Body waxing not waning for many body-conscious men

By Ryan Teague Beckwith
Columbia News Service, July 7, 2002

It started with a few sheepish phone calls.

When the Randee Elaine salon opened in Greenwich Village in 1989, manager Jodi Perskin offered the usual complement of haircuts, manicures and body waxing--for women only. Then the men started to call.

"It wasn't even our idea," says the 36-year-old Brooklyn native. "Before you know it, we were one of the first salons in New York to specialize in male body waxing."

The trend started among the young gay men of Greenwich Village and Chelsea in New York City, and has always been common among professional bodybuilders, swimmers and bicyclists. But in recent years, body waxing has become popular among all types of hirsute men.

"I think it's more acceptable now for men to take care of themselves," said Chris Layme, a 23-year-old male cosmetologist at Randee Elaine who specializes in waxing. "Most of my clients come because their girlfriends sent them to get it done, or they want to get ready for the beach. It makes them more comfortable when they go out."

Waxing, a brief and momentarily painful process, is available for pretty much all of the body parts where men have hair. (Facial hair, however, is too coarse to be waxed.) At Randee Elaine, a back or chest waxing costs $20, shoulders are done for $12 and a hairless posterior will set you back $15. Layme said back waxing is the most popular, although many fitness buffs have their chests waxed to better show off finely toned pecs and abs.

Alexander, a 25-year-old from Manhattan who works in finance, started waxing about five years ago as a way to look better for women.

"It started in college when one of my friends admitted he was a fan of the back wax," he said. "At first I was a little shocked, but I had to agree with him that shoulder and back hair is a definite way to ensure that you will be sleeping alone at night."

Alexander said he waxes every four to six weeks--more often in the summer, and less often when he has a girlfriend.

"I don't care what anyone says," he said, "the only reason heterosexual men wax is to get in a girl's pants."

For Mary, a 36-year-old law firm manager from Manhattan, the issue is attractiveness, plain and simple.

Seven months into her relationship with her current boyfriend, she convinced him to come to the Mark Garrison Salon in the Upper East Side and have his shoulders waxed. Since then, he has come regularly every four to six weeks.

"For me personally, it's just somewhat unattractive when a man has hair on his shoulders," she said. "It's sort of arousing when it's on his chest, but the shoulders are different."

During a vacation at Disney World in Florida, she even convinced him to get a pedicure along with her teen-aged son. For many other men, waxing is also just the beginning.

Last October, the country's first all-male spa opened at a former Chemical Bank building in Greenwich Village. Nickel (pronounced nee-KEL), a branch of a French company with two men's spas in Paris, offers the usual manicures, pedicures, facials and massages found in women's spas, as well as an allegedly fat-reducing "love-handle wrap" for men.

"Men are more comfortable in places with only men when they're getting their nails done," said manager Fabien Azoulay.

Many customers visit the first time with their girlfriends or wives, but afterward they come back alone, he said. One woman called ahead and paid for a waxing for her boyfriend with a credit card, Azoulay said. On the day of the appointment, the couple showed up, but the man argued with his girlfriend for several minutes about getting waxed before finally going in. He's now a regular.

Unlike most other spas and salons that offer waxing for men, Nickel also offers a Brazilian--a very thorough bikini wax that originated for women at the J. Sisters International Salon in midtown Manhattan. Still, Azoulay said it is very rare in comparison to the popular back and shoulder waxing. He said he gets from two to five of those a day, and as many as 10 on the weekends, compared to only a handful a month for the Brazilian. Eyebrow waxing is also popular at Nickel.

Azoulay, 24, first started waxing his shoulders six years ago when he lived in France.

"My best friend told me, 'You can't go to the beach with grass on your shoulders,' " he said. "It felt good to have my back smooth, and it didn't hurt."

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