Meet the young Welsh adults who shell out thousands every year on the gym, waxing, fake tans and other treatments

It is an industry which has boomed, despite the recession.

With youngsters, many of whom are on low wages or even unemployed, each willing to shell out hundreds of pounds a month enhancing their appearance, it is not difficult to see why.

And South Wales is said to have a greater number of beauty, tanning and tattoo parlours per square mile than anywhere else in the UK.

A BBC programme to be aired on Tuesday examines why teenagers and young adults are prepared to splash out most of what they have – and sometimes what they don’t – in the pursuit of the perfect body.

Corey Rees, 20, from Swansea spends hundreds of pounds on his image - including tattoos

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Corey Rees, from Swansea, is among those who feature. He is unemployed but earns a modest living by working as a topless butler, where he can show off the result of the hours he spends in the gym every day.

And the 20-year-old says he does not regret forking out for tattoos, waxing, fake tan and gym membership, despite his relatively small income.

'You're looking good, everyone's looking at you'

He explained: “I would not put a price on it. I would rather look that good and spend lots of money.

“Every month I probably take home £300 to £450. If I didn’t have any work or anything it would be really hard to get by because I wouldn’t be able to go on sunbeds like I do or go to the gym all the time.”

And those are things which he feels are important.

“You’re looking good, everyone’s looking at you, everyone’s paying attention to you.”

Marc Ritchie, 28, from Aberdare, getting his chest waxed

Three hours a day in the gym

Best mate Marc Ritchie

Although Marc has a full-time job he has had to move back to his parents’ home in order to fund his lifestyle, which involves Corey and him spending three hours a day in the gym, having three or four sunbed sessions a week, and other treatments including eyebrow and chest waxing.

It is a way of living which one beauty therapist thinks stems from teens and young adults wanting immediate approval from their peers, including via “likes” on social media sites such as Facebook and Instagram.

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'Obsessed with the way we look'

Jade Leeother people

Kate Austin, owner of K2 gym in Bridgend, might agree with Jade’s assessment. She said: “With the recession, and with money in general, this industry hasn’t suffered. I have opened two gyms in the past two years and both of them have done extremely well.

“Not everybody’s naturally beautiful. You’ve got to do the best with what you’ve got and if that means you need fake eyelashes and longer hair with extensions then I don’t see a problem with that.”

Sadie Beau, 19, from Bridgend, says looking good is addictive

£100 for teeth whitening

Sadie BeauKate

A load of cash is also being shelled out on her teeth. “It costs me £100 to have my teeth whitened which I think is good because you don’t want yellow teeth.

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“It’s addictive. When you see the results the first time you think ‘I want that again, I want to go whiter and whiter’.

“I am addicted to beauty. I think when you start having all the beauty treatments you can’t stop.”

'It makes me happy - it's not a waste'

Despite waving goodbye to hundreds of pounds every month Sadie said she has no regrets.

She insisted: “I am not scared of getting in debt, really. I think in this day and age most people are in debt anyway.

“I spend my money on things that make me happy so I don’t think it goes to waste.”

'One day, it will catch up with me'

That sentiment is familiar to Sophie Jenkins. The 21-year-old once burned through an entire student loan instalment in a matter of days and buys dresses – or gets her mum to buy them for her – which she will only wear once.

But, unlike some of the other youngsters, Sophie says she is not totally oblivious to the growing debt mountain under her feet.

She said: “I worry about it because I know that one day it’s going to catch up with me. When I want to buy a house or I want a mortgage I’m not going to be able to get one.

“I am never going to be able to get a loan or anything like that and I kind of wish I had thought about that before.”

Young, Welsh and Pretty Skint is being shown on BBC One Wales on Tuesday, March 31, at 10.45pm.

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