A recession is not a reason to sacrifice highlights and eyebrow shaping for, say, gas and electricity. Local beauty and massage schools offer smokin’ hot deals on pampering services, like a $7 haircut and a $2 temporary rinse at Monterey Bay Beauty College. The beauty school also offers manicures ($7), pedicures ($15) and facials ($20), among other services. At Wayne’s College of Beauty, haircuts run $6, and color, depending on what you want, starts at $17. Wayne’s also offers manicures ($5) and pedicures ($10), and a host of body treatments: more than a dozen facial treatments, from a cleansing facial ($12) to microdermabrasion ($65) and a spa body salt glow ($35 and up).

There are also deals to be had at Monterey Peninsula College and the Monterey Institute of Touch. At $20 (MPC) or $35 (MIT) massage students will spend an hour kneading your knots away. At these low prices, there’s no need to stress about paying the rent, or buying groceries.

MONTEREY BAY BEAUTY COLLEGE
1760 Fremont Blvd., #D-1, Seaside | 394-7335 www.mbbc.typepad.com

Appointments required for hair color, skin and nail care; walk-in hair care and cuts. 9:30am-3pm, Monday-Friday.

WAYNE’S COLLEGE OF BEAUTY INC.
1271 N Main St., Salinas | 443-4077

Appointments recommended for facial treatments; walk-in works for everything else. 9am-5:30pm, Tuesday-Saturday.

MONTEREY INSTITUTE OF TOUCH
27820 Dorris Drive, Carmel | 624-1006  www.montereyinstituteoftouch.com

Schedule appointments by phone or online.

MONTEREY PENINSULA COLLEGE MASSAGE THERAPY PROGRAM
980 Fremont Ave., Monterey | 646-4232  www.mpc.edu/academics/physicaleducation/MassageTherapyProgram/Pages/default.aspx

Schedule appointments by phone.

LOOKING GOOD

There’s no need to pay top dollar for designer duds on the Monterey Peninsula. Marshalls sells post-season, over-run and close-out items by Calvin Klein, BCBG, DKNY, Michael Kors, 7 for all Mankind and others at discounted prices. For cut-rate couture, check out area consignment stores, where the fine ladies of Carmel and Pacific Grove bring their only slightly used items. Yellowbrick Road, SPCA Benefit Store and Déjà Vu in the Barnyard are good choices – and make it easy to hit three stores in one fell swoop – as are Encore Boutique and Reincarnation, both in P.G., for deals on nearly new clothing, handbags, shoes, china and jewelry. It takes some searching, but finding a ball gown at Yellowbrick Road, a ’50s party frock at Reincarnation or a Chanel jacket at Encore make the hunt well worth it.

INSIDE DEALS

In addition to selling luxury goods at consignment shops, rich folk sometimes sell expensive stuff (in garage sales), or they die, and all the worldly possessions get sold in estate sales. Look for both in Monterey County Weekly’s 831 Classifieds, or at www.weekendtreasures.com, which searches local newspapers, Craig’s List, etc., for garage, yard and estate sales. Search for “Pebble Beach” on a Friday afternoon and plan to spend a weekend bargain hunting at estate sales.

If treasure hunting’s not your style, get everything in one place at Hambrook’s Auction Center, the largest auction facility on the Central Coast located in downtown Pacific Grove. Hambrook’s schedules auctions every third Saturday, and sells high-quality goods – old coins, estate jewelry, Persian rugs, art and furniture – at IKEA prices, like $20 for an art deco table; $200 for a pair of black Chinese chests with gold butterflies and $75 for a green parlor chair. The next auction will be May 31. View the auction schedule online at www.hambrooks-auction.com.