Woman Living in America Reveals Why She Books Beauty Appointments in Russia

We all know someone who's willing to travel in the name of good beauty services, whether that's a nail salon the next town over or flying into a neighboring state in the name of a good hair colorist—but how many miles would be your limit?

Traveling over 6,000 miles for a beauty treatment may seem excessive for some, but for Moscow-born Arina Moranz, it became a necessity when she realized she was paying more money for a worse service after moving to the U.S.

Moranz, 23, and now living in Savannah, Georgia, had been shocked by the high prices beauty professionals were charging their clients in the U.S. She told Newsweek: "When I first moved, I was impressed by the price difference. I knew it was more expensive to get beauty treatments done here in the States, but I didn't know the exact prices. Laser hair removal, for example, shocked me."

Moranz, who was initially confused by the high costs she was now paying, shared a series of images to TikTok to highlight the price differences between the two countries.

Of all the treatments, laser hair removal had the most shocking variation, as the video revealed that Americans spending over $1,000 could pay just $15 a session in Russia.

The viral video, which has over 1.5 million views and 201,000 likes, also gave insight to hair extensions ($800 vs $300), nails ($90 vs $20), lip filler ($600 vs $150), and lash lift treatments ($75 vs $1810).

The financial impact of the treatments meant Moranz had to make sacrifices, as she explained: "I had to cut down on my beauty procedures when I moved to the U.S. When I used to live in Russia, I would get facials every month, go for a manicure and pedicure every three weeks, get my lashes and brows laminated once a month, hair treatments every six weeks, two massages each week, laser hair removal once each three weeks, and lip filler done every six months."

In addition, Moranz also invested in a body contouring treatment at least three times a month—a cost that would be almost impossible for the majority to maintain in the U.S. Now, to save costs, she is implementing at-home brow and lash lifts, as well as cutting down massages from two a week to once every three weeks.

It's not just pricing differences that have led to Moranz traveling back and forth to her home country in the name of beauty, as she said: "The main difference I noticed (apart from price) was the quality of the procedures, as well as the way they are being done.

"It's not a secret that Slavic professionals get their job done much more efficiently and they pay a lot more attention to the disinfection process—I was very picky when I first came to the States and noticed that many professionals don't disinfect beauty materials properly."

For now, Moranz will have to continue making sacrifices as she awaits her green card, but she already has her treatments planned for when she can travel home more freely, as she said: "As soon as I can travel, I am planning to be going back to Russia twice a year, and to get back to my regular routine in terms of treatments."

What Do the Comments Say?

The comments section of the video was full of people shocked by the price differences, as one user said: "I wish extensions were $800 here. I pay $2k for just my hair then $600 for the install. I couldn't imagine them being $300. That would be amazing omg."

Others were ready to book flights, as one said: "Now I'll feeling homesick and need to go to Russia even though I've never been."

Another added: "Ugh I need a Slavic sister to take me with!"

Russia isn't the only destination for inexpensive quality treatments, as one user commented: "Literally pay $20 for my lashes in Poland."