Moisturizing, spa treatments not just for women
Norbert Alexander, owner of Norbert Alexander Hair Design in St. Clair, said men today are more actively pursuing ways to look better -- both at home and at the salon. They want a polished, refined and super-clean look.
"People are interested in maintaining a youthful vitality," Alexander said.
Many young professionals, especially, are seeking ways to boost their image and stand out in the job market, Alexander said.
It's called good grooming
Image is one of the main reasons Adam Grover, 22, of St. Clair gets regular pedicures and manicures. He had his eyebrows waxed for the first time last week.
Grover studied at The Citadel, a military college in South Carolina. It was there he learned the importance of being "clean cut" and "well groomed."
Extreme detail to personal hygiene unfairly gets a bad rep among men, said Grover, who owns a construction company.
"Men are men, and it seems to me like (they think) it's a girly thing," he said.
Ultimately, they are the ones missing out, he said.
"I don't think it's girly at all. It feels good."
A.J. Armbruster, 27, of Port Huron, a chiropractor, uses moisturizer on his face as part of his daily routine.
He turned to the power of lotion after dealing with drying acne creams when he was in his teens.
"For the most part, I do it every day when I get out of the shower," Armbruster said.
Especially in winter, when cold, dry air wreaks havoc on skin.
"I'd rather put lotion on than have my face feel cracked, like it's going to fall off," Armbruster said.
Still, "I make sure I buy some that looks pretty manly."
Growing trend
Alexander said he's seen a growth in men-specific moisturizers, shower gels, shampoos and sunblocks.
"Many of the lines that were traditionally targeted to assist women are now producing a line that's targeted to males," he said.
Armbruster uses Nivea for Men -- or any face lotion that's on sale and has a masculine appearance.
He tried putting wet rags on his face to soothe his dried-out skin, but it didn't work.
When a friend suggested using lotion, he balked.
"I told her she was crazy -- no way. I'm a guy, I don't use lotion," Mosurak said.
It turns out it was good advice. Now, when his skin is dry, Mosurak reaches for his wife's bottle of Clinique face lotion.
"I don't want to use a lotion that's not meant for my face. I don't want another acne breakout," Mosurak said.
Stigma erodes
Alexander has seen a slow, but solid shift of men seeking a variety of spa and salon-type treatments.
He has male clients as old as 70 getting such procedures as pedicures.
"They're shy the first time, and then all of the sudden they realized the total benefit of it," Alexander said.
"Our services have evolved into meeting more needs of our gentlemen clientele --sometimes because of their wives, and sometimes because of their own realization of the way celebrities take care of themselves."
He's watched the evolution from men simply getting hair cuts to all matters of grooming.
"They started getting more involved with their beard being trimmed, fixing their unibrows," Alexander said. "Ears were the next issue -- some men have more hair on their ears than their head."
Questions about grooming fingernails and toenails led his male clients to "sport" manicures and pedicures, and then hand and foot massages, Alexander said.
Once comfortable with massages, they began inquiring about brow waxing, back waxing and even facials, he said.
Men have different needs for facial treatments than women. Prolonged sun exposure, unruly facial hair, razor burn and ingrown hairs can take a toll.
Sheron Acciavatti, owner of High Maintenance Salon in Marysville, said she has convinced many of her male clients to try some of the spa services while they're in the chair for a haircut.
They generally are 30 to 50 years old.
Many men, at first, don't understand how to take care of their skin or are unaware of the benefits of such treatments as extractions or peels, Acciavatti said.
But once they try a facial or have their eyebrows waxed, she said, they return for more.
