It seems that men are, in fact, taking to spas and massages in a big way, despite some initial embarrassment, writes Michael Kelly
THERE WAS a time, not so long ago, when a quick spray of deodorant was the absolute zenith of male grooming and pampering in this country. However, over the past five years or so, Irish men have put an (un-pedicured) toe in the water when it comes to spas, grooming and treatments - and apparently liked what they experienced.
Men now account for 20-50 per cent of spa centre customers, and are starting to embrace treatments which were once considered the preserve of the fairer sex, such as massage, facials, manicures, pedicures, mud-wraps, eyebrow shaping/
tinting and even (God help us) waxing, all in the name of looking and feeling good.
Grooming, spa and treatment services for men are big business, and almost every spa in the Republic is trying to get in on the action, offering men-only products and treatments to get us in the door. More recently, a number of treatment rooms have opened aimed exclusively at men - a sign that a male-only clientele can be a lucrative business.
"Men are becoming far more image-conscious," says Mark Browne, who is general manager at Monart Destination Spa in Enniscorthy, Co Wexford. "They want to look and feel good, and they are not embarrassed by this stuff anymore," he adds.
Clientele at Monart is roughly 50/50 male and female, he says, but he admits that the percentage of men arriving for treatments on their own is still very small. This would seem to indicate that we love to spa but like to pretend that we were dragged along by our partners.
"Having a massage is the typical entry point for men," says Browne. "It may be that their partner has booked them in for that and once they go that far, they find that they love it and want to look at other treatments. Massage is far and away our most popular treatment for men, followed by facials and then wraps."
Sarah Murray of Mandala Spa in La Stampa Hotel on Dawson Street, Dublin, says men are happy to attend spas provided the treatments are about health, as opposed to beauty. "Men typically come to de-stress. They have stress in their shoulders and back from sitting at a computer all day, and they want a massage. I think they associate massage with sports, whereas women see it as pampering. With men it's almost as if they want massage to be painful - that way they know they are getting results."
Murray believes beauty treatments are still a bridge too far for most Irish men. "Some men are sent in to us by their partners for waxing, or to get their eyebrows done if they are getting married or going on holidays. They are usually pretty embarrassed. I visually see them panic when they come in. Gay men have no problem with it, but straight men have a way to go."
For men to feel comfortable ordering beauty treatments, they need to know that they won't be the only man having the treatment done in a room full of women. Again this hints at the fact that men are still a little worried about how a man having his nails buffed might be perceived.
This perhaps explains why unisex spas are offering men-only days and why they try (sometimes rather unsuccessfully it must be said) to put a macho spin on treatment names - so a massage becomes a "sports massage" or "golfer's massage", and facials become "executive facials".
It also explains the appearance of men-only grooming clubs such as the Grooming Rooms in Dublin's South William Street. "Men don't have the same level of discomfort here that they might feel in a unisex establishment," says general manager Janet Clarke, "and I think they feel they have permission to get treatments, because it's men-only. Having said that, we still have a mixture of men who are very comfortable with being here, and others who are quite sheepish. Many of them have been coaxed into it by their partner."
The Grooming Rooms leverages hard on its men-only proposition - the proprietors have put a lot of effort into ensuring that the place feels more like a gentleman's club than a salon (minimalist furniture and enormous American-style barber's chairs, for example). "It's a very masculine environment. It's not quite car posters on the wall or anything, but we tried to ensure that it wasn't even slightly frilly or flouncy."
Clarke admits that including barbering in the mix aims to help men feel less threatened by the other treatments on offer. "I am not sure that was intentional, but barbering certainly eases men into treatments, so to speak. We have been amazed at the take-up in some of the treatments like pedicures and manicures, for example."
When considering whether it's manly to avail of spas and treatments, perhaps we should bear in mind that spas were social gathering places for men back in the days of the macho Roman empire.
But what does it say about Irish men that we are embracing spa and beauty treatments? Should we celebrate this as a sign of our growing maturity and confidence? Or are we at risk of becoming a nation of sissies? Looking and feeling good is manly too, according to Monart's Mark Browne: "I think you can be both masculine and look after your wellbeing. This is about far more than beauty - it's about being in tune with your health and wellbeing."
Opinion is divided on what women make of a man who avails of grooming and treatments on a regular basis. "I don't know any women who would have a problem with a man who is neatly groomed," says the Grooming Rooms' Clarke. But Sarah Murray of Mandala is not so sure: "On the one hand, I think women like men to be well groomed, but on the other hand I still think us girls like a bit of rough and tumble in our men too. It's a total turn-off for a man to be more into his image than we are."