For this kind of calculation to work, you have to determine if your physical appearance impacts your income. For the vast majority of professionals, the answer

For this kind of calculation to work, you have to determine if your physical appearance impacts your income. For the vast majority of professionals, the answer to this will be yes. Like it or not, that's the world we live in. It's easy to go overboard, but it's not that expensive to get regular decent haircuts, wear nice shits, etc. On a developer's salary it's basically noise, and the ROI over a lifetime will almost certainly be positive. It's important to do a cost/benefit analysis, not just a cost analysis. :)