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Tightening household budgets often means cutting back on nonessentials such as luxury trips to spas and salons, but some Prince George's entrepreneurs look to offset that trend with their proximity to the relatively more job-secure federal government worker looking for a little TLC.

That's not to say they're not also scrambling for customers as many merchants are. From half-off sales, midweek specials, referral discounts and extra products following treatments, spa and salon owners have been doing whatever it takes to keep clients coming back.

"People think you do it for fun, and it's not a real job," Lynetta Larson, owner of Egotism Hair Salon in Laurel, said of her profession. "So they start deciding not to come or start asking more about pricing."

Larson, who opened Egotism in late 2005 with three employees, said she has definitely seen a slowdown over the last several months.

She said she chose Prince George's over Montgomery County because salon businesses are more spread out in the area, leasing is cheaper and she is closer to the women federal workers in Prince George's who commute to Washington.

"We're right next to the federal jobs, so we'll always have clientele," Larson said. "People still come — just not as often."

Larson said most salon owners are trying to balance creativity in marketing while still making enough money to stay in business.

Arelis Natera took on the risk when she opened her newest Arelis Beauty Salon in Beltsville last month, her second location; the first is in Silver Spring.

Specializing in new Dominican-styled hair treatments for black and Hispanic women, Natera saw Prince George's demographics as a promising opportunity, said spokeswoman Aixa Fraser.

"That's our forte," Fraser said. The salon, which uses natural and organic products, teaches clients how to treat their hair so it grows as they like.

Word-of-mouth and women's enjoyment of being pampered will help the five-employee salon prosper, she said. The Silver Spring location averages 50 clients per day.

Ressurrection Graves of H.E.A.L. Massage and Bodywork in Largo said she hopes her spa's innovative concept will give her business some edge amid the difficult luxury market. The spa focuses on therapeutic healing more than relaxation, which is the common goal of most spas.

"This is for body maintenance," Graves said, saying the closest place clients can receive similar services is in Vienna, Va. "It's a need they recognize."

H.E.A.L. opened in September, with five employees, and serves about 100 clients each week, specializing in those who are depressed and suffer from fibromyalgia or pain in the muscle and connective tissue.

Graves, who is also a professional poet, combines her spiritually based massage techniques with music and poetry.

"I believe this business is not just a business. People continue to come and continue to refer others. We are creating a community here," she said.

Not everyone is so sanguine.

Ancill McDonald Gilmore of Ashland Body & Spa in Fort Washington said the only thing saving her industry is the specials that businesses run.

"Especially in Fort Washington, we have government workers visiting us, but even they are cutting back. We're holding onto what we have," she said. "The need is somewhat going away. There's not much room for luxury. If I was thinking about opening this business today, there's no way I would."

Ashland opened in 2006 and has about six employees and 3,000 clients. The company recently had to lay off three employees due to shrinking revenues. Ashland is the only spa in the county that performs threading, an East Indian practice of using sewing thread to remove hair, Gilmore said.

"We know that stress is the number one reason people go to spas, and right now more Americans than ever before are stressed out about their finances, their jobs and their families," said Megan Newquist, spokeswoman for the International Spa Association. "So what we're hearing, and what our spa members are seeing, is that more people than ever before are going to spas — they're just spending less than they used to."

More than 138 million people visited spas nationwide in 2007, the most recent data available, with about $10.9 billion in sales, according to the association.