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Ryan Nguyen

Complimentary pink brows are offered in the store during a client's appointment. Those that decide to tint their brows are encouraged to post on social media with the hashtag, #AxthePinkTax.

Each year, females pay on average $1,351 more on everyday products due to the Pink Tax. During the month of April, European Wax Center, Refinery29 and Girls in Tech teamed up to raise awareness about the Pink Tax and how it can impact a female’s daily life.

The “Pink Tax” is a colloquial term refers to the difference in prices for products marketed to females versus the gender-neutral products or male-specific goods, according to USA Today. The Pink Tax affects all females and their purchases. Items like deodorant, shampoo, perfume, female hygiene products, and clothes are more expensive when compared to their counterpart items for males. This means that women pay 7% extra just for everyday products and services.  

“[The Pink Tax] is just like a reflection of other issues that we have in society,” said Emily Van Gilder, who is a receptionist at Huntington Beach’s European Wax Center. “It’s not so much the fact that we pay more for razors, or tampons, it’s the fact that there’s an inequality between women and men. [We need to] erase that stigma where there’s always a gap in equality. I think that’s where we can make progress to.”

As a challenge to the Pink Tax, European Wax Center offered complimentary pink tinted brows to clients during their wax service. Clients could have their eyebrows tinted pink during their wax service to raise awareness and are encouraged to post their pink brows on social media (Snapchat and Instagram). 

On campus, female students can avoid the Pink Tax by taking advantage of services provided by the school. Campus Ministry, the Health Office and the Deans Office offer female products like pads, tampons, skirts, and shorts to students. 

“We help girls all the time [especially] if girls are in need of any kind of products or if there’s any kind of emergency,” Director of Campus Ministry Helen Steves said. “We have them readily available here at Campus Ministry because we want them to protect their privacy and we want them to be comfortable while they’re here. [There are] many layers [and] many levels of Mater Dei that help the girls.”

By sparking conversation about the Pink Tax, European Wax Center hopes to promote change for the equality of products, no matter the gender.

“I think as young people, we have platforms for [talking about this],” Van Gilder said. “I think just in your individual role in society where you can fit that in and where you can talk about it, just bringing awareness, I feel, helps.”

If you’re interested in calculating how much you individually have spent extra on products, visit the #AxthePinkTax calculator.