Entering her second day of work after the Idul Fitri holidays, office worker Esti Widiarini Tri Ramadhani received a treat from her boss: half a day at the beauty salon.
It would have been perfect for Esti after struggling with domestic chores during the Idul Fitri holiday except her boss was not the only one who thought to give his staff a treat.
At Evergreen salon near Senopati, South Jakarta, Esti had to wait in line for more than one hour to receive her treatment.
"I want to get a foot spa. I was about to get a cream bath but the line, God forbid!" she said.
When holiday means traveling for hours to far away hometowns, cooking massive holiday feasts, and washing mountains of dishes and laundry, for many Jakartans the aftermath of holidays are tired limbs, a stiff neck, and aching heads.
Beauty salons and spas become a most-wanted post-holiday service.
Esti said that a lot of her Facebook friends were getting beauty salon treatments as well.
"So many of my friends write in their statuses that they're in a beauty salon," she said.
The Senopati strip and its surrounding area hosts many beauty salons. According to Esti, most businesses were packed.
"They were either packed or still closed *due to the holidays*," she said. Customers mostly opt for facials and creambaths - a hair treatment, in which the stylist massage a moisturizing hair cream to a customer's head, usually followed by a back and arm-massage, Esti said.
Esti said her family stayed in Jakarta during the Idul Fitri holidays.
"Even though we did not travel, it was still tiring," she said, adding that she faced a lot of domestic chores.
"And many people come by to visit," she said.
Esti said that the first two days of work were very relaxed. She went to the salon Friday with her boss and three female colleagues, who worked in the same team.
She said her male colleagues did not join them at the salon.
"Yesterday, however, we all went to see a movie," she said.
Female-only Green 20 salon at Mpu Sendok, South Jakarta was also packed.
Salon staff Lestari said Friday that there was a long line of people waiting to receive treatments. "They mostly asked for body scrubs and creambaths," Lestari said.
"Possibly they want to rejuvenate their bodies after being tired from the holidays," she said.
At Gaya Spa at Jl. Wolter Monginsidi, South Jakarta, the number of customers increased after Idul Fitri, according to spokesperson Meiko S.
Meiko said that aside from female customers who took full body treatments, a lot of male customers also wanted massages and reflexology.
Meiko said that the spa had 14 treatment beds, six reflexology chairs, and 14 stylist chairs.
"The stylist chairs can be used for reflexology as well depending on the demand," she said.
Meiko said that post-Idul Fitri was always a busy time. "Most of the places around this area are still closed, while the demand for treatments increases," she said.
"We're closed only one day during Idul Fitri," Meiko said.
