lake City's six), but the Big Apple outspends every other city in nearly every category -- more than $21 million on hair coloring, $32.5 million on skin care, $5.5 million on makeup and nearly $530,000 on hair growth products. According to the Census Bureau, there were more than ten thousand personal care businesses (think: hair and nail salons, day spas) in 2002 (the most recent year available) -- nearly three times the number in any other city. The state of New York also has the second highest number of hair restoration surgeons, and chances are they're centralized around The City.
We're all for wanting to look good -- heck, we spend our days telling you about the latest, greatest (and not so stellar) in the world of beauty. But then there's vanity -- being obsessed with looks to the point of spending major bucks on stuff that's supposed to make you pretty. We compiled data on the vanity industry -- plastic surgeons, tanning salons and businesses that cater to your hair, nails and skin -- to find out which cities are more obsessed than the rest. Find out if you live in a me-me-me city.
