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A study on the necessity of Cosmetology Welfare in the Era of the Aging Society

With a sharp drop in fertility rates, increase in life expectancy and rapid growth of the elderly population, South Korea is anticipated to become a super-aged society by 2026. As a result, welfare for the aged is now very important. In countries that are already aging societies, elderly issues are viewed as national issues. Therefore, diverse elderly welfare policies have been implemented by segmenting and specializing elderly welfare. At the same time, cosmetology for the aged is also being specialized and segmented. In the Republic of Korea, however, only a few people are aware of cosmetology welfare for the aged, and it is perceived as a simple voluntary service. In other words, there are no conceptual or institutional preparations for cosmetology welfare. Therefore, this study performed a questionnaire survey among senior women aged 60 or older as an empirical research method to examine people’s awareness of the need for a cosmetology welfare system and cosmetology welfare workers. Regarding cosmetology welfare for the aged, therefore, they tend to have their hair styled until at least age 75 or older despite some variances depending on their economic or social activities. In addition, cosmetology expenditures put a burden on most of them regardless the amount of the expenditures. In other words, as people get older, cosmetology welfare remains essential but the cohort feels very uncomfortable with the expenses for the services.