Vietnam reigns supreme in the Beauty Price Index released by Latin American e-commerce platform Linio, which was compiled based on average retail cost (including tax) of 16 different services, cosmetic procedures and products in the beauty industry across 50 countries.
A nose job for under $1,000 and a $2,000 breast augmentation have helped catapult the Southeast Asian country to become world's most affordable destination for beauty services. Meanwhile, a makeover in Switzerland and the U.S. will cost you a fortune.
Vietnam boasted the most-affordable spot in the gauge even as retail prices rose from 2016. India, South Africa, Thailand and Egypt rounded out the top five cheapest beauty-care destinations.
Cosmetics, however, are subject to hefty mark-ups in Vietnam. So if you're looking to buy fragrancies, go to the U.S. or Italy instead.
Beauty-care prices in Vietnam are expected to remain modest given increasing imports from regional neighbors through stronger trade ties.
By 2020, Vietnam's total value of cosmetics imports is projected to double from now, reaching over $2 billion, or over 1.2 percent of total consumer spending, according to a report released in May by EU-Vietnam Business Network.
Much of this growth comes on the heels of increasing urbanization, exposure to international media, and a general increase in consumer spending power.
For each category, Linio attempted a thorough accounting of deals within the given country; cosmetic procedure prices, for instance, were assembled from at least three clinics per major city in each country studied.
Prices were converted to U.S. dollars using May 2017 exchange rates.